Startup Visa: Designated Activities for founders preparing a Japanese business

Eligibility requirements

• Submit a business-preparation plan to a certified implementing body (外国人起業促進実施団体), which is a local government or a private operator certified by METI. The body assesses whether the Business Manager criteria are likely to be met and, if satisfied, issues a confirmation certificate (起業準備活動計画確認証明書).
• Apply to the regional immigration bureau with the certificate within its validity period, the confirmed plan and its attachments. ISA decides the Designated Activities permission; the implementing body's confirmation is a precondition, not the decision.
• ISA's current document list asks for evidence of at least one year of experience in operating or managing a business, or a doctorate, master's or professional degree in business management or the relevant technical field. Check the linked authority, because this element was introduced with the October 2025 notice amendment.
• Keep the cumulative period under the status within two years, including any renewal. There is no third year.
• Plan from the first day to satisfy the reformed Business Manager criteria: capital or investment of JPY30 million or more, at least one qualifying full-time employee, the degree or three-year management-experience test, and the Japanese-language test. The preparatory status does not waive any of them.
• A spouse and children may apply alongside the founder with proof of the relationship and of the funds available for their stay.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

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

• Confirmation certificate from the implementing body, together with a copy of the confirmed business plan and every attachment the body relied on.
• A business plan that already addresses the Business Manager criteria: source of the JPY30 million, premises other than a private home, the first qualifying hire, who will satisfy the Japanese-language test, and the professional who will review the plan at the change-of-status stage.
• Evidence of the founder's business experience or qualifying degree, with employment certificates that describe management duties and dates.
• Proof of funds for the preparation period, passport and photographs, and the return envelope and forms the bureau requires.
• For accompanying family: marriage and birth certificates with Japanese translations and evidence of means.
• A dated milestone tracker that records when each criterion will be met and what document will prove it.

How to apply

1. 01

   Select the implementing body and test the plan

   Implementing bodies differ in sector focus, support and confirmation criteria. WG begins by mapping the plan against the reformed Business Manager criteria, because a plan that cannot plausibly reach JPY30 million of capital and a qualifying hire within two years should not start under this status.

2. 02

   Obtain the confirmation certificate

   The implementing body reviews the plan, may interview the founder and issues the certificate if satisfied that the criteria are likely to be met. The certificate has a validity period; the immigration application must be filed within it.

3. 03

   Apply for the Designated Activities permission

   An overseas founder applies for a Certificate of Eligibility through the regional bureau, then for a visa at the Japanese mission. A founder already in Japan on another status applies for a change of status. ISA examines the plan, the certificate, the founder's background and the funds.

4. 04

   Execute the preparation with a paper trail

   Incorporate, open accounts, secure premises, recruit and keep the implementing body informed as its rules require. Each step should produce a document that will later sit in the Business Manager application.

5. 05

   Change to Business Manager before the period ends

   File the change-of-status application with the capital, employment, premises, language and reviewed-plan evidence. ISA decides afresh; the Startup Visa does not create an entitlement.

After approval & family planning

• A spouse and children may hold a dependant-type Designated Activities permission. Any part-time work for them requires separate permission and is not assured.
• Keep the plan current. A material change of business line, location or ownership should be discussed with the implementing body and documented before it is implemented.
• Years spent under the Startup Visa are not years under a work status for the standard ten-year permanent-residence rule; the route to permanence runs through Business Manager and, where the points are reached, Highly Skilled Professional.

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 found and then manage an operating Japanese entity within a qualifying group, the preparatory period may be assessed as a stage before a managerial role rather than as a managerial role itself. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• Implementing bodies may require sector fit, a local connection or a presentation; some certified private operators charge for their support.
• The METI notice and ISA document list were amended in October 2025; verify the experience or degree element and the family provisions before filing.