Black business courts the Japan market; penetrating this tough nationalistic market takes great products, great service and a great deal of perseverance.

JAPANESE CONSUMERS LOVE McDonald's teriyaki pork sausage sandwiches. Every day, they devour hundreds of thousands of them at the fast-food chain's 1,040 Japanese stores. But, do you think a single customer knows that one of the largest African-American-owned companies creates and exports the sandwich's main ingredient? It's true. Since 1990, Kenosha, Wis.-based Brooks Sausage Co. Inc. has earned millions of dollars selling its pork patties to Japanese-owned McDonald's Japan.

Maintaining this business takes time and effort, but not because of "Japanese racism." Frank B. Brooks, CEO of this $31.5 million BLACK ENTERPRISE 100s company, hasn't,t had a problem. The Japanese are discriminating customers all right--about their food. According to Brooks, before his patties were accepted he had to change their flavor, texture and weight to meet local tastes.

Did Brooks balk? No way. In 1989, his company did no Japanese business. Last year, $4.4 million of its total revenues were from Japan.

Despite being mired in recession and accused of maintaining trade barriers for select products, Japan is an ultra-appealing market of 124 million mostly middleclass consumers. Unfortunately, its appeal is not always apparent to African-American entrepreneurs. Heated debate over whether or not the Japanese dislike African-Americans has kept some from tapping into this growing market.

No one knows when Japanese and blacks first met. Portuguese ships with African crews landed in Japan in the 16th century. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry and his crew (which included free as well as indentured American blacks) forced his way in at cannon-point.

He also taught the Japanese to denigrate American blacks, according to black filmmaker Regge Life, who maintains a Tokyo residence. In his 1993 documentary, which was televised in Japan Struggle and Success: The African-American Experience in Japan, Life reveals that Perry entertained Japanese dignitaries with minstrel shows. Until a recent onslaught of black-produced art shows, movies and products, black images in Japan were primarily athletes, entertainers and criminals, not black entrepreneurs, scientists or working people.

Perhaps the overriding thing to factor into any discussion of racism in Japan is that to the Japanese every foreigner, whether black, brown, yellow or white is a gaijin or "outsider." There are 124 million Japanese--and only one million foreigners in Japan, the overwhelming majority of whom are Asian.

No one knows how many blacks live in Japan. But officers of the 13-year-old Japan Afro-American Friendship Association (JAFA)), a Tokyo-based group that builds bridges between the Japanese and a black community that includes non-Americans, estimate there may be 5,000 to 7,000 blacks (not counting military personnel) on an archipelago as long as the entire U.S. West Coast.

This lack of exposure has fueled some racist comments. In 1986, then Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said U.S. intelligence is low "because there are many blacks, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans." Two years later, Michio Watanabe, who later became foreign minister, said blacks did not repay debts. And in 1990, Justice Minister Seiroku Kajiyama compared prostitutes in a Tokyo district to "America when neighborhoods become mixed because blacks move in and whites are forced out."

Following each episode, African American delegations lodged protests, visited Japan and demanded (and received) apologies. Still, every black person I met during a visit to Japan last year called the remarks inexcusable. However, in several interviews, many black Tokyoites agreed that although some Japanese dislike blacks, such aggravation is trivial compared to the institutional racism in the United States.

Such comments encourage Kathryn D. Leary, founder of New York City-based Kathryn Leary Communications Inc., a firm which creates Japanese-black business links. "African-Americans must move beyond anger to the business reality," says Leary, publisher of the Japan-watch newsletter (See "Doing Business In Japan" sidebar). "If they succeed in the Japanese marketplace, it is the gateway to globalization."

Black entrepreneurs living in the world's second largest economy know this well. They chase profit, not dreams of diminished discrimination, because they see the 50 million Japanese people born since 1945 as well-heeled consumers Business Week magazine agreed, reporting recently that Japan's annual per capita income is over $50,000 for citizens between the ages of 40 and 49.

