What BrainsTrust does

BrainsTrust Co., Ltd. (株式会社ブレインズトラスト) is a Japanese private investigation firm (興信所) headquartered in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, providing corporate credit investigation, personnel background screening, legal investigation services, workplace accident investigation, and corporate crisis management. Founded as a partnership in Takaoka City, Toyama in 1996 and formally incorporated in December 1998, the company operates under Japan's Detective Agency Act with Toyama Prefectural Public Safety Commission licensing, and runs three wholly-owned subsidiaries - Prominent Research Toyama, Lotus Women's Detective Agency, and Legal Research - together with offices in Kanazawa and Tokyo, providing nationwide coverage through the broader BrainsTrust Group network (Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka).

The firm's core technology is its nationwide investigative network of field investigators conducting on-site visits and face-to-face interviews, differentiated against competitors relying solely on commercial databases. Its proprietary marksheet-style personnel questionnaire (マークシート式質聞票) evaluates personality, sociability, and lifestyle factors for hiring/promotion/transfer decisions with results returned within 30 minutes of fax submission. The company does not operate an app, API, SDK, or MCP surface, and has no AI/ML capabilities disclosed; investigation work is human-network-mediated.

Revenue is generated primarily through per-engagement professional services fees paid directly by clients on a pay-as-you-go basis: ¥110,000 per business partner credit investigation, ¥33,000 per personnel screening, ¥22,000 per residence confirmation, and ¥77,000 per address/employer identification, with complex legal investigations starting at ¥220,000. Go-to-market is sales-led, via the corporate website, toll-free consultation line (0800-200-4439), in-person consultations, and referral from law firms. Three primary customer segments are served: corporate clients (business partner due diligence, employee screening, crisis management), legal professionals (litigation support, evidence gathering, witness investigation), and individuals (DV, marital matters, personal credit). The company is privately held by founder Yoshikazu Saito (齊藤好一) with no external institutional investors, no disclosed funding rounds, and no M&A activity.

Name

BrainsTrust

Legal name

株式会社ブレインズトラスト

Website

https://brainstrust.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BrainsTrust is a Japanese private investigation firm providing corporate credit checks, personnel background screenings, legal investigation support, and personal investigation services to businesses, law firms, and individuals across Japan through a nationwide field-investigator network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investigation Services

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611), Investigation and Security Services (5616), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Employee Verification & Background Check Coordination (BPAAAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fraud Investigations & Claims Support (Insurance/Financial) (BPAKAEAD), Litigation Support & Expert Witness (Valuation-Related) (BPAHANAG)

Keywords

• Corporate investigations
• Personnel background checks
• Accident investigations
• Legal investigation services
• Private investigation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Toyama-shi

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 企業調査 (Corporate Investigation Services): Revenue is generated through one-time project fees for corporate investigation services including credit checks on business partners (取引先信用調査), personnel background investigations (人事調査), and workplace accident investigations (社内事故調査). Fees are quoted per investigation based on scope and complexity.
2. 法曹向け調査 (Legal Professional Services): Revenue from investigations commissioned by law firms and legal professionals, including field investigations, evidence collection, witness testimony, and legal procedure-oriented research. Also includes legal research services under the Legal Research brand for litigation support, estate/heir investigations, debtor employment investigations, and address verification for court service of process.
3. 法務調査 (Legal Investigation Services): Legal investigation services including litigation-oriented investigations (親権監護状況調査, 被害申告実情調査, 勤務先特定調査, 行動証拠調査, 身元特定調査) and legal procedure-oriented investigations (所在調査, 公示送達住居所調査, 養育監護状況調査). Billed per visit or per case.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BrainsTrust provides investigation and risk-management services for corporate clients, legal professionals, and individuals in Japan. Its services include business partner credit checks, personnel/background investigations, workplace accident investigations, corporate crisis management, legal/litigation support investigations, and personal investigations.

