Japan Business Manager Visa: the ¥30M Investor Route, Costs and 2026 Rules

Japan's immigration system has no investment-for-residence programme. Residence is granted through one of the statuses of residence listed in the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, and the one built for owners and senior managers is Business Manager. It covers "operating a trade or other business in Japan or managing that business"^[2]. The status is administered by the Immigration Services Agency under the Ministry of Justice, and its detailed conditions are set by a Ministry of Justice ordinance on landing standards, last amended with effect from 16 October 2025^[1].

Status is granted for 3 months, 4 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years or 5 years^[2]. ISA, not the applicant, decides the period. A newly formed company almost always starts with one year, and longer periods follow once the company has filed accounts and paid its taxes on time^[12]. Each renewal is a fresh review of whether the business is real, solvent and tax-compliant.

The status is open: there is no quota or annual cap. But since October 2025 demand has collapsed. According to ISA figures reported by The Japan Times, applications fell from about 1,700 a month before the reform to about 70 afterwards^[5], and 953 Business Manager holders left Japan in January–June 2026 without a re-entry permit, about four times the previous year^[6]. The stated aim was to stop the status being obtained through paper companies that did no real business^[3].

Is there a Japan golden visa?

No. Searches for a Japan golden visa lead to this status because it is the nearest equivalent, but it is an active business visa. There is no route where buying property, bonds or a fund unit, or making a donation, gives you a residence card. If you want a passive residence permit in Asia, look at Malaysia's MM2H tiers or Thailand's long-stay membership visa; for the full list see our guide to residence-by-investment programmes worldwide.

What advisers call the Japan business investor visa was renamed Business Manager in 2015 so that it also covers hired managers. The investor conditions below come from the amended ordinance and ISA's explanation of it^[1].

1. ¥30 million of capital

For a company (kabushiki kaisha or godo kaisha) this means paid-in capital or the total investment. For a sole proprietor it means the total actually invested to run the business: office acquisition, equipment and one year of employee salaries^[1]. The money is not a fee and is not frozen, but the company must still look solvent at every renewal. Newland Chase notes ISA now looks at total business assets including capital, and a company that reaches ¥30 million by 16 October 2028 will have a smoother renewal^[4].

2. One full-time employee

At least one full-time staff member who is a Japanese national, a special permanent resident or a holder of a Table 2 status such as permanent resident or spouse of a Japanese national. Employees on work visas do not count^[1].

3. Japanese at B2 level

Either you or the full-time employee must have Japanese at CEFR B2 or higher. ISA accepts JLPT N2 or above, a BJT Business Japanese score of 400+, 20+ years of residence in Japan, or graduation from a Japanese university or secondary school^[1]. Many investors meet this through a bilingual hire.

4. Degree or experience

A master's, doctoral or professional degree in management or a field related to the business, or at least three years of business management experience^[1]. Time spent on the startup visa counts towards experience, but at a maximum of two years it is not enough on its own.

5. Expert-checked business plan and real premises

The plan must be reviewed for feasibility by a certified SME consultant, certified public accountant or tax accountant. Baker McKenzie reports that companies of a scale equivalent to listed companies are exempt from this check; ISA's own summary does not mention an exemption^[1][3]. You need an office suitable for the business. Home offices are in principle not accepted, and virtual offices will not pass^[1].

Japan golden visa real estate: what property can and cannot do

Foreigners can buy land and homes in Japan with no approval and no foreign-buyer surcharge^[20]. But owning property gives no status of residence. Since 1 April 2026, non-residents must report every acquisition of Japanese real estate, including a home for their own or a relative's use, to the Minister of Finance via the Bank of Japan within 20 days^[19]. From 5 October 2026 every individual registered as a new owner, Japanese or foreign, must also declare their nationality when the title is registered; it is held by the registry and not shown on the public register^[25]. The January 2026 government policy package flagged closer checks on foreign land purchases and beneficial ownership, without firm dates for further measures^[23].

