Overview
What we plan and where we have worked
We plan the channels together around one message. Workshops and International Business Exchange Programmes, which are business visits with meetings, site visits and interpreting, fit into the same plan.
Our paid creator campaigns have run in Japan, Southeast Asia and the United States, and we have handled a full shoot in Japan for an apparel brand. We review creator posts before they go live (in Japan, against the stealth-marketing rule), and our in-house production team handles shoots and editing.
Our role
Culture as the bridge, understanding as the path
A campaign that works at home is read differently in a new market. A model may look older or younger to local viewers, or give a different overall impression, and a creator post falls under different advertising rules.
We look at how the market reads a face, a claim and a recommendation, then rebuild the campaign for that market. Three capabilities carry most of that work and are set out below; the supporting channels run around them.
| Capability line | What we deliver | What to prepare first | Typical cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casting & production | Rights table, candidate comparison, in-house shoot and post-production | Usage, media, period, territory, exclusivity, re-use, schedule, budget ceiling | Confirmed per project |
| Influencer & creator programmes | Platform map, creator tiers and selection, pre-launch compliance review | Brand rules and the category claims to check against | Confirmed per project |
| Trade shows & workshops | Year plan, stand and show-floor operation, workshops and business visits | Target shows and the aim of each | Confirmed per project |
Casting & production
Casting and production across Asia, shot and finished by our own team
We cast local models and produce shoots, from casting brief to finished files. The rights table comes first, covering media, period, territory, exclusivity and re-use. Candidates from partner agencies are then compared on criteria the brand signs off, and our own team handles the shoot and post-production. The Japan Fair Trade Commission’s December 2024 survey of performers and talent agencies, for example, describes performers in Japan as independent operators contracting through their agencies. That is one reason the contract and rights table come before the face. Our full shoot in Japan for an apparel brand was cast and finished this way.
For formats, language versions and a bilingual pilot plan in 5 business days, see bilingual video production for brands entering Japan and Asia.
What we deliver
Casting brief and rights table
Usage, media, period, territory, exclusivity, re-use, schedule and budget ceiling in one document, written before anyone looks at a face. We prepare this document first, because the quotation is built from it.
Candidate comparison and auditions
Candidates from partner agencies in each market go into one comparison, with the same columns for each face: age range, language, availability and the overall impression in that market. Auditions are scheduled around your team.
Shoot day and post-production, in-house
Run-of-show, crew, location and schedule on the day; shooting, editing, colour and finishing by our own production team, delivered per market in Chinese, Japanese and English.
Cross-border contract and usage check
An appearance contract with the rights table attached, and an itemised quotation covering model fee, hair and make-up, studio, retouching and usage. We also check usage terms per market: contracting party, currency, withholding and governing law.
Coverage. Markets: Japan, Southeast Asia and other markets in Asia and Oceania. Categories: apparel, beauty and other consumer goods. Languages: Chinese, Japanese, English.
FAQ
Casting and production
Can you cast and shoot a full campaign for an apparel brand in Japan?
Yes. Casting brief and rights table first, candidates from partner agencies compared on criteria you sign off, then shoot and post-production by our own team. We ran a full shoot in Japan for an apparel brand this way.
Can the same brief be shot in Japan and Southeast Asia with local models?
Yes. We prepare a rights table for each market, covering contracting party, currency and usage scope. Candidates are compared on the same criteria in both markets, and our production team delivers separate files for each.
Is the production team in-house?
Yes. Our own production team handles shooting, editing, colour and finishing in Chinese, Japanese and English. This covers brand films, product videos, social cuts and coverage of events and business visits.
Influencer & creator programmes
Influencer and creator programmes, reviewed for compliance before launch
We design and run influencer and creator programmes, from platform map to post-campaign review. Before launch we map where your buyers are across LINE, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X, and select creators by tier against the brief. In Japan, for example, we review drafts against the stealth-marketing rule, in force since 1 October 2023 under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations. We also check them against the claim limits of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act.
What we deliver
Market and platform map
Where your buyers look across LINE, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X, with the disclosure habits and content formats of each, and the local-language landing page the traffic arrives on.
Creator tiers and selection
A tiered brief and a shortlist from partner networks, scored on audience fit, platform, content quality and past disclosure practice, with written terms for each engagement.
