Opening a Japanese bank account

Is there a reason a US resident cannot open a Japanese bank account? Our US based company wishes to sell on Amazon.com Japan. Amazon.com Japan requires a Japanese bank account. How can we open a Japanes bank account? We've tried just about everything we can thin of without any success.

I don't think I (Japan resident) can open a US bank account without having a valid address in the US - doesn't your company have a Japan branch/representative office in Japan? Otherwise it would not make sense to sell on amazon.co.jp (if that's what you mean). I think it makes a big difference in shipping charges and shipping time, so amazon.com/co.jp must be making a clear distinction between who sells on the US site and the Japan site.

The question is about our difficulty in opening a Japanese bank account bank account, not about the selling aspect. (We already sell on Amazon Germany, Amazon France and Amazon UK, so the answer doesn't really answer the question.)

Why don't you make an inquiry with Japanese banks who have branches in the US - such as Mizuho Corporate Bank, MSBC (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation) and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ?

From searching the internet it seems that your company may need a physical presence in Japan to open a corporate account. However, I would try contacting some of the larger banks in Japan directly for more information. Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ or Citibank Japan for example.

I also found a consultant company that offers to open Japanese corporate accounts for a fee:

http://www.healyconsultants.com/company-incorporation/japan-corporate-...