What are the current Business Manager visa requirements in Japan?

Under the existing system, applicants must either invest at least 5,000,000 JPY or employ two full-time Japanese nationals in order to obtain a Business Manager visa.

How will the Business Manager visa requirements change in 2025?

Recent information shared by multiple Gyoseishoshi indicates that requirements will increase to a 30,000,000 JPY capital investment and the mandatory hiring of one full-time long-term resident. These changes may be enforced within 2025.

Why is Japan raising Business Manager visa requirements?

The changes are a response to widespread abuse of the visa system, including shell companies, fraudulent applications, and an increasing number of non-business-motivated uses. Negative media coverage and a surge in questionable applications prompted authorities to tighten regulations.

What kinds of fraud have occurred with the Business Manager visa?

Examples include a man linked to 600 shell companies supporting fraudulent visa applications and a building in Osaka containing 49 registered companies that showed no business activity. Many applicants also used the visa to hold assets rather than operate real businesses.

Will the new visa requirements affect current Business Manager visa holders?

According to early information shared by Administrative Scriveners, current Business Manager visa holders may also be subject to the new requirements when renewing their visa. This has raised concerns for founders who already operate real, revenue-generating businesses but do not meet the new criteria.

Who will be most affected by the 30 million yen capital requirement?

Small business founders, solo entrepreneurs, bootstrapped startups, and foreign residents trying to build companies without external investment will be the most affected. The new requirements will likely shift the visa's use toward foreign subsidiaries and VC-backed startups.

Why is a 30 million yen requirement considered a barrier to entrepreneurship?

A 30 million yen investment creates a significant barrier for small founders, reducing the accessibility of entrepreneurship at a time when Japan's shrinking population and slow economy badly need new business creation.

What happens if a founder cannot meet the new visa requirements?

The article raises concerns that founders may be unable to renew their visa or continue operating their company if the new requirements apply retroactively. This creates uncertainty for honest business owners running legitimate ventures.

When will the new Business Manager visa changes be enforced?

The exact enforcement date is unknown. The law has not yet been formally updated, but Administrative Scriveners expect changes to occur sometime in 2025. The only official clarity is that old requirements still apply until the law is amended.

Why has the Business Manager visa been criticized as 'a visa you can buy'?

Because the current 5 million yen threshold has become relatively inexpensive due to the yen's depreciation and economic changes. This created situations where individuals established holding companies or inactive entities solely to secure residency, without operating real businesses.

What is hoped from the Immigration Services Agency moving forward?

The article hopes for quick clarification of the new rules and suggests it would be fairest to apply stricter requirements to new applicants only, rather than penalizing entrepreneurs who built real companies under the old rules.

Japan Business Manager Visa Requirements (2025 Update)

Bad news just came in...

It was just announced that rules for the obtaining of the “Business Manager visa” are going to change drastically.

The Business Manager visa allowed foreign entrepreneurs to start companies in Japan. It did so with rather favorable requirements, notably an initial capital investment of 5,000,000 JPY ($34,000) OR the employment of 2 full-time Japanese nationals.

This is the visa I’ve been operating TechieCV under for the last 2 years, allowing me to invest my life savings into a small, bootstrapped business which now has a headcount of 3.

But things have just taken a drastic turn.

Over the last few days, information has gotten out that requirements are set to change within this year. Entrepreneurs will now need to justify a capital investment of 30,000,000 JPY ($200,000) AND the hiring of 1 full-time long-term resident (Japanese national or permanent resident).

Based on information recently shared by numerous Gyoseishoshi (Administrative Scriveners), these new requirements may also impact current Business Manager visa holders.

Why this is happening

The decision didn't come from nowhere. The truth is that there has been abuse.

A couple of recent examples:

A man was recently found to be linked with 600 shell companies, used to support fraudulent visa applications by posing as legitimate businesses.
In March in Osaka, a building was found to house 49 fake companies registered for business manager visas, yet showed no sign of activity, raising suspicions of widespread visa misuse through shell corporations

Beyond fraud, the visa is criticised as being a “visa that you can buy.”

With the yen’s depreciation and Japan’s economic growth, the relative cost of obtaining this visa has dropped. This has resulted in many instances of holding companies being created to hold real estate or other assets, without real business activity.

As a result, Administrative Scriveners (who support visa applications on behalf of their clients) have seen an increasing number of inquiries which aren’t business-motivated.

The negative media coverage, in addition to the surge in questionable visa applications, has prompted institutions to act.

What happens next?

Once these new restrictions are enforced, requests for the visa should drastically drop. In my opinion, here lies the main goal: dissuasion. 30,000,000 JPY is a significant amount to gather, and it will seriously limit the type of companies that one can start.

If you want to create a small business from scratch, without using outside money, you’re out.

This will probably re-focus the visa’s audience to foreign companies looking to launch subsidiaries, or VC-backed start-ups.

This feels contradictory for a government trying to encourage entrepreneurship, start-ups, and young founders. These new visa requirements will inevitably create a higher barrier to entry, in a country where both demography and economy are in desperate need of new blood.

More worrying even, is the situation of those who are already here. The (limited) information available hints at the fact that visa renewals may also be impacted by these changes.

A large number of honest founders running real businesses (with customers and revenue!) do not satisfy these criteria. For those (like myself) who need to renew their visa this year, the situation is serious.

Do active businesses need to show a capital of $200,000 within the next few months?
What happens to our companies if this sudden change of rules means that we're not allowed to operate it anymore?

I can only hope that the Immigration Services Agency brings clarity to the issue fast.

It would only seem fair to subject only new businesses and applications to these heightened requirements, so as not to change the rules of the game after it’s started.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will these changes be enforced?

We don't know yet. The law hasn't changed, so the old requirements remain valid. It is said to change within this year (2025), however there is no indication as to exactly when.

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