The Business Manager Visa and Capital: What You Need to Know

This article on the Business Manager visa and capital is recommended for people like you

This article presents information useful to people like the above in an easy-to-understand way. And of course, it’s a must-read not only for them but for everyone interested in the Business Manager visa.

An overview of the Business Manager visa and capital

(1) Capital for those aiming for a Business Manager visa

Establishing a company in order to obtain a Business Manager visa

To obtain a Business Manager visa, you are required to establish a company prior to applying for the visa. Some people may say, “I didn’t know that, this is the first I’ve heard of it.” In any case, it’s fair to say that launching a company when you start a business is a fairly standard approach.

Capital for establishing a company

The next question that arises, then, is the procedure for establishing a company — what you need to do to establish a company in Japan.
One part of that process is the “payment of capital, etc.” It is this capital that many people aiming to obtain a Business Manager visa wonder about.

It seems there are quite a few people who, despite having good ideas and business skills, miss the chance to thrive as business owners because they misunderstand the capital requirement. Among those of you reading this article, many probably feel you don’t understand capital in detail.

(2) The points you can learn from this article

In this article, you can learn the following points. Note that the description below assumes a stock company (kabushiki kaisha).

Now, we’ll explain these points clearly below. This is information that’s useful for everyone interested in the Business Manager visa.

When establishing a company in Japan as a foreign national, do you have to pay money?

(1) An outline

With all these systems and terms, doesn’t your head start to spin? It’s convenient that information is easy to get on the internet, but by the same token, information floods in and can’t be organized well, so there’s a possibility that, in the end, the essence of things becomes harder to see. With the Business Manager visa in particular, because its framework is complex, you also see situations where people are at a loss, thinking, “I have no idea what’s what. What on earth am I supposed to do…?”

So first, let’s do a quick job of organizing the information. After that, we’ll look at things in more detail. In the end, the flow this article assumes is as follows.

In this article, taking the above as given, we’ll focus on (4). That’s because (4) is what many people wonder about most when it comes to the Business Manager visa.

(2) Common misunderstandings

Among those of you reading this article, some may be thinking along the lines of the above. In fact, both of these ideas are incorrect. So what’s going on?

(3) Not contributing the money yourself is not completely a no-go

The rules were relaxed

It’s true that this used to be the case. To be precise, before April 1, 2015, obtaining a visa for carrying out management activities required a contribution from the foreign national or similar party. However, the rules changed after that. As a result, for the activity of carrying out management, a contribution by the foreign national or similar party is no longer legally necessary.

The reason for this is said to be to make it easier for Japanese companies to widely welcome foreign nationals who carry out management and administrative activities.
Therefore, it is OK even if you have not personally contributed 30 million yen or more in capital.

But it does become an important factor in the visa examination

The following gets a bit into the weeds. As for what kinds of activities the Business Manager visa is granted for as a residence status, one of them is defined as “operating a business.”

Moreover, to satisfy this point of “operating” a business, the applicant must be involved in the management “substantially.” Put more plainly, it means: “You’re not a manager in name only, are you? Are you really personally involved in that business?”

So on what basis is it judged whether you are substantially participating in or engaged in the management? One of those factors is the applicant’s own investment amount. According to the examination guidelines, whether you are substantially involved in the management is judged from the overall circumstances leading up to the start of the business. Those circumstances include the proportion of shares the applicant acquired, the source of the funds invested in the business, and so on.

In short, if you’ve barely invested in the business yourself to any meaningful degree, it can be judged that it’s hard to believe you are really personally involved in that business. The examination for the Business Manager visa has become stricter, particularly since October 2025. If possible, contributing the full amount yourself is preferable.

(4) It’s not enough just to be able to arrange the money

Following the flow so far, some of you may be thinking, “Well then, let’s get 30 million yen together.” Or there may be those who are already in a position to arrange the cash.

However, you can’t relax yet. It’s not enough just to be able to arrange the money. What does this mean? This point is, in practice, the biggest issue when it comes to capital for the Business Manager visa. So we’ll introduce it in a separate section at the end of this article.

