The Foundation of The Agent-S

Bridging the Standard Gap As An Owner’s Representative

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I originally worked at a typical Japanese real estate brokerage, where I was involved in brokerage work on both the seller side and the buyer side. At that time, I handled only transactions between Japanese clients. Later, after moving to another company, I began providing support for overseas buyers purchasing real estate in Japan.

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As I responded to inquiries and requests from overseas, I began to notice that in many cases, buyers were trying to proceed with a purchase without first conducting the research and planning that are necessary when real estate purchase is viewed as one phase of a project. Before purchasing real estate, various types of information must be organized, including systems, administrative rules, local conditions, and the feasibility of business use.

Although this preliminary research is extremely important, it is not easy for overseas buyers. In addition to the language barrier, there are many other hurdles.

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For this reason, I started TheYUI as a service focused primarily on preliminary research, information gathering, and analysis for real estate projects.

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In the work I handle, communication is required not only with real estate brokers, but also with construction companies, building-related professionals, administrative offices, administrative scriveners, judicial scriveners, and many other professionals, as well as with local community members.

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Through these interactions and through supporting overseas clients, I came to strongly recognize the existence and influence of the difference between the “operating systems installed” in Japan and overseas.

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This OS difference is the true barrier. It is not merely a surface-level difference, such as paperwork, contract methods, procedures, or administrative systems. I came to feel strongly that it exists at a much deeper level.

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Unspoken rules, methods of communication and negotiation, values that prioritize relationships, and the ways in which information is conveyed and received all differ greatly between Japan and overseas. The very standards that form the foundation of business are significantly different.

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This tendency is especially strong in relation to kominka. Many of the architects, designers, construction companies, and carpenters I work with in the kominka field have a very strong craftsman-like mindset, making this an area where the Japanese OS appears especially clearly.

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It became clear that language support, or simply explaining Japanese systems and procedures, cannot bridge this OS gap. Then the question became: how should this difference be addressed?

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From the moment I began to ask this question, the essence of my service was no longer simple English-language support.

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However, I also gradually came to realize that TheYUI, which supports the upstream phase of a project, and support during the purchase phase were not enough at all.

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I sometimes provide consulting and individual advice to Japanese real estate companies and real estate agents regarding how to work with overseas clients. I also receive consultations from construction companies and carpenters, and I hear various perspectives from administrative offices, management companies, and other professionals.

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What becomes visible through this is the reality that problems are far from rare, even when overseas-client support services, interpreters, or English-speaking real estate agents are involved. Of course, problems in business and practical work can occur even between Japanese parties. However, troubles involving overseas clients often involve issues that would not arise between Japanese parties, and the reality is that these problems have not been reduced very much even when existing support services are involved.

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In many cases, the cause lies in a lack of understanding of Japanese culture and industry practices, or in support being limited to language assistance or only certain practical tasks.

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In the first place, many cultural elements that Japanese people naturally understand, such as social norms, the boundaries between different professional fields, communication manners, and taboos, differ greatly from those of overseas clients. There is also a significant difference in the quality and amount of information available. For this reason, a gap between overseas clients’ expectations and the realities of Japan already exists at the entry point.

For overseas clients, acquiring, repairing, and utilizing real estate in Japan means carrying out a real estate project in a foreign country.

As I came to feel the weight of what this undeniable fact truly means, I began to think that overseas clients need not only a liaison who can bridge cultural gaps, but also an owner’s representative who can support their project in Japan from the upstream phase.

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In Japan, owner’s representatives or liaisons who stand on the overseas client’s side and fulfill this role are almost nonexistent, due to corporate and business structures.

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Even when services with similar names exist, they often only provide English-language support or separately support practical tasks in each phase of a project, and in many cases they are insufficient for bridging cultural gaps.

Through these various experiences and realizations, the current form of The Agent-S has evolved into an owner’s representative service with a liaison function.

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The Agent-S fully supports overseas clients who accept the fact that this is a real estate project in a foreign country and are willing to face that reality seriously.