What is the Japan Startup Visa?

It is a provisional Designated Activities status, not a standalone visa category, that lets a foreign entrepreneur enter and stay in Japan to prepare a business before meeting the standard Business Manager visa's usual thresholds. A certified municipality or approved private organisation reviews your business plan and issues a Certificate of Confirmation, which you then use to apply to an Immigration Services Bureau for the status. Official source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), Startup Visa. Reviewed 17 July 2026.

Is the Startup Visa the same everywhere in Japan?

No. This is a genuinely fragmented, municipality by municipality scheme. Each participating local government, or an approved private Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Organization, runs its own certification process and sets its own priority sectors or evaluation approach. Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Osaka are well-known examples, but we could not confirm a definitive current list of every participating municipality, so confirm directly with the location you are considering.

How long can I stay under the Startup Visa's provisional status?

Following a METI notification effective 1 January 2025, the maximum provisional period is up to 2 years nationwide. This replaced an earlier, shorter framework under 2015 and 2018 special zone programmes that typically allowed 6 months, extendable to 1 year. Some municipalities, such as Tokyo, have been reported to run their own renewal mechanics, for example 1 year followed by 6 month renewals with monthly check-ins, within that national maximum. Official source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), Startup Visa. Reviewed 17 July 2026.

What do I need to do during the provisional period?

You are generally expected to secure an office, register your company, open a corporate bank account and deposit capital into it, and, where your municipality requires it, attend periodic progress check-ins. These steps build toward meeting the standard Business Manager visa's requirements before the provisional period ends. Official source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), Startup Visa. Reviewed 17 July 2026.

How much capital do I need to convert to a Business Manager visa?

Since a reform effective October 2025, the standard Business Manager visa requires paid-in capital of JPY 30,000,000 or more, a significant rise from the previous JPY 5,000,000 figure that is still widely quoted in outdated guides. Always check that any figure you are reading reflects the post-October 2025 reform. Official source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), Business Manager status of residence. Reviewed 17 July 2026.

What happens if I don't meet the Business Manager thresholds in time?

If the business has not met the current capital, staffing, experience, and business plan requirements by the end of the provisional period, the Designated Activities status expires and the founder must leave Japan or find another status they qualify for. There is no automatic extension simply because the business needs more time.

Can my spouse or children come with me on the Startup Visa?

A spouse or child can generally apply for their own Designated Activities dependent status. Whether a Certificate of Eligibility is strictly mandatory for dependents in every case is reported by immigration-consultancy guides, not confirmed against a primary MOFA page -- confirm directly before relying on it, though it appears to be recommended in practice. Confirm the current process with your municipality's programme or a qualified immigration professional.

How much does the Startup Visa cost?

Municipal certification is commonly free or low-cost depending on the municipality, for example Fukuoka's Startup Cafe has been reported to offer free consultations. The standard immigration application fee is commonly cited around JPY 4,000; this figure is reported by visa-guide sources, not confirmed against an official current MOFA fee schedule, so confirm directly before relying on it. Optional paid help from a gyoseishoshi administrative scrivener is market-rate and entirely optional, reportedly from several hundred thousand yen to over JPY 1,000,000, a range also reported by consultancy sources rather than any official schedule. Confirm current figures with your municipality, embassy, or scrivener directly.

What is the difference between the Startup Visa and the J-Find visa?

The Startup Visa requires municipal certification of a business plan and is open to founders more broadly. The J-Find visa is aimed specifically at recent graduates of a university ranked in the top 100 by at least 2 of the QS, THE, or Shanghai rankings, within 5 years of graduation, giving up to 2 years to job hunt or prepare a business, with part-time work allowed up to 28 hours a week. Official source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), J-Skip and J-Find programmes. Reviewed 17 July 2026.

Should I apply for the Startup Visa or the standard Business Manager visa directly?

If you already meet the current Business Manager visa's thresholds, JPY 30,000,000 or more in capital, a secured office, at least one full-time Japanese or permanent-resident employee, and the relevant management experience or degree, you do not need the Startup Visa's municipal certification step and can apply directly. The Startup Visa exists for founders who need time in Japan to build toward those thresholds first. Official source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), Business Manager status of residence. Reviewed 17 July 2026.

Does eMigr8 guarantee my Startup Visa application will be approved?

No. We do not guarantee outcomes on any visa route. We give coaching, profile review, and guidance to help you understand the municipal certification process and plan a realistic path toward the Business Manager thresholds, but the certification decision and the immigration decision both rest with the relevant municipality and the Immigration Services Agency.

Does eMigr8 give legal or immigration advice on the Startup Visa?

No. We give coaching, profile review, and guidance to help you understand and plan around the Startup Visa. We do not give legal advice or immigration consultation, and municipal criteria and national thresholds are set by Japan's Immigration Services Agency and by individual local governments, and can change or vary by location, so always confirm your specific position with the relevant municipality or a qualified immigration professional.

Japan's Startup Visa, explained in plain terms

Japan's Startup Visa is not a standalone visa category. It is a provisional Designated Activities status that lets a foreign entrepreneur enter and stay in Japan to prepare a business before they can meet the requirements of the standard Business Manager visa. A certified local government, or a private organisation approved to run the same scheme, reviews your business plan first. If they are satisfied, you get a Certificate of Confirmation and can apply to an Immigration Services Bureau for the actual status. This page explains how that certification step works, how long the provisional period lasts, and what happens when it ends.

Who it is for

Founders who want to build and run a business in Japan but do not yet meet the standard Business Manager visa's capital, staffing, or experience thresholds; Entrepreneurs who need time in Japan itself to secure an office, open a bank account, and register a company before those thresholds can realistically be met; Founders whose business idea fits a participating municipality's priority sectors or economic development goals; People who have already researched, or are willing to research directly with a specific municipality, since the scheme's exact requirements vary by location.

How eMigr8 helps

eMigr8 provides coaching and guidance to help you understand and plan around the Startup Visa. We do not give legal advice or immigration consultation. Municipal criteria, capital thresholds, and provisional periods are set by Japan's Immigration Services Agency and by individual local governments, and they can change or vary by location, so always confirm your specific position with the relevant municipality, the Immigration Services Agency, or a qualified immigration professional before you rely on anything here.