JAFA's recently created business and commerce group is currently compiling a directory of black-owned businesses in Japan. "There are buyers in Japan who have both the interest and capability to buy quality products and service, regardless of who the seller is," says JAFA president Iris Harvey, president of the Tokyo-based marketing firm Strategies & Solutions. "You just need the tenacity to work through the international trade issues [to make the sale]."

How do you investigate, penetrate and succeed in Japan? Can you do it alone or do you need a Japanese partner? Will trade barriers keep your products out? And, despite the positive comments, is being black actually a disadvantage?

Intent on addressing these questions, I spent 10 days in Japan last year meeting Japanese executives and African-American entrepreneurs. The trip was sponsored and paid for by the Japan External Trade Organization's (JETRO)) "Export to Japan Study Program." For 36 years, this nonprofit, government-related organization has promoted exports. Responding to growing complaints about Japan's global trade surplus of $237 billion over the last four years, JETRO has brought more than 700 foreign businesspeople and trade specialists to Japan--including at least 10 African-Americans--to teach them how to do business there.

It was not my first trip to Japan. Years ago, I lived there teaching English to executives of major Japanese trading companies.

Upon my return from this most recent trip, I interviewed U.S./Japanese experts and researched groups promoting Japanese business. The consensus: Success is possible. You need a quality product or service, the right introduction, competitive pricing, reliable service and patience. According to JETRO, it takes the average foreign company up to three years from initial meetings to begin making regular sales. Nevertheless, more blacks have succeeded than most people realize.

A Japanese Dream of Black Forms

Entrepreneurs who want to do business in Japan must be daring. In most countries there are few bolder businesspeople than farmers, who try to make a profit despite the vagaries of the weather. This fall, if the efforts of an 84-year-old Japanese man and three Keysville, Ga., brothers succeed, not only will one family make money but also, perhaps, America's dwindling ranks of black-owned farms may connect with a lucrative, hungry market. As you read this, Lucious Abrams Jr.,40, a third generation Georgia farmer, is hoping his second attempt to grow 50 acres of protein-packed soybeans (with a sugar and oil content the Japanese like) will take root, literally.

Everything depends on the weather. Last year, a drought ruined his chance to harvest 200 metric tons of soybeans that the Takana Foods Co. of Ibaraki, Japan, wanted to buy. But that's getting ahead of the story. Abrams was introduced to Japanese business through a series of fortuitous connections. They all began with then 83-year-old Seiho Tajiri, a Japanese-born retired oilman who had lived in America for over 40 years.

Tajiri says his friendship with and respect for American blacks began in San Francisco over 30 years ago. During the 1960s, he arranged for a major Japanese food company to provide the fish sold in the Nation of Islam's shops and restaurants. Thirty years later, Tajiri, an avid student of African-American issues, sees the decline of the black farmer and Japan's need for quality soybeans as a mutually beneficial business opportunity.

"The Japanese need soybeans desperately. The 30,000 Japanese tofu makers use 60,000 tons of soybeans each year and Japanese farmers do not grow soybeans anymore. I am 84 and may only have a few years left," says Tajiri. "I want to make black farmers wealthy by [introducing] them to this business."

These are not an old man's idle comments. Tajiri has the personal and business connections in Japan to make things happen. In fact, Abrams met Tajiri through Grady Sampson, a University of Georgia agricultural extension agent. Tajiri, a close friend of the president of Takana Foods, had arranged for its representatives to visit Georgia to meet local farmers and test the soil for growing soybeans used in making tofu, soy sauce and miso paste for soup.

The soil was perfect but the first crop fell victim to 1993's record drought. Realizing that this disaster was beyond the farmers, control, Takana renewed its contract with Abrams. If the new crop grows according to schedule, Abrams expects to harvest it in September and be paid by early October. Already looking for additional business in Japan, Abrams has worked out the logistics of getting the beans there. A shipping broker will take care of the beans, secure the letters of credit and bills of lading needed to transfer goods internationally, and receive payment.