A property business can qualify for Business Manager only if it is a genuine operating company that meets all five conditions: ¥30M of capital, an employee, Japanese ability, a reviewed plan and real premises. Holding a few rental flats and outsourcing their management is close to the paper-company pattern the reform was aimed at, and is unlikely to pass^[3].

If you do buy, budget 7–10% on top of the price for brokerage (capped at 3% + ¥60,000 plus consumption tax), registration and license tax of up to 2% of assessed value, real estate acquisition tax, stamp duty and scrivener fees. Fixed assets tax runs at a standard 1.4% of assessed value a year^[17][20].

Japan golden visa requirements 2026

On top of the five business conditions above, ISA checks the applicant personally^[1][2][4]:

• Real management role. You must make the business decisions. A passive shareholder who appoints someone else to run the company does not qualify.
• Source of funds. The ¥30M must be traceable to your savings, income or a genuine loan. Borrowed capital that disappears after incorporation is a common reason for refusal.
• Good conduct. Criminal records and past immigration breaches weigh against you.
• Tax and social insurance compliance. At renewal ISA looks at whether the company and you have filed and paid corporate tax, income and residence tax, and enrolled in health insurance and pension. Since October 2025 ISA states that it checks payment of these taxes and premiums at every renewal^[1][4].
• Time in Japan. ISA says that spending more than half of the granted period of stay abroad, without good reason, counts against renewal^[1].
• Business continuity. ISA judges continuity on the last two sets of accounts. If the company has negative net assets at the latest year-end, ISA asks for a written assessment of its prospects by a certified SME consultant, CPA or similar professional; if net assets were negative at both of the last two year-ends, continuity is in principle not recognised^[24].

There is no minimum age, no net-worth test and no language requirement for the applicant personally if the employee holds B2 Japanese. There is no fixed minimum stay, but the status assumes you are in Japan running the company, and long absences count against renewal.

A Business Manager holder's legally married spouse and children can live in Japan on Dependent (kazoku taizai) status. They usually apply with the main applicant or join later. Each pays the same consular visa fee and the same tiered extension fees, so a family of four renewing for one year now pays four times ¥33,000 at the counter^[8][9]. Parents are not dependants: there is no general parent visa, and elderly parents can usually visit only as short-term visitors.

Dependent status allows study but not full-time work. A spouse who wants to work needs permission for activity outside their status or their own work visa. Their income also does not count towards your household when you later apply for permanent residence, because the new guidelines exclude income earned by people on non-working statuses^[10]. Children's residence years do count towards their own later applications.

Most investors apply from abroad through a Japanese agent, because the Certificate of Eligibility must be filed in Japan.

Your company. For fiscal years starting on or after 1 April 2026, the effective combined statutory corporate rate in Tokyo is about 35.43% for an SME with capital of ¥100M or less, and 31.52% for large companies. SMEs pay a reduced 15% national rate on the first ¥8M of taxable income. A new 4% defence special corporate tax applies on base corporate tax above a ¥5M deduction^[16].

You personally. National income tax runs from 5% to 45% (above ¥40M), plus a 2.1% reconstruction surtax on the tax and a flat 10% local inhabitant tax^[15]. A foreigner who has been resident in Japan for no more than 5 of the past 10 years is a non-permanent resident and is taxed on foreign-source income only if it is paid in or remitted to Japan. After that, worldwide income is taxed^[15].

Inheritance and gift tax reaches 55%. Holders of a Table 1 status such as Business Manager are protected for overseas assets as long as they have lived in Japan for under 10 of the last 15 years; that protection is lost when you switch to a Table 2 status such as permanent residence^[17].

Exit tax. If you leave after more than 5 of the past 10 years as a resident and hold ¥100M or more in securities and similar assets, unrealised gains are taxed at 15.315% as if sold, with deferral in some cases^[18]. Years spent on a Table 1 status such as Business Manager are excluded from that count under Article 170(3) of the Income Tax Act Enforcement Order, so exposure normally starts once you hold a Table 2 status such as permanent residence. Get cross-border tax advice before switching.

