Invitations to tender are published at various locations. Most procuring entities nowadays operate webpages or even designated portal sites to post their tender notices, bidding results, and other relevant information. Also more and more institutions integrate their tender notices with online bidding infrastructure. Invitations to tender are also published in the Government Gazette (Kanpou) and local equivalents. The Gazette is available in paper form at various locations in Japan and also digitally accessible.

Tender invitations in English are limited to summaries attached to tenders falling under the WTO GPA framework. With a few exceptions, individual Japanese government entities do not operate procurement websites in English.

The Japanese government maintains a few web portals where English language tender information is gathered. Users should note that these sites do not cover the whole range of procuring entities and tender opportunities. For example, Information in English about tenders at the local level is difficult to access.

To stimulate participation of foreign companies, the Japanese central government has taken a number of voluntary measures. This includes longer periods to prepare a tender, but also early announcement of tenders at the start of each fiscal year.

Highlighted tenders

Tender notice portals

English language portalsJapanese language portalsJapan External Trade Organization (JETRO)Read more Direct linkGovernment Procurement Information WebsiteRead more Direct link 'Chotatsujoho' websiteRead more Direct link GEPS Government Electronic Procurement System...

Kankouju: ‘Public Agency Orders’ Tenders reserved for SMEs

Kankouju or ‘Public Agency Orders’ relates to the budget of public procurement spending reserved specifically for SMEs.  This earmarked budget is regulated by the Act on Ensuring Receipt of Orders from the Government and Other Public Agencies by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises established...

Early announcement of tenders

Early announcement of tenders is one of the voluntary measures taken by the Japanese government to facilitate access for foreign companies in the Japanese public procurement market. As early as possible at the beginning of the fiscal year, in the April-May period procurement of large-scale...

JTPP Tender Monitoring Service

Government institutions all over Japan publish thousands of calls for tender every day. Large Japanese companies often have designated staff who monitor the websites of the procuring entities interesting for their business activities. Foreign companies that are interested in supplying to...

Procurement info mailing lists

A number of national government organisations have established mailing list services to announce their calls for tender.  The mailing lists are almost exclusively in Japanese. Listed below are links to registration pages for procurement information mailinglists at a number of government organisations.

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