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Business Manager Visa Japan: Key Requirements and Common Pitfalls
- 2026年02月06日


A Management and Administration visa is a type of work visa that is mainly used forThis visa is for foreigners residing in Japan to operate a business in Japan.
The most common type of business for which a business management visa is obtained is that of establishing a company in Japan, assuming the position of its director (e.g., representative director), and engaging in activities related to the management of the company.
When seeking to obtain a business management visa, it is common for a company to pay 5 million yen as capital at the time of establishment.
However, However, there are some people who cannot pay 5 million yen at the time of establishment for various reasons However, there may be people who are unable to pay the 5 million yen at the time of incorporation due to various reasons.
Even in such cases, it is not absolutely impossible to obtain a business management visa.
This page explains how to obtain a business management visa without paying 5 million yen in capital.
One of the various requirements and conditions that must be met in order to obtain a business management visa is that the size of the business must be above a certain level.
The “scale of business” is basically defined as 5 million yen or more.
Since capital is the amount of money set aside to secure the company’s assets, having 5 million yen in capital is a simple way to prove that “at least 5 million yen is necessary to conduct this business,” i.e., that “the size of the business is at least 5 million yen. The amount of 5 million yen in capital is the amount of money set aside to secure the company’s assets.
For this reason, the most common way to obtain a business management visa is to pay 5 million yen in capital at the time of company establishment.
Even if no capital of 5 million yen has been paid in, the requirement and condition of “the size of the business must be above a certain level” is satisfied if at least two full-time employees residing in Japan are engaged in the operation of the business.
In order to be considered “full-time” the number of working days must be at least 5 days per week and the number of working hours must be at least 30 hours per week.
Residing in Japan “includes” Japanese nationals,“” spouse or child of Japanese national,“” permanent residents,“” special permanent residents,“” spouse or child of permanent residents,“and” permanent residents. Such as “Technical/Humanities/International Services.” Please note that foreign nationals with work visas such as “technical, humanities, or international service” are not included.
In addition, other laws and regulations such as payroll (minimum wage) and social insurance must be complied with.
Even without “paid-in capital of 5 million yen” and “at least two full-time employees residing in Japan,If the size of the business is recognized as being equivalent to these, the requirement and condition of “the size of the business must be above a certain level” will be met.
Specific examples include
This page explains how to obtain a business management visa without paying 5 million yen in capital.
The most popular method of paying in 5 million yen in capital, as described above, is to The reason why this method is the most popular is because, as mentioned above, it is easy to prove that the size of the business is at least 5 million yen. and it is usually cheaper than hiring two employees.
However, since each foreigner’s situation is different, it is not appropriate to assume that a foreigner must pay 5 million yen in capital to obtain a business/administration visa. It is not appropriate to assume that you must pay 5 million yen in capital in order to obtain a business management visa.
In determining which method is most appropriate for the foreigner, we recommend that you consult with an experienced professional.
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