Japan’s Ministry of Justice raised the minimum capital requirement for its Business Manager visa from ¥5 million to ¥30 million on October 16, 2025. The revised rules also mandate hiring at least one full-time employee, professional certification of business plans, and B2-level Japanese proficiency — the sharpest tightening of entrepreneur immigration in decades.
The policy effectively prices out small foreign-owned businesses started with savings rather than institutional capital. Existing visa holders get a three-year transition window, but the signal from Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae‘s administration is unmistakable: Japan’s door to micro-entrepreneurs is closing.
¥30 million. That is what it now costs, in upfront capital, to qualify for Japan’s Business Manager visa. Before October 16, 2025, the figure was ¥5 million. The sixfold increase is not a calibration. It is a door closing. Under Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, Japan has reversed a decades-long posture of courting foreign entrepreneurs. The official rationale points to public unease over rule-breaking by a subset of visa holders. The effect is simpler: small foreign-owned businesses — the kind started with savings rather than institutional backing — are being told they are no longer welcome. For the existing community of entrepreneurs, the new rules do not just raise the bar. They rewrite what counts as a legitimate business in Japan.
Six times the capital, one employee, no exceptions
On October 10, 2025, the Immigration Services Agency announced an amended ministerial ordinance. Six days later the new rules took effect. The capital requirement jumped to ¥30 million. Applicants must now employ at least one full-time worker — a category that excludes part-timers. They must also demonstrate three years of management experience or hold a relevant advanced degree. And a licensed professional must certify their business plan.
For an entrepreneur who arrived with savings and a laptop, the calculus has shifted sharply. Home offices are no longer accepted. Renewals face stricter scrutiny of tax and social insurance payments. VisaJapan, a specialist advisory firm, notes that B2-level Japanese proficiency is now expected from either the applicant or a full-time employee.
The policy contains one soft edge. For renewals filed until October 16, 2028, immigration authorities can assess non-conforming businesses flexibly, weighing performance history and prospects of meeting new criteria. DSG Management Consultancy confirmed the grace period in its 2025 analysis. The window means existing holders are not automatically ejected. But it also imposes a countdown clock.
The Tokyo Licensed Immigration Lawyers Group notes that the revision imposes a heavier burden on applicants to prove the scale, stability, and continuity of their business. The new scale requirement demands both a full-time worker and capital of at least ¥30 million — a bar few micro-enterprises can clear.
| Country | Pre-Oct 2025 rule | Post-Oct 2025 rule | Effective date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | ¥5M capital or 2 employees | ¥30M capital + 1 full-time employee | Oct 16, 2025 |
| Japan | No language requirement | B2 Japanese by applicant or staff | Oct 16, 2025 |
| Japan | Self-declared business plan | Professionally verified plan | Oct 16, 2025 |
| Japan | Home office permitted | Dedicated commercial office | Oct 16, 2025 |
| Japan | No experience mandate | 3 years management or advanced degree | Oct 16, 2025 |
The Sanae administration’s immigration pivot
The policy change did not emerge in isolation. Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae took office shortly before the new rules were drafted. Her administration has linked immigration tightening to what officials describe as a need to restore fairness in residency categories. The Business Manager visa — originally designed to attract diverse foreign entrepreneurs with no language or hiring requirements — became an early target.
Japan’s approach sets it apart from other developed economies. Baker McKenzie notes that unlike EU or US investor visas, which often emphasise job creation milestones or designated funds, Japan’s rules focus heavily on upfront capitalisation and professional oversight. It is a deliberate filter, designed to screen out micro-enterprises.
A consultancy, a small café, a freelance design practice — all face a capital hurdle roughly six times higher than before. The reform also excludes outsourcing businesses and private lodging operators from eligibility outright. The message is clear: Japan wants scale, not scrappiness.
The ¥30 million threshold is not just a number. It is a filter. And the businesses it filters out — modest, owner-operated, often the first foothold of an immigrant entrepreneur — were precisely the ones Japan’s previous policy framework sought to attract. The framework is gone. What replaced it is a bet that the entrepreneurs Japan loses were not the ones it wanted.
Beyond the headline
The Bigger Picture
Japan’s shift on the Business Manager visa reflects a broader move from using immigration policy to actively court small foreign entrepreneurs toward prioritising social stability and control. Instead of lowering barriers to attract diverse micro-businesses, the state now signals that only well-capitalised, professionally vetted operations with clear local embeddedness are welcome. The profile of foreign participation in Japan’s domestic economy is being reshaped.
