Insights
Trading with Vietnam and Japan, explained from the ground
Sourcing, quality, customs, labelling, product registration and market entry — the practical detail that decides whether a project between Vietnam, Japan and the rest of the world actually works.
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Japan-made supplement OEM — 168 guides
Ingredients and their evidence, capsules and additives, packaging, Japanese rules and import rules by country, in one place.
Comparing Asian Supplier Quotations on Landed Cost
Quotations from different Asian countries are not comparable until rebuilt on one landed-cost basis. A worksheet for doing it, step by step.
Read moreSourcing from India: A Buyer's Step-by-Step Guide
How to find and check an Indian factory, when BIS certification applies, who issues the certificate of origin, and where AIFTA still applies.
Read moreSourcing from South Korea: A Buyer's Step-by-Step Guide
How to find and check a Korean factory, when KC certification applies, and which of three overlapping trade agreements to claim at the Vietnamese border.
Read moreSourcing from Taiwan: A Buyer's Step-by-Step Guide
How to find, check and import from a Taiwanese factory, from registry checks and standards to export documents and the duty position on arrival in Vietnam.
Read moreSourcing from the Philippines: A Buyer's Step-by-Step Guide
A working route for sourcing from the Philippines — CITEM and DTI, the SEC or DTI registry check, BPS certification, e-CO and main ports.
Read moreSourcing from Indonesia: A Buyer's Step-by-Step Guide
A working route for sourcing from Indonesia — the Ministry of Trade directory, the OSS registry check, SNI certification, SKA and main ports.
Read moreSourcing from Malaysia: A Buyer's Step-by-Step Guide
A working route for sourcing from Malaysia — MATRADE, the SSM registry check, SIRIM certification, certificate of origin and main ports.
Read moreSourcing from Thailand: A Buyer's Step-by-Step Guide
A working route for sourcing from Thailand — the trade agency directory, the registry check, TISI certification, certificate of origin and main ports.
Read moreFinding Factories in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan
A practical route to finding and checking factories across ASEAN and Taiwan — government trade agencies, business registry checks and a site visit.
Read moreConsolidating Asian Suppliers into One Shipment
Buyer consolidation across Asian suppliers — LCL versus FCL, keeping each supplier's origin proof valid through the hub, and labelling standards.
Read moreInstalling Japanese Machinery Abroad: What to Agree First
Planning installation, commissioning, training and spare parts for Japanese machinery before you buy, not after it arrives at your factory.
Read moreSourcing Japanese Consumer Goods for Export: What Changes
Buying Japanese food, cosmetics and household goods for export — authorised sourcing versus parallel sourcing, relabelling, shelf life and destination documents.
Read moreBuying Used Equipment in Japan: What to Check First
What to check before paying for used equipment in Japan — records, hours, a test run, parts availability, voltage and frequency, and packing.
Read moreJapan Export Control: List Control and the Catch-All Check
Why some machinery and chemicals from Japan need an export licence, what list control and catch-all control mean, and what an exporter asks a buyer.
Read moreExport from Japan: How a Purchase Becomes a Shipment
The documents and the order they are produced in when a purchase in Japan becomes an export — declaration, invoice, origin, tax and Incoterms.
Read moreWhat a Japanese Buyer Checks Before Taking On a New Supplier
A new supplier gets past the first Japanese meeting on documentation and readiness, not price. Here is what is actually checked, and in what order.
Read morePSE Mark for Electrical Products Imported Into Japan
Electrical products sold in Japan need a PSE mark, a notified importer, and a self-check or third-party test kept on file before the first sale.
Read moreFood Labelling Rules for Products Imported Into Japan
Imported food sold in Japan needs Japanese labelling covering the importer, country of origin, ingredients, allergens and nutrition facts.
Read moreImporting Cosmetics Into Japan: The Licences You Actually Need
A cosmetic sold in Japan needs a licensed marketing authorisation holder, a licensed manufacturing site, a notification and compliant labelling.
Read moreJapan Food Import Notification: The Procedure Step by Step
Every food shipment into Japan needs an import notification at the port quarantine station before it clears customs. Here is who files it and when.
Read moreSelling Into Vietnam Through E-Commerce Since 1 July 2026
A new law replaced Vietnam's e-commerce decree mid-2026. Here is which rules apply to a foreign seller now, and which product rules never went away.
Read moreWhat to Settle in Your Vietnam Distributor Agreement
Five things a Vietnam distribution contract should settle before the first order, from who holds the product registration to what happens when it ends.
Read moreRegister Your Trademark in Vietnam Before You Launch
Vietnam gives the mark to whoever files first, not to whoever used it first. A search and a filing before launch is cheaper than a dispute after.
Read moreHow State Inspection Sorts Your Food Shipment at the Border
Vietnam checks imported food by one of three methods, and which one your shipment gets is not fixed — it can be earned down, or lost, one clearance at a time.
Read moreMedical Device Classification for Import into Vietnam
How Vietnam sorts medical devices into risk classes A to D under Decree 98/2021, which class needs a declaration and which needs full registration.
Read moreWho Can Legally Import Your Product into Vietnam
Three ways a foreign brand gets goods into Vietnam — a local distributor as importer, a trading-rights entity, or an FDI company — with the trade-offs.
