Business Manager after 16 October 2025: what founders must now show

Eligibility requirements

• Scale: capital or investment of JPY30 million or more. For a company this is paid-in capital or, for partnership-type entities, total contributions; retained earnings, capital reserves, salaries and office costs cannot be added. For a sole proprietor it is the total genuinely invested in the business, such as premises, a year of staff salaries and equipment. Where the applicant manages several companies, at least one must meet the threshold on its own.
• Staff: at least one full-time employee (常勤職員) who is a Japanese national, a special permanent resident or a holder of Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of Japanese National, Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident or Long-Term Resident status. Holders of Appended Table I work statuses do not count for this requirement, nor do dispatched, seconded or contracted workers. Full-time means a fixed schedule and, by ISA's indicators, around 30 hours or more a week with employment-insurance coverage.
• Capability: a master's, doctorate or professional degree in a field relevant to the business, foreign equivalents included, or at least three years of experience in business management or administration. ISA states that time spent preparing a business under the Startup Visa counts towards the three years.
• Japanese: the applicant or a full-time employee must have Japanese at CEFR B2 or above. A non-Japanese person satisfies this with JLPT N2 or higher, a BJT score of 400 or more, twenty years or more of mid- to long-term residence, graduation from a Japanese higher-education institution, or completion of Japanese compulsory education plus high school. A Table I status holder may satisfy this test as the employee, even though they cannot satisfy the staff test.
• Plan: the business plan submitted at the initial decision must be reviewed by a person with business expertise, currently a Japanese registered SME management consultant (中小企業診断士), certified public accountant or tax accountant who is not an officer or employee of the company.
• Premises and compliance: a private home is in principle not accepted as the business office; sector licences must be in place; and tax and social-insurance obligations must be met at each renewal.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Company registration and the register of shareholders or contributions showing paid-in capital of JPY30 million or more, with bank evidence of the source and receipt of the funds.
• For the full-time employee: employment contract, wage ledger, employment-insurance enrolment and the employee's residence record or evidence of Japanese nationality or qualifying status.
• The applicant's degree certificate with transcript, or employment certificates describing management duties and dates totalling three years, including any Startup Visa period.
• Japanese-ability evidence: JLPT or BJT certificate, graduation certificate or residence history for whichever person satisfies the test, with that person's CV.
• The business plan and the reviewer's signed opinion, with the reviewer's qualification evidence; office lease showing commercial premises; sector licences.
• From 15 April 2026, for Category 3 and 4 applicants who will manage the business, the additional declaration about the organisation's representative.

How to apply

1. 01

   Test the business against the five criteria

   WG checks each criterion against the planned entity before incorporation: how the JPY30 million will be contributed and evidenced, who the first qualifying employee will be, which person satisfies the Japanese test, and whether the founder's background meets the capability test. A gap in any one is a refusal ground.

2. 02

   Structure capital and hiring in the right order

   Capital must be paid in and recorded before filing; the employee must be on payroll with employment insurance. Founders often plan to hire after approval; under the reformed criteria the hire comes first.

3. 03

   Commission the plan review

   Engage an independent 中小企業診断士, CPA or tax accountant to review the plan. The reviewer tests the funding, market, staffing and profitability assumptions; a plan that fails this review should be revised before filing, not after.

4. 04

   File and respond

   Submit the Certificate of Eligibility or change-of-status application with the full evidence set. ISA may request an expert assessment or further evidence on the office, the employee or the capital.

5. 05

   Prepare for the first renewal

   At renewal ISA checks that the business is operating, tax and social insurance are paid, licences are held and the criteria remain met. Keep management accounts, payroll and tax filings in order from month one.

After approval & family planning

• A spouse and children may hold Dependant status; part-time work for them requires permission within 28 hours a week.
• A transfer of the business, a capital reduction, the departure of the only qualifying employee or a move to a home office each threatens the status and should be reviewed before it happens.
• Management years under Business Manager count towards the HSP management category and, with 70 or 80 points, towards the accelerated permanent-residence routes; the standard ten-year route also remains available.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant will genuinely manage a qualifying Japanese affiliate that meets the reformed scale and staffing criteria, the management year may be assessed as a managerial role for the programme's purposes. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• Highly Skilled Professional (i)(c) management applicants and Startup Visa holders are affected by the same criteria and transitional measures; a management route should be selected with the reformed test in view.
• ISA's indicators of full-time employment and its treatment of home offices are detailed; read the current explanation before structuring.