How to pay in the capital

(1) Two patterns

When it comes to the capital for establishing a company, you will use a bank account to pay it in. Mainly the following two patterns can be considered.

(2) The problem and how to solve it

Of these, the one especially prone to problems is pattern (2). In the case of (2), it’s common for the person not to have a personal account at a Japanese bank. That being so, since the bank account that should serve as the receptacle for paying in the capital doesn’t exist, there’s a concern that you can’t pay in the capital and, as a result, can’t establish the company.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll take a little trip to Japan sometime (short-term stay) and open a Japanese bank account while I’m there.” Among those of you reading this article, some may have thought that. Unfortunately, however, that won’t work. Whichever bank you go to, you’ll be turned away.

Given the above, in the case of pattern (2), a cooperating person becomes necessary for establishing the company. Specifically, one possible approach is to have a cooperating person temporarily become a member of the company’s establishment (called an incorporator or a director at establishment).

However, there are also people who have no acquaintances in Japan and for whom no one can serve as a cooperating person; under the system, a route to applying for a Business Manager visa has been opened for such people as well. Even if, before coming to Japan, you cannot transfer the capital due to reasons such as not having an account, and the company establishment procedures are incomplete, it is possible to first apply for a four-month visa, come to Japan and carry out the series of procedures such as opening an account, transferring the capital, and registering the company, and then renew the visa. In this case, you must prove the existence of 30 million yen, or an equivalent amount in foreign currency, with a bank passbook, a balance certificate, or similar.

What you should do after paying in the capital in order to establish the company

(1) One of the documents required when establishing a company

Suppose you’ve successfully arranged a bank account and completed the payment of the capital. That’s not the end of it. To establish the company, you need to submit a document proving that the capital necessary for the company’s establishment has been paid in full.

Don’t let your guard down once the payment is done — since you’re here, let’s get done what needs doing at this point. You want to avoid putting it off, forgetting about it in the end, and then panicking later.

(2) What should you do?

A copy of the passbook

Once the capital transfer is done, first you’ll want to update the passbook and check the transaction history. Then, next, let’s make a copy of the passbook. That said, don’t you wonder exactly which parts of the passbook to copy? Knowing in advance makes things go smoothly. The parts to copy are the following three.

Preparing the payment certificate

In fact, the passbook copy above alone is not enough. Next, you prepare a payment certificate. This is what proves that the capital was paid into the account. That said, aren’t you wondering what on earth to write in it? Don’t worry. The matters to be stated in a payment certificate are set, so you just write the following.

The single most important thing to watch out for regarding capital for the Business Manager visa

(1) The source of the contribution will be questioned

So the payment of the contribution is finished, and you’ve entered the stage of finally moving toward obtaining the Business Manager visa. But what would you do if you were asked a question like this?

“Where and how did you raise this 30 million yen contribution?”

You may have thought, “What does it matter? I’ve properly arranged the money, so is its source really that important?” However, you should be prepared to explain the answer to the above question precisely. That’s because otherwise there’s a possibility you won’t be able to obtain the visa.

(2) Examples of methods of proof

Proof by documents

There will be all sorts of cases as to how the contribution was obtained: you worked lawfully and saved it yourself, you received it from your parents, etc.
So how do you go about proving it? Immigration’s examination is a documentary examination. Therefore, proof is by documents too. Perhaps it’s easier to picture if we say you submit evidentiary documents.

Examples of documents to submit

Even when told to submit evidentiary documents, it’s hard to know exactly what documents and materials to submit. So below, we list examples of documents that might be used for proof.

Of course, there may be things other than the documents above that could be used. So, at the stage of raising the contribution, it’s a good idea to be conscious of the existence of documents that seem likely to help with proof.

Note that since October 2025 the examination has become stricter, and incorporating borrowed money into the company’s capital is examined very strictly and is very likely to result in a denial. When starting a business in Japan, money you own yourself is best.

Summary

In this article, we’ve taken up a theme that many people are particularly concerned about when it comes to obtaining a Business Manager visa. Some of you may feel your head is spinning from learning so many things. So we’ll summarize the points below.