🇯🇵 Japan · Startup Visa
Entrepreneur and startup visa programs, investment thresholds, and application criteria.
Founders in Japan generally use the Business Manager status of residence, which requires establishing a business with sufficient substance (e.g. an office and capital/scale conditions). To ease the early stage, a Startup Visa (a "Designated Activities" status, run with designated municipalities and JETRO support) gives up to a preparatory period to set up before switching to Business Manager status. JETRO and the Immigration Services Agency are the official sources.
- The Business Manager status of residence is the main route for running a company in Japan.
- It generally requires real business substance (e.g. an office and capital/scale conditions).
- The Startup Visa (via designated municipalities) gives a preparatory period before switching to Business Manager status.
- Programmes vary by municipality — check JETRO and the ISA for current details.
Official authorities
- JETRO — Invest Japan / setting up business
Official guidance on company setup and the startup visa.
- Immigration Services Agency of Japan
Status-of-residence authority (Business Manager).
Official-information aggregation, not legal advice. Always verify on the authority's own site.
Government portals
- Prime Minister's Office of Japan — Official site of Japan's Prime Minister — cabinet policies, press conferences, policy statements
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan — Japan visa applications, overseas safety info, consular services, and diplomatic policy
- Immigration Services Agency of Japan — Residence status, work visas, permanent residency, and naturalization in Japan
- National Tax Agency (Japan) — Income tax, corporate tax, consumption tax filing and e-Tax online submission