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Pathway

Japan Business Manager Visa

Japan Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

You can apply to live in Japan to actively run a business. New applications normally need JPY ¥30 million in qualifying business capital or investment, an eligible full-time employee, and the required management, language, office, and business-plan evidence.

Business funding
At least JPY ¥30 million under the current rules
Japanese ability
B2 level, held by you or a full-time employee

Summary

Japan’s Business Manager status lets you live in Japan to actively run a business. It can suit a founder, an owner who manages the business, or an executive taking charge of an existing operation.

For new applications, the rules introduced on October 16, 2025 require much more than transferring money. You normally need a business with at least JPY ¥30 million in qualifying capital or investment, an eligible full-time employee, suitable experience or education, Japanese-language ability, a real office, and a professionally reviewed business plan.

Preparing a Business Manager application
  1. Check the current business requirements Confirm the funding, employee, experience or degree, and Japanese-language conditions.
  2. Build and document the business Arrange a real workplace and a plan reviewed by an accepted Japanese professional.
  3. Apply for the appropriate status Follow the current checklist for a new application or an existing-holder renewal.

Business ownership or an investment alone is not enough. Existing holders have specific transition rules.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

A real business and workplace

You must genuinely operate or manage a lawful business in Japan. Explain your duties, decision-making authority, and pay.

The business needs an appropriate office or workplace. Immigration can check its lease, permitted use, equipment, layout, and whether it supports the proposed activity. A virtual mailing address alone is not enough, and current guidance generally excludes using your home as the office.

Investment and an employee

A company normally needs at least JPY ¥30 million in paid-in capital or total contributions. For a sole proprietor, the requirement is at least JPY ¥30 million actually invested in business needs, such as the workplace, one year of employee wages, and equipment. You cannot simply combine the capital of several companies to reach the amount.

You also need at least one eligible full-time employee. They must be Japanese, a special permanent resident, or hold Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of Japanese National, Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident, or Long-Term Resident status. Someone on an ordinary work status does not count toward this particular staffing requirement.

Your background and Japanese ability

You need either at least three years of business-management experience, including qualifying startup preparation, or a master’s, doctoral, or professional degree relevant to management or the business’s technology or knowledge. A bachelor’s degree alone is not the listed alternative.

You or a full-time employee must have Japanese ability at B2 level under Japan’s reference framework. For someone who is neither Japanese nor a special permanent resident, accepted evidence includes JLPT N2 or above, BJT 400 or above, 20 years as a mid- to long-term resident, a Japanese higher-education qualification, or Japanese compulsory education followed by Japanese high school.

The plan and ongoing business

For a new application, an accepted Japanese professional must review a practical, realistic business plan. Current guidance names certified SME management consultants, certified public accountants, and tax accountants. A similar overseas qualification alone does not meet this requirement.

You must also show that the business can continue lawfully. Immigration may check funding sources, accounts, contracts, registrations, licenses, wages, employment rules, taxes, and social, employment, and workers' compensation insurance.

Existing holders

Applications accepted by October 15, 2025 use the former standards. Existing holders applying to renew by October 16, 2028 are not refused solely for failing to meet the new standards; immigration considers the business and prospects of meeting them.

The current criteria apply in principle after that transition. The June 2026 FAQ also describes a narrow exception where a capital shortfall alone need not lead to refusal: the business must be healthy, taxes properly paid, compliance expected by the next renewal, and the residence history satisfactory. This is assessed individually, not a general exemption.

What This Route Allows

You can carry out the approved management work, including directing the business, supervising staff, and related tasks. Possible periods are five years, three years, one year, six months, four months, or three months. Immigration chooses the period; you cannot assume the first approval will be for five years.

You can apply to renew while the business and your compliance continue to meet the rules. A spouse and dependent children can normally apply separately for Dependent status; their work permission is separate too.

This time may count toward permanent residence. The usual residence requirement is ten continuous years in Japan, including five in a qualifying work or residence status, unless an exception applies. Taxes, pension, insurance, conduct, current status, and Japan’s interests are also considered. Since October 16, 2025, Business Manager holders applying for permanent residence must meet the revised business criteria; the renewal transition does not remove that requirement.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a route for passive investment, buying property, or working remotely only for overseas clients. See the separate Digital Nomad status for that type of stay.

The former JPY ¥5 million-or-two-employees rule does not apply to a new application under the revised rules. Even meeting the current requirements does not guarantee approval. An inactive, unsustainable, noncompliant, or materially changed business may not qualify for renewal.

Next Steps

  1. Set out the actual business, your role, customers, products or services, and why it operates in Japan.
  2. Check your degree or management experience and decide who will provide the Japanese-language evidence.
  3. Document the required investment in one business, where the money came from, and the eligible full-time employee.
  4. Secure suitable premises after checking permitted use, local licensing, and zoning.
  5. Prepare the plan and financial forecasts, then obtain the required review by an accepted Japanese professional.
  6. Use the current checklist. An overseas applicant commonly starts with a Certificate of Eligibility, an immigration document supporting the later visa application. Someone already in Japan may need to change status instead.
  7. Keep business, tax, insurance, and employment records for renewal. Existing holders using the transition should document how and when they will meet the revised rules.

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