Product overview

BrainsTrust is a Japanese investigation agency (興信所/探偵事務所) offering a comprehensive suite of investigation services. The core offering comprises three main service categories: Business Investigation Services (企業調査) covering corporate credit verification and personnel background checks; Legal Research Services (リーガル・リサーチ) for litigation support and court-related investigations; and Personal Investigation Services (個人調査) addressing domestic and family issues. The company operates group companies including Prominent Research Toyama (富山中央調査) and Lotus Women's Detective Agency (Lotus女性探偵社), with branch offices in Toyama, Kanazawa, and Tokyo. Services are primarily targeted at corporate clients, legal professionals (lawyers, judicial scriveners), and individuals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• リーガル・リサーチ (Legal Research): Specialized legal research and litigation support services including witness investigations, debtor employment investigations, and addressee investigations for court proceedings.

Products and services

• Business Partner Credit Investigation [取引先信用調査] Credit investigation service for corporate clients assessing business partner reliability and transaction risk when commercially available company data is insufficient for credit judgment.
• Personnel Investigation [人事調査] Personnel and background investigation service for corporate hiring and personnel decisions, used to assess candidate or employee suitability beyond interviews.
• Accident Investigation [事故調査] Investigation service for internal workplace accidents and disputes with business partners, used to support resolution through accurate factual findings.
• Corporate Crisis Management [企業危機管理] Corporate crisis management service addressing anti-social forces, civil violence intervention, and prevention of social-credit damage from association with problematic entities.
• Legal Research / Legal Investigation [リーガル・リサーチ / 法務調査] Specialized legal investigation service for lawyers, law firms, judicial scriveners, and legal professionals, including litigation-oriented investigations, legal procedure-oriented investigations, evidence collection, witness testimony, estate or heir investigations, debtor employment investigations, and address verification for court service of process.
• Personal Investigation Services [個人調査] Personal investigation service for individual clients covering domestic violence response, marital or relationship issues, and personal credit investigation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Marksheet evaluation results delivered within 30 minutes of submission

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Prominent Research Toyama (東京中央調査)coreOthersA group company specializing in personal investigation services for individuals (DV, marital issues, personal credit). Located at the same address as the main Toyama office. Licensed by Toyama Prefectural Public Safety Commission.
• Lotus Women's Detective Agency (Lotus女性探偵社)coreOthersA group company specializing in female-focused personal investigation services. Operates a consultation room within the BrainsTrust Toyama office. Licensed by Toyama Prefectural Public Safety Commission.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kroll: Global risk and investigation advisory firm listed as an external information link on BrainsTrust's Legal Research page, indicating a referral or ecosystem relationship. Operates corporate due diligence, litigation support, and background investigations at global scale, directly overlapping BrainsTrust's core offerings but with vastly greater resources and geographic reach.
• Pinkerton: International investigation and security services firm with corporate due diligence, background screening, and litigation support offerings. Comparable to BrainsTrust's corporate and legal investigation services at the enterprise end of the market, though operating primarily through subscription-based and enterprise engagements.
• Control Risks: Global risk consultancy offering corporate investigations, due diligence, fraud investigations, and litigation support. Overlaps with BrainsTrust's corporate and legal investigation services, particularly for cross-border engagements and enterprise clients requiring international coverage.
• FTI Consulting: Global advisory firm with a forensic and investigations practice covering fraud, litigation support, and corporate due diligence. Comparable to BrainsTrust's litigation-support and corporate-investigation offerings, particularly for large enterprise and cross-border matters.

Direct peers

• HAL探偵社 (HAL Detective Agency): Japan-based private investigation firm offering personal investigations (DV, marital, infidelity) and corporate services such as credit and personnel checks. Directly overlaps with BrainsTrust's three-segment model and competes for the same individual and SME customers in the Japanese market.
• 総合探偵社AMBI (Sogo Tanteisha AMBI): Japanese nationwide private investigation firm focused primarily on personal investigations including DV, marital issues, and personal background checks. Comparable to BrainsTrust's Prominent Research Toyama and Lotus Women's Detective Agency sub-brands in target customer and pricing model.
• 原一探偵事務所 (Haraichi Detective Agency): One of Japan's largest dedicated private investigation firms, offering corporate, personal, and legal-litigation investigations nationwide. Directly comparable to BrainsTrust in service scope and customer segments, but operates at significantly larger scale with multiple regional offices across Japan.
• AGX (アグゼ): Japanese corporate investigation firm specializing in corporate credit checks, personnel screening, and fraud investigations for business clients. Direct competitor to BrainsTrust's corporate investigation services and personnel credit evaluation offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BrainsTrust