Pre-launch compliance review
We review drafts against your brand rules and the advertising rules that apply. In Japan, for example, that means the stealth-marketing rule and the cosmetic and health-claim limits of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act and the Health Promotion Act. Disclosure wording and placement are built into the post templates.
Results and review
Reach by the platform’s own data, traffic to the landing page, enquiries and sales signals, monitored after publication and closed with a written review that feeds the next programme.
Coverage. Markets: Japan, Southeast Asia and the United States, and other markets in Asia and Oceania through partner networks. Categories: beauty, apparel and other consumer goods; in B2B, expert co-created content with specialists and certification bodies. Languages: Chinese, Japanese, English. A Southeast Asia live-commerce market study for a beauty brand, with an ecosystem map and a tiered directory of MCNs and hosts, is described under Brand Incubation →
FAQ
Influencer and creator programmes
How do we start creator seeding in Japan as a foreign brand?
With a platform map and a claims check: which of LINE, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X carries your buyer, and what your category may say. Since 1 October 2023 Japan’s stealth-marketing rule requires paid posts to be disclosed; we build the disclosure into our briefs and post templates.
Do you review creator posts before they go live?
Yes. We review drafts against your brand rules and, in Japan, against the stealth-marketing rule and the claim limits of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act. After publication, we monitor posts and keep a correction process ready.
How are creators selected and measured?
Creators are selected through partner networks against a tiered brief covering audience fit, platform and past disclosure practice. We then report reach by the platform’s own data, landing-page traffic and enquiries, and close each programme with a written review.
Trade shows & workshops
Trade shows and workshops, from the year plan to follow-up
We plan a year of trade shows, workshops and International Business Exchange Programmes together, and the people who plan them also work on site. Each show has an agreed aim before you book. Workshops and business visits are built around meetings, with invitations, agendas, site visits and interpreting arranged in advance. Follow-up after each show is planned before the doors open. We planned and ran two B2B workshops in Lahore and Sydney for a well-known Chinese new-energy company.
What we deliver
Year plan and pre-show meetings
Which shows, in what order, each with an agreed aim; buyer research three months out; pre-booked meetings through organiser matchmaking, associations and direct outreach.
Stand and show-floor operation
Stand requirements and build management with the contractor, bilingual materials, stand staff briefed by us, and a one-page price-and-terms sheet for common questions on the floor.
Workshops and International Business Exchange Programmes
Workshops for invited buyers, and business visits that combine meetings and site visits. We arrange the guest list, agenda, venue, business interpreting and on-site coordination, and our own team can film them.
Follow-up after the show
Follow-up in English, Japanese or Chinese after the meetings that matter, a week-by-week schedule of what is sent to whom, and a post-show review.
Coverage. Markets: Japan and other markets in Asia and Oceania. Categories: industrial and B2B exhibitors, consumer brands at trade and buyer shows. Languages: Chinese, Japanese, English. How the year is built is set out under International Trade Show Support → and the workshops and business visits under International Business Exchange, Workshops and Events →
Sources
Decision guides: Casting and shooting a campaign in Japan (2026): rights table, cost structure, timeline · Running creator and KOL programmes in Japan (2026): disclosure rules, tiers, platform map · Exhibiting at a Japanese trade show (2026): the 90-day timeline, cost components, and the 8 weeks after
Reference sources
- Japan Fair Trade Commission · Survey on Transactions Between Performers and Talent Agencies (2024)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan · Guidelines on Stealth Marketing under the Premiums and Representations Act (2023)
- e-Gov Japan · Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (2023 designation)
- JETRO · Support for Participation in Japan Trade Fairs (accessed 2026)
FAQ
Trade shows and workshops
Can you plan workshops and an International Business Exchange Programme around a trade show?
Yes. The show, a workshop for invited buyers and a business visit can be planned as one sequence, with one meeting schedule, business interpreting and on-site coordination. Our two B2B workshops in Lahore and Sydney were planned as one project.
Do you also run the show floor?
Yes. On the show floor we handle stand requirements and build management with the contractor, bilingual materials and the briefing of stand staff. We also run the follow-up after the show.
How early should we start before a Japanese show?
Three months before the doors open is when the deciding work starts: buyer research, pre-booked meetings and the follow-up plan. Exact lead times are confirmed per show in writing.
Supporting channels
PR, outdoor advertising and bilingual video
PR & media relations
Press strategy, media outreach and story development for Japanese and international outlets, in Japanese, English and Chinese.
