The Business Manager status (経営・管理) is for people who run a company in Japan rather than work for one. It changed more than any other residence category in recent years: on 10 October 2025 the capital requirement went from ¥5 million to ¥30 million, and several new conditions were added alongside it. Anyone researching this visa from older guides is working from the wrong numbers.
What the 2025 reform changed
Four requirements now apply that did not before:
- Capital of ¥30 million. Six times the old ¥5 million threshold. This is paid-in capital in the Japanese company, not personal savings, and it has to be genuinely invested in the business.
- At least one full-time employee. The company must employ someone in Japan on a full-time basis, and evidence of Japanese language capability within the business is expected.
- Experience or a relevant postgraduate degree. The applicant needs three or more years of experience managing a business or in a C-level role, or a master's or doctoral degree related to the intended business.
- A business plan reviewed by a qualified professional. The plan must be confirmed by someone with recognised expertise in business management, such as a certified public accountant or an SME management consultant. Large listed-company operations are exempt.
The stated reason for the overhaul was that the ¥5 million bar had become a route for applicants whose businesses existed mainly on paper.
If you already hold the status
There is a three-year transitional period from the October 2025 effective date. Existing holders applying to extend within that window are assessed on whether their company can reach the new standard. Once the window closes, a company still capitalised at ¥5 million has to either raise capital to ¥30 million or move the person to a different status of residence.
If you are on a Business Manager status now, this is a three-year planning problem, not a paperwork problem. Raising ¥25 million of additional capital is a decision to start making early.
The office requirement
Separate from capital, the business needs a physical place of business in Japan that is secured, independent and identifiable as a business premises. A lease in the company's name works. A virtual office address does not, and a corner of a residential apartment usually does not either, unless the space is genuinely partitioned, separately accessible, and contracted for business use. Immigration officers have been known to ask for photographs, floor plans and the lease.
What the status lets you do
You manage or administer the business. That covers directing operations, making hiring and investment decisions, and the day-to-day administration of a company you own or hold a senior role in. It does not cover doing the operational work yourself as your main activity: a Business Manager holder running a restaurant manages the restaurant, and immigration takes a dim view of applications where the applicant is plainly the sole cook and server.
Periods of stay are granted in the usual increments, with a first grant of one year being common for a new company and longer grants following a track record of filed accounts and paid taxes.
Renewals are where businesses fail
The initial approval is a judgement about a plan. Every renewal after that is a judgement about results. Immigration will look at your financial statements, your tax filings, whether you paid employee social insurance, and whether the business resembles what you described. Two consecutive years of losses, or a balance sheet showing accumulated debt exceeding assets, puts a renewal at real risk. Plenty of people clear the initial hurdle and lose the status at year three.
Keep the company's filings current and its books clean from day one, and engage a Japanese accountant rather than improvising.
Alternatives worth checking first
Given the new thresholds, two other routes are worth weighing:
- Startup visas run by designated prefectures and cities (Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka and others) give founders six months to a year of residence to get a business to the point where it meets the Business Manager requirements. Each programme has its own application route through the local government.
- J-Find, for recent graduates of highly ranked universities, allows up to two years in Japan to look for work or prepare a business launch, with a savings requirement rather than a capital one.
If your business idea is strong but ¥30 million is out of reach today, one of these buys you the runway.
Where to go next
High-earning executives should check the Highly Skilled Professional management track, where ¥40 million in annual income and five years of management experience open the J-Skip route and a one-year path to permanent residency.
For the filing itself, see Certificate of Eligibility and Required Documents.
Back to Work Visas.