Read moreHow to Self-Declare an Ordinary Food Import in Vietnam
The self-declaration procedure for an ordinary imported food under Decree 15/2018 — the dossier, the test report and where the declaration goes public.
Read moreCosmetic Product Notification for Imports into Vietnam
Who can file a cosmetic product notification in Vietnam, the CFS and authorisation letter it depends on, and how long the receipt number lasts.
Read moreOrigin and Transshipment Risk in Vietnam Sourcing
What Vietnam origin rules actually require, why enforcement on both sides has tightened, and what a buyer should check before trusting a Made in Vietnam label.
Read moreCMT, FOB or ODM: Choosing a Vietnam Garment Model
What CMT, FOB and ODM actually change about who buys fabric, how costing works, and which rules of origin apply to Vietnamese garment exports.
Read moreWho Issues Vietnam Seafood Export Health Certificates
Which Vietnamese authority now issues seafood health certificates after the 2025 ministry merger, and what an IUU-conscious buyer should ask for.
Read moreBuying Green Coffee from Vietnam: A Practical Guide
How Vietnamese green coffee is graded, which region grows what, and which certificate and contract terms actually protect a buyer.
Read moreWhat Timber Legality Papers a Vietnam Furniture Buyer Needs
What Vietnam-side documents to request for furniture timber legality under VPA/FLEGT, plus current EUDR dates and Lacey Act basics.
Read moreExport Shipping Documents Checklist From Vietnam
The documents a shipment leaving Vietnam actually needs, who in Vietnam issues each one, and where they fit against the customs declaration.
Read morePayment Terms With a Vietnamese Supplier — T/T, L/C and D/P
How deposit-and-balance transfer, a documentary letter of credit and documents against payment work with a Vietnamese exporter, and where each puts the risk.
Read moreSample Approval Stages Before a Vietnamese Production Run
Proto, fit and pre-production samples, counter-samples, and how to record an approval so nobody argues about what was agreed.
Read moreSetting Up Pre-Shipment Inspection and AQL From Vietnam
The four inspection stages, how AQL sampling under ISO 2859-1 actually works, and what to put in the purchase order so an inspection can be enforced.
Read moreWhat to Check on a First Visit to a Vietnamese Factory
The documents, production lines and stations to check on a first visit before placing an order — and which gaps are a question, not a refusal.
Read moreBuying from Thailand or Malaysia for Japan: EPA or RCEP?
Goods from Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia can enter Japan under a bilateral EPA, AJCEP or RCEP. How to choose, and when the importer can self-declare.
Read moreImporting into Vietnam from Thailand, Malaysia or Taiwan
How to claim a lower duty on goods bought in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia or Taiwan and shipped to Vietnam, including e-Form D, origin declarations and RCEP.
Read moreImport Used Japanese Machinery into Vietnam: Circular 56
Four checks before you pay a Japanese dealer, the maker-certificate or inspection route, and every document by who produces it, under Circular 56/2026.
Read moreHow to Get Vietnamese Fresh Fruit Into Japan in 2026
Getting Vietnamese fresh fruit into Japan means the right variety, treatment and facility in Vietnam, or a switch to frozen or dried when the fruit is shut.
Read moreImport Japanese Furnaces and Boilers into Vietnam: 3 Checks
Conformity before sale, safety inspection before first use, then a declaration. The order for new Japanese heat and pressure equipment, and 200 V.
Read moreVietnamese Handicrafts to Japan: What Is Checked, by Material
Finished rattan and bamboo skip Japan's plant quarantine. Pallets, food-contact ceramics, resin coatings and wooden furniture do not. What each one needs.
Read moreProof of Origin from Vietnam by Destination Market
Which origin form a shipment leaving Vietnam actually needs for the EU, the UK, CPTPP and RCEP markets, who issues it now, and which circular governs it.
Read moreApostille or Legalisation for Your Vietnam Dossier
Since 11 September 2026 Vietnam accepts apostilles, but not from Germany, Austria or Czechia. Which dossier document needs which route, line by line.
Read moreVietnam Supplementary Label Checklist Under Decree 37/2026
The mandatory fields on a Vietnamese supplementary label under Decree 37/2026, who has to apply it, and why the common before-clearance rule is wrong.
Read moreHow to Compare Two Vietnamese Supplier Quotations Line by Line
A cheaper Vietnamese quotation may just be a missing VAT line. The twelve lines to normalise, and the worksheet, before you judge either price.
Read moreWhich Declaration Route Your Vietnam Food Product Takes
Five questions that put your food product on the self-declaration or the registered route, and the exact document list each one demands.
Read moreHow to Verify a Vietnamese Supplier Without Visiting
Match a supplier's paperwork against the national registry before you wire a deposit, and why an address mismatch in 2026 is usually a ward rename, not fraud.
Read moreVietnam Local Charges by Incoterm: Who Pays at Origin
An origin invoice from Vietnam arrives with lines nobody quoted, from THC and CIC to seal and telex release. Here is who pays each one, by Incoterm.
Read moreContact
Tell us what you want to buy or sell — in Vietnam or Japan
Selling into Vietnam or Japan, sourcing from either, or a product made under your own brand. One Japanese-managed team in Ho Chi Minh City, working in English, Japanese and Vietnamese.