Influencer Marketing Agency in Japan, Working in English

In short

S&U is a Japanese influencer marketing agency, based in Nagoya, that runs campaigns inside Japan for overseas brands and for the agencies representing them. Roughly 90% of the staff are Japanese nationals and all of them work in English, so a client briefs in English while the creator writes, films and posts in Japanese. The agency has nine creators signed directly, a network of more than 1,200 across Japan, and has delivered over 200 PR videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Reporting comes back in English with CPM, CVR, retention and view-through.

Based in: Nagoya, Japan
Works with: Overseas brands and overseas agencies
Working language: English, end to end
Platforms: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube
First reply: Typically within one hour, JST business hours
Proposal: Shortlist, concept and quote within two working days

Where campaigns in Japan usually stall

Four places this normally goes wrong.

Rarely because the brief was weak. Usually because the market runs on defaults that aren't written down anywhere.

Cold outreach goes unanswered.

An unknown foreign sender is filed, not refused.

Thirty emails, four replies is a normal hit rate here. Most Japanese creators have no one whose job it is to read English enquiries, so an unknown foreign sender is filed rather than refused.

English often stops at the inbox.

Reading English and negotiating in it are different skills.

Reading English and negotiating in it are different skills. Rates, usage rights and on-set decisions are where a thread in English usually stalls.

Translated Japanese reads as an advertisement.

Correct Japanese and persuasive Japanese are not the same thing.

Machine translation produces correct Japanese in the wrong register. Audiences here register the mismatch in about a second, and watch time falls with it.

Reporting arrives as a screenshot.

A screenshot is not a report.

Without CPM, CVR and retention in a format your client already reads, a campaign that worked is impossible to argue for a second time.

Why Japan behaves differently

Japan is a closed market — not by policy, but in practice. We work inside it.

The creators who move this market are largely absent from the global platforms. Rates are never published. Terms are agreed in Japanese, in a register of politeness that translation software does not reproduce.

So the question is rarely which platform to license. It is who can make the call in Japanese, and then account for it in English.

How we work

A Japanese agency, run in your language.

A Japanese team that works in English.

Contracts, briefs, weekly calls and reporting — all in English. No interpreter in the middle, and no overnight wait for an answer.

We're in Japan, and the creators are ours.

Nine creators signed to us and more than 1,200 in our network. Direct relationships, not a broker forwarding your email on.

The Japanese is written by Japanese creators.

We don't translate your script. We give the creator the strategy and let them say it the way their audience already hears them — then check it against your brand rules.

Numbers you can put in front of a client.

CPM, CVR, retention and view-through, plus a straight answer on what we would change next time. In English, on a schedule you can plan around.

Two ways to work with us

Whichever side you are on.

For brands

You have a product, and Japan hasn’t seen it yet.

We run the campaign end to end — casting, contracting, shooting, editing, posting, and an English report at the end. One team, one thread, one invoice.

Creator shortlist within two business days
Concept written in Japanese, explained in English
TikTok, Instagram and YouTube
200+ PR videos delivered to date

Brief us →

For agencies

Your client wants Japan. You don’t want an office here.

We work as your production partner on the ground. White label if you prefer — the client relationship stays yours from start to finish.

White label, your logo on the deck
Reporting formatted for your client
One contact, in English, replying within the hour
NDA before the first call if you need it

Talk to us →

Companies we've worked with

Trusted by AI and technology companies entering Japan.

Our roster includes Yuji Beleza, who works in 35+ languages and won the Best Cross-Culture Influencer Award at the Thailand Influencer Awards 2026, alongside our founder Ben Zain — together reaching more than 20 million followers.

Working with S&U compared with the usual routes into Japan
	Global platform	Local fixer	S&U
Reach among Japanese creators	Thin	Varies	9 signed, 1,200+ network
Language of the working relationship	English	Japanese	English
Who writes the Japanese	Translation	Creator	Creator
Reporting a client will accept	Dashboard export	Rarely	CPM, CVR, retention, in English
White label for agencies	No	Sometimes	Yes

HID屋

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NetEase / Passion Ark

Questions we are asked first

Before you send a brief.

Do you work in English, or do we need a translator?

Everything runs in English — contracts, briefs, weekly calls and reporting. About nine in ten of our staff are Japanese nationals and all of them work in English, so there is no interpreter in the middle and no overnight wait for an answer.

Can you work with us as an agency rather than direct with our client?

Yes. We act as your production partner in Japan and can deliver white label, under your name, with reporting formatted for your client. The client relationship stays yours. We will sign an NDA before the first call if you need one.

How do you choose which creators to use?

We cast from nine creators signed directly to us and a network of more than 1,200 across Japan. Because those are direct relationships rather than a marketplace listing, a yes from us is a confirmed yes. You get a shortlist within two working days.

Will the Japanese sound natural, or will it read as a translated advertisement?

We do not translate your script. We give the creator the strategy and let them write in their own voice, then check it against your brand rules before anything ships. Machine translation produces correct Japanese in the wrong register, and Japanese audiences notice that within about a second.

Which platforms do you cover?

TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, including vertical short-form video. We have delivered more than 200 PR videos to date.

What reporting do we get?

CPM, CVR, retention and view-through in English, plus a straight recommendation on what we would change next time — in a format you can put in front of a client.

How quickly do you reply?

Typically within one hour during Japanese business hours. A creator shortlist, a concept and a quote follow within two working days.

What does a campaign cost?

It depends on the creators, the number of videos and the usage rights you need. Send the product and the timing and you will have a quote within two working days.

Where are you based?

Nagoya, Japan. The company is S&U Co., Ltd., founded and led by Ben Zain, himself a creator with a following of over 1,000,000 across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

Influencer campaigns in Japan, run in English.