Makuake vs CAMPFIRE vs GREEN FUNDING: Which Japan Crowdfunding Platform Fits Your Product?

Short answer: Makuake, CAMPFIRE and GREEN FUNDING are all reward-based crowdfunding platforms that Japanese consumers use to back new products, but they suit different situations. Makuake is built around launching new products that aren't yet on general sale in Japan. CAMPFIRE covers a very wide range of project types and offers both all-or-nothing and keep-what-you-raise funding. GREEN FUNDING is gadget-heavy and connects campaigns with in-store displays at TSUTAYA locations. Each needs a Japan-based setup in practice (Makuake requires a Japanese page, Japanese support and delivery within Japan; CAMPFIRE requires a project owner with a Japanese address and bank account), so an overseas brand almost always needs a Japanese partner. Platform facts below come from each platform's own pages, checked on 6 October 2026.

How Japanese crowdfunding differs from Kickstarter

If you've run a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign, the basic mechanics will feel familiar: a campaign page, a funding goal, rewards for backers. A few differences matter for overseas brands, though.

• It's framed as buying, not donating. Makuake describes its model as 応援購入 (ōen kōnyū, "support purchase"): backers buy a new product early to support its launch. For a product brand, that means the campaign page has to explain the product as clearly as a good store listing would.
• It's domestic. Campaigns are written in Japanese for people in Japan. Makuake, for example, requires delivery within Japan and support in Japanese.
• You work with the platform. Makuake's help pages describe screening before a project is listed and a dedicated curator who works with the project owner. Expect a conversation with the platform, not a self-serve upload.
• The product must be legal to sell here. Certifications such as the PSE mark for many electrical products and technical conformity (giteki) for wireless devices apply to crowdfunded products too.

A successful Kickstarter campaign helps your story, but it doesn't transfer automatically. Japanese backers read a Japanese page, written for them.

The three platforms at a glance

The details, with each platform's own wording:

Sources: Makuake fees, Makuake funding models, Makuake products already on sale, Makuake overseas owners, CAMPFIRE fees (updated 10 March 2026), CAMPFIRE eligibility and overseas owners (both updated 26 February 2026), GREEN FUNDING. All are in Japanese.

Makuake

Makuake positions itself as a service for 応援購入 (support purchase) of new products and experiences. For product brands, the most important rule is that projects are, in principle, for products not yet on general sale. If your product is already on Amazon in Japan, talk to Makuake before planning around it.

Makuake offers both All or Nothing, where you receive funds only if you hit your goal and backers are refunded otherwise, and All in, where you keep what you raise but must deliver rewards regardless. Consultation and listing are free. The fee is charged on the money raised: 20% excluding tax, 22% including tax, with payment processing included.

Overseas-based owners can list, subject to screening, if they can:

• manage the project page in Japanese,
• support backers in Japanese,
• ship rewards within Japan only, and
• show the product has (or will have) the certifications required to sell it in Japan.

An English version of the page can be added alongside the Japanese one if agreed with the curator beforehand.

Good fit if: your product is new to Japan, you want the launch itself to be the news, and you have a Japanese partner for page management, support and fulfilment.

CAMPFIRE

CAMPFIRE hosts a very wide range of projects, from products and food to music, film and local initiatives. It offers both All-or-Nothing and All-in funding. Its published fee for project owners is 12% plus a 5% payment fee, plus consumption tax, charged when a project succeeds: reaching the goal under All-or-Nothing, or raising any amount under All-in.

CAMPFIRE is explicit about who can be a project owner: someone 18 or older with an address in Japan, a phone number, a Japanese bank account in their own name and government-issued ID. Overseas residents can't own a project directly, but a team member based in Japan can, and foreign companies may be considered individually.

Good fit if: you have a Japan-based partner or team member who can own the project, your product doesn't fit a gadget-first audience, or you want the flexibility of All-in funding.

GREEN FUNDING

GREEN FUNDING is part of the CCC Group, the company behind TSUTAYA. Its listings lean towards gadgets, audio, tech and design products. It uses All-or-Nothing funding, with no fee if a project misses its goal and 20% on the standard plan if it succeeds (a lower-rate plan with an upfront fee is also listed).

Its distinctive feature is physical: GREEN FUNDING runs "Touch & Try" displays where backers can see campaign products in person, at SHIBUYA TSUTAYA, Futakotamagawa Tsutaya Electrics+ (a showroom-style store for new technology products) and Umeda Tsutaya Books. It also offers materials in English, Chinese and Korean for overseas brands.

Good fit if: you have a gadget or design product that is much more convincing in the hand than on screen, and you want a physical presence during the campaign.

Do you need a Japanese company or partner?

In practice, yes. Makuake requires Japanese-language management and support and delivery within Japan; CAMPFIRE requires a project owner with a Japanese address and bank account. Add certification, import, consumption tax and after-sales support, and most overseas brands run Japanese campaigns with a local partner: an importer, a distributor or a specialist agency that handles operations.

Gloture's role is different. We handle the PR: the Japanese product story, the press release, outreach to Japanese media, a Modern-G feature and the coverage report. We don't run campaigns, hold stock or ship rewards.

Choosing a platform

Two more questions decide the practical side:

• Who will own the project and receive the funds? CAMPFIRE's requirements are the most explicit, so make sure your partner fits them.
• What happens after the campaign? Plan where Japanese customers will buy the product once the campaign closes. See Japan Sales Channels for Consumer Product Brands.

Where PR fits around a Japanese campaign

Crowdfunding and PR work best together, in three phases. The first days of a campaign shape how it looks to everyone who arrives later, so most of the work happens before launch.

If you work with creators during a campaign, remember Japan's 2023 stealth marketing rules: sponsored content must be identifiable as such, and the advertiser is responsible (Consumer Affairs Agency, in Japanese).

For how PR works overall, see How Product PR Works in Japan.

Common mistakes

• Translating the Kickstarter page. Japanese backers respond to detail, use scenes and clear specifications, not superlatives.
• Launching without Japanese support. Unanswered questions in Japanese quickly damage trust, during the campaign and after it.
• Underestimating certification. A campaign for a product that can't yet be sold legally in Japan is a risk for you, the platform and the media covering it.
• Treating the campaign as the finish line. Without a plan for general sale, the attention fades when the campaign ends.
• Expecting guarantees. No platform, agency or PR partner can honestly guarantee that a campaign will fund.

Checklist before you choose