A successful sale should be lucrative for Abrams and America's other black farmers. Although reluctant to discuss soybean prices, Abrams says a figure between $125,000 and $150,000 for 200 metric tons is reasonable. "The problem with [U.S. commercial] farming, is that your price is set by the Chicago Board of Trade," Abrams explains. "If we can work this Japanese business] out, it will supply us with a crop that allows us to pay for our cost of production and get a profit."

Not only that, but if Japanese food companies get a taste for Abrams, crops, there may also be markets for other black farmers, soybeans, corn and wheat--which were among Japan's top 20 imports in 1993. At least, that is the dream of Japanese/African-American amity and business shared by Seiho Tajiri and Lucious Abrams.

Where There's Smoke, There's Profits

Unlike Abrams, most small entrepreneurs lack multinational corporate connections. So how do they get to Japanese customers? In America, you make cold calls to sell your product or service. No one in Japan does that. But a foreign business can place its product or service in the marketplace using a Japanese trading firm or distributor able to hurdle barriers a gaijin won,t see.

Theodore A. Adams III knows that lesson pays off. Two years ago, Adams, president and CEO of Woodbridge, Va.based Pyrocap International Corp., began uniting his international business vision with the savvy and contacts of a respected Japanese trading company. Now Pyrocap, which makes a U.S. patented, environ mentally safe fire retardant, is on the verge of multimillion dollar sales.

The initial links were accidental. At an international trade seminar in early 1992, Adams met a Virginia economic development official who told him about JETRO, which has offices across the United States. Adams, who received his M.B.A. from UCLA and studied Mandarin in Hong Kong, was intrigued.

Soon after the meeting, he sent JETRO New York a business plan and a detailed analysis of why he thought Pyrocap B- 136 would sell in Japan. After personal interviews, JETRO selected Adams to participate in the program that year.

During the first week of his visit, he and 50 colleagues from America and other countries attended full-day seminars on Japanese cultural norms, the market climate and business practices. Lecturers included JETRO personnel and American and European businessmen from foreign firms already in Japan. After the semmars, the group visited Osaka and a Japanese corporation.

Prior to the trip, JETRO and each attendee created a wish list of Japanese firms that could be interested in his or her service or product. JETRO's strength is its ability to ensure that the company and its selected representative are amenable to hearing business pitches from JETRO participants .

Adams, who traveled to each meeting with a JETRO-supplied translator, received his best response from Cornes & Co. Ltd., a 130-year-old Japanese trading firm. In a land of wooden buildings, extreme population density and a history of earthquakes, Cornes was attracted to the idea of an environmentally safe, fire-extinguishing chemical foam. Adams, however, was taking no chances. To safeguard his product, he left his B-136 at home and limited discussion to its capabilities, not its makeup. When he left, Cornes had promotional literature, a videotape of B-136's fire-extinguishing capability and a great deal of curiosity.

No promises were made, but Cornes was clearly interested. First, it sent representatives to Anaheim, Calif., to see B-136 used in demonstrations. Adams then flew to Tokyo to begin serious discussions with Cornes and two of the potential distributors. Much to Adams' surprise, within 90 days of their first meeting, Cornes offered Pyrocap a long-term distribution contract and a purchase agreement to ensure its exclusive relationship.

What drove Cornes, quick decision? Pyrocap makes a product that Japan needs. But potential does not equal acceptance. Last year, when I met Hisashi Kusumi, general manager of Cornes, aviation and special products division at its Tokyo headquarters, he claimed that Pyrocap's performance and scientific validation would close the deal.

In America and other countries where B-136 is sold, fire departments have made purchases based on demonstrations and fire department testimonials alone. The Japanese attitude is different, says Adams. "They want to see the numbers on how and why the fire went out."

