How to open a business in Japan? If you are interested in setting up a business in the japanese territory, then you are in the right place. Check out our suggestions!
Do you want to know how to open a business in Japan? Here are some useful recommendations for starting a business in the land of the rising sun. Read our article to discover more!
Conditions for Registering a Company in Japan
First, you need to have an office address and register it. Be careful: you can’t use your residential address.
Then, you need to satisfy one of these conditions:
- Have a capital of 2,500,000 yen and 1 employee
- Have a capital of 5,000,000 yen
- Have at least 2 employees who are Japanese permanently resident in Japan
Another important step is to prepare the article of incorporation or Teikan. In this document, a new company sets its basic information (for example: name, purpose, directors, stock).
The article of incorporation must be notarized. The notarization fee is 50,000 yen.
Start-Up Visa
To set up a new business in Japan you need to obtain the so called start-up visa. This kind of visa was introduced to meet foreigner entrepreneurs’ needs.
In fact, the other kind of visa available is the business-manager visa, which only lasts 4 months.
On the contrary, a start-up visa’s duration is 6 months.
With this kind of visa, you can obtain a resident card, open a bank account and register your business.
You can obtain the visa in the following cities: Tokyo, Sendai City, Niigata City, Imabari City, Fukuoka City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture.
To get this visa you just need to apply to one of these local government offices with all the documents required, such as your business plan.
When the 6 months are over, you can apply for an extension of your visa for another 6 months.
If you already have another valid japanese visa, and you are resident, you can direclty go and register your company. But after that, you need to go and change your visa into a business visa.
Types of Companies in Japan
If you want to start a new business in Japan, you must choose among one of these four types of companies.
A Kabushiki Kaisha is a stock company, a Godo Kaisha is a limited liability company, a Gomei Kaisha is a general partnership company and a Goishi Kaisha is a limited partnership company.
Nevertheless, stock companies and limited liabilities companies are the most common in Japan. Which one should you choose? It depends on several conditions.
For example, if you want to set up your company in a fast and easy way, and you are the only investor, you may opt for the limited liability company; if your intention is to obtain other investors or to sell shares in the future, the best option is the stock company.
Was the reading useful? Then you should also check out our article about J-Startup program: a new growth for Japan startups.
