By OPTI Inc on Sep 16, 2026, 1:50:46 AM
PIVOT's program "& questions" invites leading figures from notable companies and projects for in-depth discussions on key themes. In this episode, titled "The New Normal in Global E-Commerce: What is Tax Technology?", OPTI's Aki Fuchigami and Shopify Japan's Ena Kumazawa discuss the topic.
▼ Whitepaper: Using Tax Technology in Cross-Border E-Commerce
https://bit.ly/4ebnYCl
▼ Chapters
00:00 Digest
00:56 Opening
04:52 Cross-Border E-Commerce
14:16 International Indirect Tax
22:18 Tax Technology
34:46 The Future of E-Commerce
Speakers
Akatsuki (Aki) Fuchigami
Founder, Representative Director & CEO, OPTI Inc.
After studying at a university in the United States, Fuchigami worked on European sales subsidiary management at a major semiconductor manufacturer and on financial product structuring and sales at an overseas financial institution, before establishing the tax strategy division at a European tax strategy consulting firm. In 2010, he spun out with colleagues to found OPTI Inc. He has provided tax advisory services and authored tax-related articles for organizations including Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). He has advised numerous global companies on tax matters, tax risk analysis, tax filing, tax technology implementation, and e-invoicing, and has spoken at numerous seminars. He has also introduced leading overseas technologies — including D&B Hoovers — to Japan, and has experienced multiple company exits.
Ena Kumazawa
Partnerships Manager, Shopify Japan K.K.
After launching overseas brands in Japan at a fashion trading company, Kumazawa built an e-commerce business on Shopify at the UK beverage maker innocent drinks. At Shopify, she leads partnerships to expand the Shopify ecosystem in Japan.
Summary: The Growth of Cross-Border E-Commerce and the Importance of "Tax Technology"
1. The Current State and Drivers of Cross-Border E-Commerce Growth
The global shift toward D2C (Direct to Consumer) is accelerating, with a growing number of companies selling directly overseas through their own websites.
- Market size: The market is projected to reach approximately 8 trillion US dollars (roughly 1,200 trillion yen) by 2030.
- Three reasons Japanese companies are entering the market:
- Yen depreciation: Improved price competitiveness in overseas sales.
- Shrinking domestic market: The need for risk diversification and foreign currency earnings.
- Renewed appreciation of Japanese value: Growing soft power around anime, content, and traditional crafts (for example, Tsuchiya Kaban's school satchels becoming popular as an adult fashion item).
2. The Biggest Barrier: The Complexity of International Indirect Tax
The biggest obstacle to cross-border e-commerce is that tax rules (VAT, sales tax, etc.) vary completely by country and region.
- Complexity of the rules:
- United States: Combinations of state, county, and city taxes create roughly 300 million possible tax patterns, spanning around 14,000 jurisdictions.
- EU: Sales of digital content can trigger filing obligations even for very small amounts.
- Risk: Unknowingly failing to file can lead to penalties later, including back taxes and even criminal liability.
- Japan's challenge: Because Japan's consumption tax is uniform and simple, staff at Japanese companies often struggle to imagine how complex overseas tax can be, and countermeasures tend to lag behind.
3. The Solution: What is "Tax Technology"?
"Tax technology" refers to technology that automates and streamlines complex tax management using IT.
- Key functions:
- Automatic calculation: Instantly calculates the correct local tax rate and displays it at checkout, increasing buyer confidence.
- Automatic filing and management: Sends data to tax authorities in each country and issues invoices.
- The rise of e-invoicing:
- Around the world, "e-invoicing" — sending transaction data to authorities in real time to prevent tax evasion and improve efficiency — is becoming standardized, with global standardization expected around 2030.
4. The OPTI–Shopify Partnership
- Shopify: An e-commerce platform used in more than 175 countries, supporting multiple languages and currencies, with strengths in building direct-to-consumer e-commerce sites.
- OPTI: A "tax technology" company supporting tax matters in more than 170 countries worldwide.
- OPTI provides end-to-end support — from tax registration to filing and technology implementation — faster and more affordably than major audit firms.
- OPTI integrates with cart systems such as Shopify to automate back-end tax processing.
5. Recommendations for Success
- Let go of the "do it all in-house" mindset: Handling complex international tax matters purely with internal manpower is nearly impossible. Companies should rely on experts and tools.
- Start small and iterate (PDCA): Don't spend too much time researching — start small and gather data.
- Connect with inbound tourism: Building awareness of products among visitors to Japan, then converting them into repeat customers through cross-border e-commerce after they return home, is an effective strategy.
Summary
Cross-border e-commerce is being propelled forward by yen depreciation and the popularity of Japanese brands, but tax compliance can become a hidden pitfall. Rather than trying to solve this manually, the key to success is to combine a global platform like Shopify with tax technology like OPTI's to achieve full automation.