Pyrocap passed muster by January 1994. Versar Inc., a Virginia-based independent laboratory, found B-136 absorbs heat up to 20 times faster than water and quickly neutralizes toxins and smoke. The $75,000 test satisfied Cornes and is now part of Pyrocap's advertising message.

Cornes expects B- 136 to set a new standard for firefighting products. It has already arranged tests in the cities of Kyoto, Kawasaki and Yokahama, and intends to bring Detroit firefighters who use B-136 over to do demonstrations. In October 1994, B-136 will be highlighted at a Tokyo international firefighting equipment trade fair and, if Japan's capital city starts buying, most Japanese cities will follow suit. Due to competitive factors, neither Cornes nor Adams will reveal how much B-136 he sells to Cornes.

Adams, advice for exporter wannabes: Assume you don,t have enough capital and find more. Remember that many foreign companies fail because they don,t do enough research on how their service or product fits in Japan. And, if you do make your business in Japan, do everything properly. Because if you do it right and you do it first, you may get to do it exclusively.

Adams won't project his 1994 sales figures, but business is growing. Recently, he opened Saudi Pyrocap which sells B-136 in Saudi Arabia, and Pyrocap International Bermuda Ltd., which distributes it in the Caribbean; he just returned from demonstrating B-136 handheld extinguishers in Dubai. Another sign of his faith is the fact that he took Pyrocap public last December. It is traded on the American Stock Exchange (under symbol PYR) and, if Japanese fire departments start buying this fall, Pyrocap will get much hotter, real fast.

There Are No Small Errors in Japan

No one needs to convince Frank Brooks. His multimillion dollar experience selling pork sausage patties has convinced him that when the Japanese start buying, they don,t fool around.

But if you think his export division is on automatic, forget doing business in Tokyo. The Northwestern University finance major, who has an M.B.A. from the Chicago-based Keller School of Business, says that the effort involved in satisfying a Japanese customer is neither easy nor ever finished. At the minimum, the Japanese make you "overwrite and overcommunicate," he says. "Any complaint they make, you need to respond to immediately. I mean right away!"

The situations that Brooks deals with, while particular to his business, illustrate general issues facing foreign entrepreneurs. During his five-year relationship with the purchasing representatives of McDonald's Japan--which is owned by businessman Den Fujita in a joint venture arrangement with the American parent company--Brooks has enjoyed three major advantages:

* McDonald's Japan's advice (they came to him with the suggestion he sell specially prepared pork patties);

* exclusive rights to make the patties;

* direct distribution as a prime supplier to a chain (Brooks does not need a Japanese go-between or distributor)

Despite his connections and these advantages, Brooks still was forced to transform his business to keep Fujita happy. First, he had to get hte parent McDonald's corporation to allow him to make larger, heavier patties for the Japanese sandwiches, Next, he charged the meat's flavor by adding soy sauce and other spices and taking out monosodium glutamate which Japanese customs regulation prohibit. When Fujita's people complained about one bone chip in 12 million pounds of meta, Brooks demanded his supplier upgrade his qualtiy control And once, When Japan found a four-cent error in a bill, he overhauled his billing system.

Does Brooks, who travels to Japan on business annually, think Fujita makes demands of him because he is black? No. He explains, "They are loyal customers but they are tough. A four-cent error on a bill to them is not an issue of the four cents but indicates an erro in the system." The Japanese, he syas, care more aobut his firm's total qualtiy management system than about hte color of his skin. "I know it is hard for some [Japanese] to comprehend that I am in the role I'm in," he adds. "But they probably don't have many relationship with minority firms of this size."

The bottom line, of course, is what were these changes worth? Judge for yourself. In 1993, 40% of Brooks, business was international and 35% of that was Japanese. Of Brooks, total revenues of $31.5 million, roughly $4.4 million came from Japan.

