The founder route into Japan changed in October 2025 — and it changed hard. Higher capital, a required employee, a Japanese-language bar and a certified business plan. Here is the honest picture.
Last updated: June 2026 — reviewed against the amended Ministry of Justice ministerial ordinance, in force 16 October 2025.
Free Japan Business Manager eligibility check — capital position, staffing, Japanese-language route, business-plan certification and the Highly Skilled Professional fast-track to permanent residence.
Get Assessment| Japan Business Manager Visa (founder / management route) | |
|---|---|
| Governing authority | Ministry of Justice / Immigration Services Agency, Japan |
| Reform in force | 16 October 2025 (ordinance promulgated 10 October 2025) |
| Minimum capital | JPY 30 million (up from JPY 5 million) — capital threshold confirmed after assessment |
| Mandatory staff | At least one qualifying full-time employee, excluding the applicant |
| Language bar | CEFR B2 (JLPT N2 level) from applicant or one full-time employee |
| Business plan | Certified by a registered SME consultant, CPA or licensed tax accountant |
| As of | June 2026 |
We assist founders based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait City, Muscat, Manama, and across India. Our role is to read the new Japanese rules honestly, test your file against them, and tell you whether the numbers work before you spend on anything.
After the 2025 reform, the first question is no longer "how fast?" — it is "do you clear the capital, staffing and language gates at all?"
Japan tightened the Business Manager Visa sharply through an amended Ministry of Justice ministerial ordinance, promulgated on 10 October 2025 and in force from 16 October 2025. The minimum capital rose from JPY 5 million to JPY 30 million — roughly a sixfold jump — and three new gates were added: a qualifying full-time employee, a Japanese-language requirement and a certified business plan.
Applications filed by 15 October 2025 were assessed under the old rules. Everything lodged from 16 October onward meets the new bar. For corporations the JPY 30 million is paid-in capital; for sole proprietors it can include office, salaries and operating investment. The exact figure that applies to your structure is something we confirm after a proper assessment — not a number to promise blind. Check where you stand — free assessment.
The reformed Business Manager Visa requires minimum capital of JPY 30 million, up from JPY 5 million before October 2025. For a corporation this is paid-in capital; for a sole proprietor it can include office costs, salaries and operating investment. The capital threshold that applies to your case is confirmed after assessment, not promised in advance.
This sixfold increase is the single biggest reason the route now excludes most small founders. It is no longer a lean startup visa — it is a substantial-capital business establishment. We will not encourage you toward it if your funding picture cannot support it cleanly and lawfully. Message us on WhatsApp and we will be straight with you about the math.
The 2025 reform added a Japanese-language requirement: either the applicant or one full-time employee must reach CEFR B2 equivalent. That can be evidenced by JLPT N2, a BJT score of 400 or more, around twenty years of residence in Japan, or graduation from a Japanese university. The qualifying employee can be a foreign national already on another work visa.
This is workable for founders who do not yet speak Japanese — but only if you secure the right team member early, and only alongside the new mandatory full-time hire, who must be a Japanese national, a permanent or special-permanent resident, or a foreign national with qualifying long-term status. That staff member is counted separately from you.
The honest note. For a typical SME founder from the UAE or India, this is now a high-eligibility-risk route. The JPY 30 million capital, the qualifying full-time employee, the CEFR B2 Japanese ability and the certified business-plan validation stack into a substantial, professionally-supported application — not an accessible startup visa. Existing holders below the new bar face possible renewal denial once the grace period ends on 16 October 2028.
Separately, February 2026 Immigration Services Agency guidance applies a near-zero-tolerance stance on unpaid or late tax and social-insurance — pension, health insurance and resident tax — for all permanent-residence applications. Late payments are reportedly triggering PR denials even where the points are sufficient. No outcome can be guaranteed; thresholds and consular practice are still settling.
The management requirement is broadly unchanged in substance: you need either three years of business management experience, or a master's degree or higher in a business-related field. An overseas master's degree is accepted, so you do not need a Japanese qualification to clear this particular gate.
What is new sits around it. The business plan must now be validated by a certified professional — a registered SME management consultant, a certified public accountant, or a licensed tax accountant — unless the business is at listed-company scale. So the management track itself is familiar; the documentation and certification wrapped around it is the part that changed.
Yes — the PR pathway is structurally unchanged. The standard route is roughly ten years of residence, and there is a faster track through the Highly Skilled Professional points system: permanent residence after three years at 70 points, or one year at 80 points. The HSP (i)(c) category covers management activity.
The catch is that the fast-track now presumes the same new substance — the JPY 30 million capital, the qualifying full-time employee and the B2 Japanese ability. And the February 2026 ISA guidance means any tax or social-insurance arrears can sink the PR application regardless of your points. Clean compliance from day one matters as much as the points themselves.
All criteria are set by the Government of Japan and the RBI and are subject to change.
Cosmos Immigration does not hold a Japanese immigration licence. For Japan, applications are prepared and submitted through government-authorised agents and regulated legal practitioners — for example, licensed gyoseishoshi or immigration lawyers — within our network. Cosmos coordinates eligibility, documentation and case management, so your file is built correctly before it reaches the authorised professional who lodges it.
← View all startup & business visa pathways on the hub page.
Yes, it is open — not suspended. But the October 2025 reform tightened it sharply, raising minimum capital from JPY 5 million to JPY 30 million and adding a mandatory employee, a Japanese-language requirement and a certified business plan. Applications filed from 16 October 2025 meet the new bar.
Minimum capital is JPY 30 million, up from JPY 5 million. For a corporation this is paid-in capital; for a sole proprietor it can include office, salaries and operating investment. The exact threshold that applies to your structure is confirmed after assessment rather than promised in advance.
Not necessarily. Either you or one full-time employee must reach CEFR B2 equivalent — evidenced by JLPT N2, a BJT score of 400 or more, around twenty years of residence in Japan, or graduation from a Japanese university. The qualifying employee may be a foreign national on another work visa.
Extension applications filed between 16 October 2025 and 16 October 2028 receive a discretionary review based on business soundness and prospect of compliance. From 16 October 2028, full compliance with the new criteria is mandatory, or renewal is denied.
Yes. The standard route is around ten years of residence, with a faster track through the Highly Skilled Professional points system — three years at 70 points or one year at 80. Note that February 2026 guidance means tax or social-insurance arrears can defeat a PR application even with sufficient points.
Cosmos Immigration is a regulated immigration consultancy founded in Dubai in 2014, with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hyderabad and Oakville. Cosmos does not hold a Japanese immigration licence; Japan applications are prepared and submitted through government-authorised agents and regulated legal practitioners in our network, with Cosmos coordinating eligibility, documentation and case management. Ask us who handles your file, and verify them — that is how it should work. Verify Our Credentials
Cosmos Immigration is a private consultancy, not a government body. Program criteria and figures are set by the Government of Japan and are subject to change; verified against official sources as of the date shown.
Start with a free assessment, not a sales pitch — or message us on WhatsApp. After the 2025 reform we will tell you honestly whether Japan fits your numbers, even if the answer is no.
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