Osaka Yiwu Market Makes Stunning Debut; Aokofan Group Empowers China-Japan Trade Development

During the 2025 Japan Expo in Osaka, a major milestone was reached in the commercial sector. On 6 at {3:00 PM JST}, the Osaka Yiwu Market, developed through deep collaboration between Aofan Group and Yiwu Mall Group, officially opened its doors at the Shipyard Center in the Shinsaibashi business district. As a flagship project in Aofan Group's strategy to establish a China-Japan trade hub, this marks the launch of Asia's first overseas branch of the Yiwu Small Commodities City. This move not only represents a key step in expanding the "World's Supermarket" globally but also demonstrates Aofan Group's strong capability in driving the upgrade of China-Japan trade.

At the grand opening ceremony, Gong Shujuan, Standing Committee Member and Executive Vice Mayor of Yiwu City; Bao Hua, General Manager of Yiwu International Trade Mart Group; Takehiko Munetoshi, President of Oukafan Co., Ltd.; Representatives from Oukafan China Headquarters; Ikeda Minoru, Representative Director of the Japan-China Economic Association; Toshiaki Warabi, Osaka Development Public Corporation; and government and enterprise representatives from both regions gathered together. As the host, Oukafan Group joined forces with all parties to witness this historic moment in Sino-Japanese trade cooperation.

#01 Leveraging local strengths to build a new bridge for China-Japan trade

Osaka Yiwu Market is a professional invitation-only wholesale hub, jointly crafted by Aofan Group and Yiwu Mall Group based on deep insights into the Japanese market. With a total operational area of 5000 square meters, it hosts over 90 businesses spanning diverse categories such as daily necessities, apparel & beauty, and health & home products. Leveraging Aofan Group's years of established commercial resources in Japan, the market adopts a "digital trade + brand empowerment + direct supply chain" model to completely break through traditional geographical trade barriers.

As the core operator, Aokfan Group has built a localized team fluent in Japanese business practices. Leveraging Japan's largest e-commerce price comparison platform and top B2B procurement platform NETSEA, we directly connect to 54 million SME buyers. This dual-drive model of "online traffic pool + offline showcase" enables high-quality Yiwu products to bypass multiple intermediaries and reach Japan's end-market procurement directly, creating an efficient channel for China-Japan trade.

#02 Innovative Business Model Unleashes New Momentum for China-Japan Trade

For years, Aokofan Group has deeply rooted itself in the Japanese market, gaining precise insights into local consumer trends and regulatory policies while building a comprehensive commercial network across Japan. The Osaka Yiwu Market was developed as a tailored solution by Aokofan Group and Yiwu Commodity City Group to address key pain points in China-Japan trade and open pathways for Yiwu products to enter Japan. By integrating its digital platforms and extensive operational expertise, the market delivers end-to-end services that enable seamless collaboration between Chinese and Japanese merchants, streamlining trade processes and making partnership costs more predictable.

Bao Hua, General Manager of Yiwu Mall Group, stated that the opening of the Osaka Yiwu Market marks another major milestone in the collaboration between Yiwu Mall Group and Aokofan. Building on this launch, Yiwu Mall Group will leverage its supply chain strengths as a leading market entity in Yiwu and integrate Aokofan's extensive online buyer network to enable precise matching, allowing "quality products from Yiwu" to shine in the Japanese market.

#03 Looking Ahead: Building a Multi-dimensional Trade Ecosystem

The launch of the Osaka Yiwu Market signifies far more than the creation of a new trade platform; it injects fresh momentum into China-Japan relations across multiple dimensions. From a trade perspective, it establishes a "direct line" for goods flow between the two countries. High-quality small commodities from Yiwu can now better meet Japanese consumers' high standards for quality and design, while feedback from the Japanese market rapidly informs Yiwu suppliers, driving product iteration and upgrades. This creates a virtuous cycle of mutual interaction.

In terms of industrial empowerment, Aokefan Group leverages its deep expertise in digital trade to provide Chinese and Japanese SMEs with more equitable collaboration opportunities. Historically, information asymmetry and channel barriers prevented many high-quality small and medium suppliers from accessing the Japanese market. The opening of the Osaka Yiwu Market lowers these entry thresholds, enabling more SMEs to share the benefits of China-Japan trade and thereby stimulating innovation across both markets.

Looking ahead, the Osaka Yiwu Market will serve as a model for China-Japan trade cooperation, offering valuable insights for expanding collaboration across more sectors. Its innovative "precise matching and efficient circulation" model will continue to drive economic exchange between the two nations, advancing their relationship on a solid foundation of trade and commerce.