Making Dough in Tokyo

The crosscutting of business and personal relationships these entrepreneurs have found is not atypical. Japanese banks and corporations are intermeshed to complex--and to Western minds--almost incestuous degrees. Japan's multilayered distribution system, which some gaijttl mistakenly think was set up to keep foreign goods out, actually ensures that Japanese middlemen and storekeepers all get a slice of business. Japan is internally a nation of small shop owners presenting a multinational corporate face to the world. And the links holding on the mask are the close business--read personal--relationships developed over lunches and many, many long evenings of eating and drinking.

Kyle Sexton knows this system well. And it has helped him make a lot of dough--the essential ingredient in his bakery's pies and cakes--the old-fashioned way: through hard kneading and careful planning. He also has benefited from the Japanese tradition of mixing business with friendship.

Last year, Kyle's Good Finds, a small two-year-old shop in Tokyo's Nakano district, posted revenues of 10.5 million yen or $98,000 (at an exchange rate of 107 yen per dollar); in other words, 10% more than his first year's sales. Not bad for a one-baker operation the size of an efficiency apartment. Sexton s success reflects the Japanese consumers, willingness to buy foreign goods--pumpkin pies, carrot cakes, brownies--not created to appeal tO their traditional taste in sweets. The idea works. Some customers, Sexton says, tell him they "can smell America in his cakes."

But that's only half the story. The crucial ingredient Sexton used to make his business rise was the yeast of personal relationships. He says it all began to come together in New York City in 1981, after he visited his first Japanese restaurant and "woke up the next morning wanting to learn everything about Japan." Three years and hundreds of sushi dinners later, Sexton, then 25, arrived in Tokyo with $300 and a list of names of friends of the Japanese he met while hanging out in New York Japanese bars and taking classes on its culture.

His new friends in Tokyo gave him a place to stay and a way to make a living. The former photo finisher and graduate of the Rhode Island School of Photography did what many young Americans do. He taught English.

During the next five years, the five-foot-10-inch, 195-pound Pennsylvanian taught privately and in the public schools. He also made cakes for friends as gifts until one suggested he sell them. After that, he says, "I carried cakes practically all over Tokyo."

By 1991, Sexton considered opening a bakery. He and his Japanese wife had three million yen ($21,000) saved, but he thought as a gainst with little collateral he would be unable to get a Japanese bank loan or he would need a local partner. Instead, his dad lent him $7,000. Then three Japanese friends lent him three million yen ($21,000) and helped find him a shop to rent (for 137,000 yen or $1,280 per month) and a contractor.

The catch? None. Sexton's friends, he says, consider the money a loan, not an investment. They refuse to accept interest or to set a repayment date. Trying to explain this, Sexton, who has repaid two million yen so far, says that in Japan "relationships are very important. My friends know I am going to stay here indefinitely. This is my home."

Is his situation unusual? Yes and no. There will always be a few Japanophiles like Sexton who will settle in another culture and reap its benefits. But, as Harvey, Brooks, Adams and Abrams also found out, if you have a product the Japanese want, and friends, clients or customers who trust you, business that was once unimaginable may occur.

But don't be fooled. Not everything about Japanese business has been sweet as icing for Sexton. He has had mixed success with Japan's distribution system, a multilayered structure controlling pricing and goods dispersal. Sexton buys most of his eggs, butter and sugar from Japanese wholesalers at reasonable prices. It is the odd item that costs more. He saves 60% off the Japanese price by buying his aluminum foil directly from a Hong Kong wholesaler. But he doesn,t always get a break. Recently he started making cherry pies. Rather than buy the cherries in Japan, he tried to get them from a particular Oregon source. He says, "I did not know they had an exclusive arrangement [as Cornes does with Pyrocap for B-136] with a Japanese wholesaler and would not sell to me. They gave me the name of the Japanese."

The offer of the name was important. Sexton says that without a proper introduction it is difficult to meet a product's distributor, and if you don,t have the wholesale distributor's okay no one else will sell to you. "The term exclusive arrangement," he says, "really means cutting out competition."