The Power Behind It
Real leverage over foreign small business owners lies with central bureaucracies — the Ministry of Justice and Immigration Services Agency — that can redefine visa criteria via ordinance and strict evidentiary demands. Capital thresholds, staffing mandates, and documented managerial expertise allow bureaucratic gatekeepers to filter who can own and run companies in Japan, aligning outcomes with administrative risk perceptions rather than market demand.
The Reach
The new criteria primarily affect globally mobile entrepreneurs who once saw Japan as an accessible base for modest service or hospitality ventures. By raising the financial and compliance bar, Japanese regulators indirectly shape which foreign firms can plug into local supply chains and consumer markets. Western consultancies, niche retailers, and franchise operators must now weigh whether the added friction justifies a footprint compared with alternative Asian hubs.
Three decisions the new rules force
With the capital threshold now at ¥30 million and the three-year renewal clock ticking, anyone tied to Japan’s small-business ecosystem faces immediate decisions.
- Western entrepreneurs planning a launch — Your cost of entry just multiplied by six. Before committing capital, consult a qualified Japanese immigration lawyer or the Immigration Services Agency’s official guidance. Business plans now need professional certification. Budget for a dedicated office and at least one full-time employee from day one. The path that existed before October 2025 is closed.
- Existing Business Manager visa holders — If your renewal falls before October 16, 2028, you have a narrow window. Authorities can assess your case flexibly, but only if your track record shows progress toward the new standards. Formalise your staffing, secure a commercial office, and ensure tax and social insurance records are clean. Every renewal is now a test.
- Commercial landlords and lenders — Micro-enterprises that once leased shopfronts or borrowed working capital now face forced consolidation. Some will close. Others will sell to larger, better-capitalised buyers. The surviving tenant pool will be smaller but more solvent. Reassess exposure to foreign-entrepreneur-dependent properties now, before the transition window expires in 2028.
FAQ
How will renewals be assessed during the three-year transition?
Existing Business Manager visa holders renewing between October 16, 2025 and October 16, 2028 may be assessed flexibly if they do not yet meet all new criteria. Authorities can consider the business’s performance to date or its prospects of conforming after renewal. This offers a limited grace period — not a permanent exemption.
Who counts as a full-time employee under the new rules?
The worker must generally be a Japanese national or a foreign resident with unrestricted work status, such as a permanent resident or spouse of a Japanese national. Part-time staff do not qualify. At least one employee must be able to demonstrate Japanese language ability when used to satisfy the language criterion at renewal.
Can I run a business from a home office?
Under the 2025 reform, home offices are in principle no longer accepted. Applicants must secure a dedicated office that meets commercial standards. At renewal, immigration officers will more strictly examine whether tax filings and social insurance contributions align with the declared business premises.
Explainer
- Business Manager visa
- Japan’s visa category for foreign entrepreneurs seeking to run a company in the country. Established under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, it originally required no Japanese language ability or local hiring. The October 2025 revision raised capital thresholds sixfold and added staffing, language, and professional verification requirements.
- Immigration Services Agency
- The Japanese government body responsible for immigration policy enforcement under the Ministry of Justice. It sets detailed criteria for residency categories including the Business Manager visa. Its 2025 ministerial ordinance amendment drove the capital increase to ¥30 million and the new eligibility obligations.
- Ministerial ordinance
- A form of delegated legislation in Japan’s legal system that allows government ministries to issue binding rules under the authority of a parent statute. The Business Manager visa changes were enacted via an amended ordinance under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, enabling the government to tighten requirements without passing new legislation through the Diet.
- Takaishi Sanae
- Japan’s prime minister who took office in 2025 and oversaw the tightening of the Business Manager visa shortly after her administration began. Her government has linked stricter immigration controls to public concerns over rule-breaking by foreign nationals and a broader platform of restoring perceived fairness in residency policies.
- B2 Japanese language proficiency
- A level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages indicating upper-intermediate ability. Under the revised Business Manager visa renewal criteria, either the applicant or a full-time employee must now demonstrate approximately B2-level Japanese. This represents a significant new barrier for entrepreneurs who previously operated without Japanese language capability.
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