Outdoor (DOOH) & transit advertising
Large-format digital screens and station or in-train placements in Japan, planned and booked through the media owners’ sales channels. Our team produces the creative, and audience figures come from the media owner’s own measurement.
Bilingual video production
Brand films, product videos, social cuts and coverage of events and business visits, in Chinese, Japanese and English. Our own production team handles concept and script through shoot, edit, post-production and localisation.
Plan your next launch with us
Tell us the market and the one sentence you need to sell there. We’ll map casting, creators, shows and the supporting channels into a single plan.
Talk to us about your launchRelated Terra Vista method: Product–Creator Fit Scorecard. All published decision tables are listed on the Terra Vista Methods page.
Bilingual video production
Should a brand video for Japan be subtitled, dubbed, or reshot for each market?
Subtitling is the default for a brand film aimed at Japan. Dubbing is reserved for voice-led formats: training, explainer, in-store audio, where a read-aloud script carries the message. A full market-specific reshoot is used only for a hero campaign film, where the cast has to read as local. The choice is made at script stage, not after the edit.
A synchronisation licence is the first clearance to line up once a track is chosen: JASRAC administers more than 80 million Japanese and international musical works, licensed through JASRAC or, for a track outside that repertoire, through the original publisher directly. JASRAC’s own guidance for music users lists advertisement and video synchronisation among its licensed-use categories.
Re-voicing a performance for a dub is a separate rights question from the music track. Japan routes a performer’s neighbouring rights through CPRA, the Center for Performers’ Rights Administration, a public-interest body under Geidankyo that hosted the international performers’-rights council SCAPR’s board meeting in Tokyo, March 2026. Consent and terms for a dub are agreed with the performer’s side before a studio session is booked.
| Tier | What changes | Typical use | Rights to clear first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subtitling | Translated caption track over the original picture and audio | Most brand films, product videos, social cuts | None beyond the original shoot’s usage rights |
| Dubbing | Re-voiced audio track over the original picture | Training, explainer and in-store or on-stand audio | Performer’s neighbouring rights for the re-voiced performance |
| Market-specific reshoot | New cast, locations, or both, built on the same script | Hero campaign films where the face has to read as local | A fresh casting and rights table for the new market |
Captions and delivery
Does a brand video for Japan need accessibility captions as well as translated subtitles?
Translated subtitles and accessibility captions solve different problems. Subtitles carry the message into a viewer’s language; captions describe dialogue and sound for viewers watching muted or hard of hearing, in the same language as the audio. A brand video for Japan can need both layers at once, built as separate tracks rather than one combined line of text.
Japan’s caption-adoption curve is well documented: the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ November 1997 guideline asked broadcasters to caption as many programmes as possible; by fiscal 2007 NHK reached 100% of caption-capable hours, with the five key commercial networks averaging 89.0%. The current guideline, set on 7 February 2018 and revised on 17 October 2023, carries dissemination targets for captions, audio description and sign-language broadcasting through fiscal 2027.
Muted autoplay is the default on most feed placements, which gives an on-screen caption track the same job a voice-over would otherwise do. Building the subtitle track and the caption track as separate layers at the edit stage, rather than one burned-in line of text, keeps a single master file usable across a broadcast placement, a feed placement and a client review.
FAQ
Do we need separate video cuts for Japan and China, or can one film work for both?
One base film can serve both markets when the visuals are market-neutral. Only the language layer changes per market — a subtitle or dub track for Japanese, another for Chinese — delivered by the same production team, so the shoot itself is not repeated per language.
Who clears the music rights for a brand video shot in Japan?
A synchronisation licence is arranged before the track is locked in. JASRAC administers more than 80 million Japanese and international musical works and licenses advertisement and video use directly; a track outside its repertoire goes to the original publisher instead.
Does a dubbed brand video need the original performer’s permission?
Yes. Re-voicing a performance is a separate rights event from the shoot, covered by the performer’s neighbouring rights, administered in Japan through CPRA, the Center for Performers’ Rights Administration under Geidankyo. Terms are agreed with the performer’s side before the dubbing session is booked.
Should a brand video carry captions even where Japan’s broadcast accessibility rules do not apply?
It is worth matching broadcast practice even off-air. Once captioning became standard under Japan’s accessibility guideline, NHK’s general channel reached 100% of caption-capable hours and the five key commercial networks averaged 89.0%; a same-language caption track alongside the translated subtitles carries that same read-without-sound habit into feed placements.