While setting cookie rows, as an NBA game played on Armed Forces Radio in the background, Sexton said he is certain other blacks can succeed in Japan. They just have to remember to research the culture not just the market in order to spot business niches; provide quality goods and service to every customer, every day; and realize sincerity is a crucial component in all dealings with the Japanese.

As Sexton and all our entrepreneurs have discovered, if trust is achieved in Japan, good things follows.

DOING BUSINESS IN JAPAN

African-Americans who want to succeed in Japan need every bit of pertinent information they can get. The following sources will help you to compete in the world's second-largest economy.

U.S. and Japanese Organizations:

* Embassy of Japan, 2520 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008; 202-939-6700. Can provide information on life in Japan.

* Assist International Trade Promotion and Consulting Group, 60 Madison Ave., 2nd ft., New York, NY 10010; 212-725-3311. Publishses a biweekly newsletter, Global Glimpses, listing trade fairs, newsletters, conferences and organizations.

* The Japan External Trade Organization  (JETRO) is a nonprofit, government-sponsored group created to promote international trade. JETRO has offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and Denver as well as senior trade advisers in 19 other cities. It maintians a database of 11,000 U.S. and Japanese companies, a trade consulting service and selects U.S. businesspeople to go to Japan on 10-day study programs. Contact JETRO New York, 1221 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10020; 212-997-0400.

* National Minority Business Council Inc. (NMBC) 235 East 42nd St., New York NY 10017; 212-573-2385. The NMBC fosters business and publishes a newsletter NMBC Business Report.

* Teikoku Databank America Inc. offers credit records of 200,000 Japanese companies in English. For information, call 212-486-2637.

* VentureLink USA, 13101 Washington Blvd., Suite 242, Los Angeles, CA 90006; 800-697-LINK; fax: [phone]. For a fee, Venture Link USA provides partnering information and support services to companies trying to enter Japan and the Pacific Rim. It has a database of more than 100,000 subscriber companies.

* The Japan Foundation, a nonprofit organization, promotes international cultural exchange. For more information, 212-489-0299 or 310-449-0027.

* The Japan Scoeity is a nonprofit organization that sponsors seminars on economic, social and cultural issues. 333 East 47th St., New York, NY 10017; 212-832-1155. Annual dues begin at $45.

* There are two African-American organizations in Tokyo. The older group is the Japan Afro-American Friendship Association (JAFA), Iris E. Harvey, president, A-Z Heights 203, 61-119 Chuo, Kasukabe, Saitama-Ken, Japan 344; 011-813-3713-0812; fax: [phone]. JAFA has a business and commerce group and publishes a quarterly newsletter. The newer group is the African American Association in Japan, 3-45-11-101 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150; 011-813-3440-0571.

* Japanese African-American Friendship Association (JAFRA). Founded by a JAFA member living in Atlanta, it seeks to foster cross-cultural connections in the United States; 404-753-3651.

Business Seminars on Japan:

* Pacific Rim Management Programs feature political and business speakers. Call 213-740-7132 for further information.

Information Your Taxes Have Purchased:

* Export-Import Bank of the United States (EX-IM), 811 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20571. After October 1, up to 90% of a bank loan can be backed up by EX-IM's Working Capital Guarantee program. Call 800-424-5201 for details.

* The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers loans for exporters to fill select foreign orders through the Export Revolving Line of Credit. Call your local SBA office for details.

* U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration Trade Information Center, Room 7424. Herbert C. Hoover Bldg., 14th St. and Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20230; 800-USA-TRAD. This agency offers counselling to U.S. businesses on federal export programs.

* U.S. Department of Commerce, Japan Export Information Center. Just what it sounds like; 202-482-2425.

* Catalog of Publications and Subscriptions for Business. Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402; 202-783-3238. This catalog has a selection on export/import brochures.

