Exporting Stone to Japan: A Professional Guide and Solutions

As a key architectural and decorative material, stone—encompassing marble, granite, limestone and other varieties—offers distinctive veining and outstanding physical properties. The global stone market is expanding steadily, with particularly strong demand in high-end construction and interior projects. Yet exporting stone to international markets involves intricate trade procedures: qualification certification, customs declarations, logistics coordination, foreign-exchange settlement and more. For many stone producers and traders, securing trade credentials and managing cross-border cash flow have become the critical hurdles to growing overseas business. Comprehensive Agency Services, a professional import-and-export provider, delivers end-to-end solutions that help clients break through qualification and capital bottlenecks, ensuring smooth stone exports.

Market Status and Trends

As a developed economy in Asia, Japan maintains a steady and high-quality demand for stone products. The specific demand characteristics of the Japanese market are as follows:

1. Strict Quality Standards：Japanese customers have extremely high quality requirements for stone products, with strict standards for dimensional accuracy, surface treatment, color consistency, and other aspects.
2. Environmental requirements: The Japanese market places great emphasis on environmental protection and imposes strict limits on the radioactivity and harmful-substance content of stone materials.
3. Customized requirements: Japanese architecture and renovation projects often require stone products in special specifications and with custom processing, featuring a high degree of customization.
4. Supply chain stability: Japanese customers value long-term, stable supply relationships and place high demands on supplier reliability.

Common pain points and considerations for companies entering the Japanese market:

1. Lack of import and export qualifications: Many stone-processing enterprises possess only production licenses and lack the right to conduct import and export operations on their own, so they cannot settle directly with Japanese clients in U.S. dollars.
2. Unfamiliarity with Japan’s market-access rules: including product standards, certification requirements, labeling regulations, etc.
3. Language and cultural barriers: language obstacles in business communication, contract negotiation, technical exchanges, and other areas.
4. Logistics and packaging requirements: Stone products are heavy and fragile, placing special demands on professional logistics and packaging.
5. Export tax refundComplex procedures: Stone exports are usually eligible for a 13%Export tax refund, but many companies are unfamiliar with the relevant procedures.

Main Process/Steps

The main procedures for exporting stone materials to Japan include the following steps:

1. Supplier Qualification Review and Product Preparation
   • Confirm that the supplier has stable production capacity and a quality management system.
   • Confirm product specifications and samples according to Japanese customer requirements
   • Conduct product quality inspections to ensure compliance with Japanese market standards.
   • Prepare product technical documentation, safety data sheets, and other documents.
2. Mandatory Certification and Compliance Preparation
   • Handle the radioactive testing report for stone products
   • If necessary, obtain Japanese JIS certification or a certificate of conformity.
   • Prepare the certificate of origin (Form A or Form R, depending on the trade agreement)
   • Confirm that product labels and packaging comply with Japanese regulatory requirements.
3. International logisticsarranged
   • Choose the appropriate mode of transportation (primarily sea freight, with air freight as a supplement).
   • Professional packaging design ensures that the stone remains undamaged during transportation.
   • Arrange trailer transport, container loading, and securing.
   • Purchase adequate transport insurance that covers the entire journey.
4. Exportedcustoms clearanceand tax treatment
   • Prepare a complete set of export customs declaration documents (invoice, packing list, contract, etc.)
   • File an export declaration and obtain customs release.
   • Core value of the comprehensive export agency service: Using our own qualifications to handle export procedures for clients, ensuring full compliance.
   • Comprehensive agency service’s core value: handle the entire export tax rebate process to ensure clients receive the full rebate amount.
5. Japan Import Customs Clearance and Delivery
   • Prepare the documents required for import into Japan (commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, etc.)
   • File the Japanese import declaration and pay the relevant customs duties and consumption tax.
   • Coordinate with the local customs clearance agent in Japan to ensure smooth release.
   • Arrange domestic transportation in Japan to deliver the goods to the designated location.
6. Settlement and Fund Management
   • Core value of the comprehensive agency service: using our qualifications and accounts to collect USD payments from Japanese clients.
   • Conduct foreign exchange settlement in accordance with the contract.
   • Pay RMB貨款 to domestic suppliers
   • Refund the export tax rebate to the customer

Cost breakdown

The main cost items for exporting stone materials to Japan are as follows:

Risks/Difficulties and the Comprehensive Agency Service Solutions

During the export of stone materials to Japan, the common risks and the comprehensive agency solutions are as follows:

1. Risk of customs delay
   • Potential causes: incomplete documentation, inaccurate product descriptions, incorrect classification, etc.
   • Integrated Agency Service Solution: an experienced customs-clearance team pre-audits every document to guarantee accuracy; maintains close communication with customs to resolve any issue promptly; and offers multilingual support to remove language barriers.
2. Product Quality and Compliance Risk
   • Potential causes: unstable stone quality, failure to meet Japanese standards, lack of necessary certifications, etc.
   • Integrated Agency Service Solution: Establish a rigorous quality-control system and conduct professional inspections before shipment; ensure all products meet Japanese market-access requirements; provide product-compliance consulting to prevent returns or destruction caused by non-compliance.
3. Risk of Payment
   • Potential causes: customer credit risk, foreign-exchange controls, settlement delays, etc.
   • Integrated Agency Service Solution:Use our qualifications and secure accounts to receive USD payments, solving the problem of clients lacking import-export qualifications.; Provide flexible settlement solutions; mitigate risks through secure payment methods such as letters of credit.
4. Cargo damage risks
   • Potential causes: improper packaging, vibration and impact during transit, improper handling during loading and unloading, etc.
   • Integrated Agency Service Solution: Provide professional stone-packaging solutions to ensure cargo safety; partner with seasoned logistics providers for end-to-end shipment monitoring; purchase comprehensive transport insurance to offer clients maximum protection.

Suitable types of enterprises

Our stone export services are especially suitable for the following types of companies:

• Stone processing and manufacturing enterprises: Factories that possess high-quality stone products and production capacity but lack international trade experience and qualifications.
• Trading companies without import-export rights: traders who have Japanese client resources but cannot directly receive USD or handle export tax rebates.
• Start-up stone export enterprises: stone companies that have just entered the international market and need comprehensive support.
• Brand owners focused on product development and the market: companies that want to concentrate their energy and resources on core business and outsource the trade process.
• Companies looking to reduce trade costs: stone-related businesses seeking to optimize supply chains and cash flow.

in conclusion

The Japanese stone market offers domestic suppliers a stable and high-value export opportunity. Yet, to succeed in this market, companies must tackle core issues such as trade qualifications and cross-border capital flows while navigating complex trade procedures and potential risks. As a professional import & export service provider, Zongdaifu does far more than deliver basic logistics and customs-clearance services; it solves clients’ most fundamental problems—“trade eligibility” and “cash flow.” Through our licensed platform, clients can legally receive payments in USD and obtain the full export tax rebate, truly maximizing profit. Choosing Zongdaifu means choosing a professional, reliable, all-round trade partner. Let us help your stone products enter the Japanese market smoothly and create business opportunities together.