Published 2026-07-22
Quick answer: put a written NDA in place with Japanese suppliers before you share drawings, even though copying risk in Japan is comparatively low. Low risk is not the same as no agreement. Be specific about what is confidential rather than using a generic template, settle tooling and mould ownership in the same breath because that is the clause people forget, and register any right that genuinely matters in Japan itself, since rights are territorial. Verify the company is real before any of this, because an NDA with an entity that does not exist protects nothing.
Lower than in many sourcing destinations, and worth being accurate about why. Japan has strong enforcement norms and a business culture in which a supplier competing directly against its own customer is unusual and reputationally costly. Long supplier relationships are the commercial norm, and that alignment does more practical work than any contract clause.
That is a reason to feel reasonably comfortable, not a reason to skip the paperwork. Risk is not only about deliberate theft. Drawings get reused internally, a subcontractor sees your design, an employee moves, or a supplier builds something similar for another customer without ever intending to harm you. A written agreement is what makes the boundary explicit.
Generic templates are weak because they define confidential information so broadly that the obligation becomes vague. Be specific.
Have it in both English and Japanese. A supplier who cannot fully read the document is not meaningfully agreeing to it, and a bilingual version signals seriousness.
This is the clause buyers forget, and it causes more real disputes than design theft.
Paying for a mould, a die or a jig does not automatically give you the right to take it elsewhere. Settle in writing who owns it, where it is stored, who maintains it, what happens if it wears out, and whether it can be transferred to another manufacturer. Do this before the tool is cut, not when the relationship is ending.
Note also the practical limit: a tool built to run on one supplier's machines may need modification to run on another's, so ownership on paper and portability in practice are different things. Ask both questions.
If the design or invention is genuinely core to your business, yes, and do it before you disclose it. Intellectual property rights are territorial, so protection you hold in your own country does not automatically extend to Japan.
The order of operations matters. Public disclosure before filing can compromise your ability to protect an invention. If you are considering a patent or a design registration, take advice before you send drawings out. For most buyers of ordinary machined or moulded parts this is unnecessary, but for a novel product it is the difference between owning something and having merely made it.
An agreement is only as good as the entity that signed it. Before you send anything, confirm the company is a genuine registered business: check the 13 digit corporate number, confirm the registered address is a real place of business, and make sure the entity named in the NDA is the entity you are actually dealing with. Our verification guide covers this, and you can check any name with the verification tool.
Watch one specific trap. If you are dealing with a trading company rather than the factory, the NDA may bind the intermediary while the manufacturer who actually receives your drawings is not a party to anything. Ask who will physically hold the drawings and make sure they are covered, as our guide on trading companies versus manufacturers explains.
Yes, before sharing drawings or specifications. Copying risk in Japan is comparatively low, but an NDA makes the boundary explicit, covers subcontractors who will see your design, and costs very little relative to the exposure.
Usually, though they may want it reviewed, translated or amended, and a large company may prefer its own form. Provide a bilingual version, keep the terms reasonable, and expect the review to take time rather than reading delay as reluctance.
Only whoever your written agreement says. Paying for a tool does not automatically grant the right to remove it. Agree ownership, storage, maintenance and transferability before the tool is built, and ask separately whether it can physically run on another manufacturer's machines.
No. Intellectual property rights are territorial, so protection must be sought in Japan for it to apply there. Take advice before disclosing, because public disclosure ahead of filing can compromise your ability to protect an invention.
Consider where you would actually enforce it. A Japanese counterparty may prefer Japanese law, and an agreement enforceable where the supplier's assets sit is often worth more in practice than one that looks more favourable but would be difficult to act on.
This guide is general information for overseas buyers and is not legal advice. Intellectual property and contract law vary by jurisdiction; take qualified advice before relying on any agreement.
Use the company verification tool to check any Japanese company by name.