* Every state has an export assistance office. Check the government section of your local phone book.

* XPORT, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey program helps create links with Japanese organizations such as JETRO; 212-435-3248. * Global New York: ATLAS (Automated Trade Leads Access System). Quick and inexpensive access to markets and buyers around the world provided by the New York State Department of Economic Development; 212-827-6200.

Language Aids:

Plan to study Japanese? Check out the following most of which can be ordered through Kinokuniya Books; 212-765-1461 or 415-567-7625:

* Japanese: The Spoken Language, Yale University Press. Three-volume set: $62.

* The Nihongo Journal publishes articles in practical Japanese. Audiotapes for each issue are available. Six months: $65.70.

* Hyperglot Software offers Easy Kata Kana, $199, which on Macintosh systems teach how to pronounce Japanese written symbols.

Publications:

* Kodansha International is a key publisher of Japanese books in English on many subjects. For catalog, call 212-727-6460.

* The Japan Company Handbook is a business bible. The two volume set, $120, is published quarterly by Toyo Keizai America Inc.; 212-949-6737.

* Japan Economic Almanac, $59.50, is the Japanese business yearbook. It is published by Nihon Keizai Shimbun America Inc.; 212-261-6200.

* Facts & Figures Nippon, $10, from JETRO, reports on the latest trade statistics.

* Nikkei Address Book of Japanese Companies in the U.S. and Canada; free with a subscription to Nikkei Weekly. Nihon Keizai Shimbun America Inc.; 212-261-6200.

* Trade and Investment in Japan: The Current Environment by A.T. Kearney Inc.; American Chamber of Commerce in Japan; paperback; $75. Fax your order to: 011-8113-3436-1446. This book, published in 1992, examines 30 Japanese business sectors and industries.

* Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business by Boye Lafayette DeMente; NTC Publishing Group, Lincolnwood (Chicago), Ill. $14.95; 708-679-5500.

* How To Do Business With the Japanese: A Complete Guide to Japanese Customs and Business Practices by Boye Lafayette DeMente; NTC Publishing Group, Lincolnwood (Chicago), Ill. $17.95; 708-679-5500.

* JapanWatch, published monthly by Kathryn Leary Communications Inc., tracks opportunities in Japan and the Pacific Rim for Africa-Americans. 15 West 26th St., 7th floor, New York, NY 10010; 212-683-7790, fax [phone]. Annual subscription: $74.

* Export Today is a monthly magazine which focuses on international business. P.O. Box 28189, Washington, D.C. 20038; $49 per year.

* Venture Japan: The Journal of Strategic Alliances is a quarterly focusing on creating access to Japanese capital. $72. Call 203-222-9734.

* Check out your local university library for issues of now defunct Business Tokyo. Published between 1989 and 1992, it was full of contacts and ideas.

Since 1990, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has brought more than 700 foreign businesspeople and trade officials to Japan on 10-day all-expenses-paid study programs to teach them about business in Japan and to set up internviews with possbile partners, importers or distributors.

For those of you too busdy to fly to Japan, here is a distilled version of JETRO's tips:

* Learn as much about Japan's interlocked social and business culture as possible.

* Remember, most foreign companies take between one to three years to penetrate the Japanese market and achieve steady sales.

* Use Japanese databased to find who you want to see before you arrive. There are growing numbers of niches for housig, leisure and elderly care products.

* No one makes "cold calls" on customers in Japan. You may need to find a local distributor, joint venture partner or a licenser to enter a particular market.

* Prepare statistical data to support your product's value. Personal testimonials are unacceptable in Japan.

* There are no trivial customer requests in Japan. Servicing customers will require your complete commitment.

* Contact the U.S. Department of Commerce to find out where to get a federal export license. Your state license is not accepted in Japan.

For more information on the export to Japan study program contact JETRO New York at 1221 Ave. of the Americas, New Yor, NY 10020; 212-997-0400.