Insights

Stock Company vs. Limited Liability Company — Which Should a Foreign Company Choose? Comparing Credibility, Cost, and Flexibility
- 2026年06月30日


If a foreigner living in Japan wants to run a company, unless they have a status-based residence status (spouse or child of a Japanese national, spouse or child of a permanent resident, long-term resident, etc.) or permanent residency,
You cannot run a company unless you obtain a business management visa.
In order to obtain a business manager visa, you need to establish a company, apply for a residence status at the Immigration Bureau, and get permission. Various costs will be incurred during this process.
So how much does it cost to obtain a business manager visa? This page explains the costs involved in obtaining a business manager visa.
To obtain a business manager visa, most people will first need to establish a company. Establishing this company will cost money.
The costs involved will depend on whether you are setting up a corporation or a limited liability company.
The cost of incorporation is different between a joint stock company and a limited liability company. In conclusion, it will cost about 210,000 to 242,000 yen for a joint stock company, and about 60,000 to 100,000 yen for a limited liability company. In other words, the initial cost of a limited liability company is lower than that of a joint stock company.
If you look only at the establishment costs, a limited liability company may seem more cost-effective, but there are also benefits to establishing a corporation, so be sure to check them out before deciding which one to establish.
We have listed the costs involved in establishing a joint stock company and a limited liability company above, but what is the breakdown of these costs? Please see the table below for a breakdown.
| Joint Stock Company | limited liability company (US, Australia, etc.) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| item | cost | item | cost |
| Articles of incorporation certification fee ※Including the cost of a certified copy of the articles of incorporation (fees paid to the notary public office) |
30,000 to 52,000 yen | Articles of incorporation certification fee ※Including the cost of a certified copy of the articles of incorporation (fees paid to the notary public office) |
0 |
| Stamp tax (fee paid to the notary public office) |
40,000 yen Free for electronic documents |
Stamp tax (fee paid to the notary public office) |
40,000 yen Free for electronic documents |
| Registration and license tax (fees paid to the Legal Affairs Bureau) |
150,000 yen | Registration and license tax (fees paid to the Legal Affairs Bureau) |
60,000 yen |
| Total | 210,000-242,000 yen | Total | 60,000-100,000 yen |
As shown in the table above, the costs for a joint stock company are higher than those for a limited liability company. Remember that in order to obtain a business management visa, you will first need to pay the company establishment costs.
After establishing a company, you will apply for a business manager visa at the Immigration Bureau. If you receive permission, you will be able to operate a company in Japan. When applying for a business manager visa,
If you apply by yourself, you will only have to pay transportation costs to the Immigration Bureau and the fee for issuing your new residence card (4,000 yen).
However, since the difficulty of applying for a business manager visa is quite high, many people will consider asking a professional such as an administrative scrivener for help.
From here, we will explain the average fees when requesting a business manager visa from a professional such as an administrative scrivener.
The average cost of requesting support for a business manager visa application from a specialist is around 180,000 to 250,000 yen.
This is the cost of supporting the application for a business manager visa, and is charged in addition to the company establishment costs.
Applying for a Business Manager Visa is more difficult than applying for other residence statuses. In particular, it is important to explain the outlook for your business, so you will need to create a business plan. Creating such documents is quite difficult, so it is often easier to get support from an expert.
The cost of our support for business manager visa applications is 210,000 yen (excluding tax). This is a rough estimate of the market price. Please see below for more information on the type of support we provide for business manager visa applications.
We explained above that our support fee is 210,000 yen (excluding tax). The support contents are as follows.
We support the acquisition of a business manager visa through the above process. As you can see, there are various steps to obtain a business manager visa, and the amount of documents to be prepared is enormous.
Therefore, our office will support you in all processes from application to obtaining a business manager visa.
This page explains the costs involved in obtaining a business manager visa. In addition to the statutory fees to be paid to the Legal Affairs Bureau, etc., the establishment of a company also requires capital and rent for an office, so be sure to prepare a generous budget.
| August 2018 | Established “Yuda Administrative Scrivener Office,” specializing in visa applications and naturalization applications |
|---|---|
| April 2022 | Incorporated the private office as “Touch Immigration Law Firm” |
| Areas of Expertise | Foreign nationals’ statuses of residence and naturalization applications Specializes in foreign national visa-related matters and handles more than 1,000 consultations annually |
| Seminar Experience | Numerous seminars, including the International Administrative Scrivener Training Course, Toda City International Exchange Foundation, Saitama Japanese Language Network, Administrative Scrivener TOP 10% Club, and work visa training seminars for administrative scriveners |
| Operated Websites | Touch Immigration Law Firm International Marriage & Spouse Visa Support Center Naturalization Application Support Center Work Visa Support Center Permanent Resident Visa Support Center Business Manager Visa Support Center U.S. Visa Support Center Visa Support Center |
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