Japan permanent residency by investment: what is realistic

Japan sells no permanent residency. You earn it by living in Japan on a renewable status. ISA's guidelines, revised on 1 October 2026, set the standard as 10 years' continuous residence, at least 5 of them on a working or residential status, while holding the maximum period of stay^[10]. Business Manager holders with 70+ points under the Highly Skilled Professional scheme can apply after 3 years, and those with 80+ points after 1 year^[10][13]. When a Business Manager holder applies, ISA also checks the company against the October 2025 criteria; renewal leniency during the transition does not carry over to permanent residence^[1][12].

The bar has risen:

• Fee: ¥200,000 for applications received from 1 October 2026^[7].
• Income: household income must stay above the average for Japanese households of the same size. This test, and the test that the household is not a burden on public funds, also apply to applications filed since 1 April 2026 that were still pending on 1 October 2026; the rest of the revised guidelines apply to applications from 1 April 2027^[10][11].
• From 1 April 2027: a projected-pension test (benchmarked to 30 years in the employees' pension scheme, with financial assets able to fill a gap), Japanese at B1 level as a consideration (not applied to Highly Skilled Professional applicants), a check of your understanding of Japanese rules and systems, school attendance for school-age children, and a negative assessment for absences of six months or more in one trip, or 2.5 years in total over 10 years, without good reason^[10].
• Period of stay: a 3-year grant counts as the maximum for applications filed by 31 March 2027. After that, only holders who had a 3-year permit on that date keep that treatment, and only for a first application decided before that permit expires^[10].
• Revocation: from 1 April 2027 permanent residence can be cancelled for wilful non-payment of taxes and social insurance, under the 2024 amendment of the Immigration Act^[21].

Permanent residence is the end point most investors aim for. Naturalisation is a separate, discretionary procedure that now expects about ten years of residence and requires giving up your current nationality^[22]. It is covered on our page on becoming a Japanese national after long residence.

• 1 April 2027: the rest of the revised permanent residence guidelines apply (pension, B1 Japanese, rules-knowledge check, absence limits), and permanent residence becomes revocable for wilful non-payment of taxes and social insurance^[10][21].
• 16 October 2028: the Business Manager transition ends. Companies formed under the old ¥5M rule must meet the new standards, by recapitalising to ¥30M or restructuring, or risk refusal at renewal^[1][4].
• Property: further measures on foreign land and property purchases were signalled in January 2026 but no dates or details have been published^[23].
• No investor programme is planned. We found no proposal for a passive investor or golden visa route. The direction of travel since 2025 has been stricter screening, not easier entry^[5][23].

It suits founders and operators who want to live in Japan and build a business there: an import-export firm, a hospitality or restaurant group, a consultancy or technology company with Japanese clients. If you already have management experience, can hire a bilingual employee and have ¥30M you would invest in a Japanese company anyway, the visa costs relatively little on top.

Look elsewhere if you want a passive investment, a plan-B residence card you rarely use, residence through property, or a quick second passport. Japan has none of these, and the 2025–2026 reforms were designed to screen out exactly those applicants.

• South Korea's property-based F-2 investor residence is the closest regional peer that accepts real estate.
• Taiwan's company-investment residence route is also business-based, with a lower capital threshold.
• Singapore's Global Investor Programme and Hong Kong's capital investment entrant scheme suit larger budgets that want a financial hub.
• Malaysia My Second Home, Thailand's long-stay privilege visa and the Philippines SRRV retiree visa give passive residence in Asia without running a company.
• Outside Asia, the US treaty investor visa is the nearest business-ownership equivalent, and Portugal's fund-based golden visa is a passive EU option.

To compare entry prices, see our ranking of the lowest-cost residence-by-investment programmes; for timelines to a second nationality, see residence programmes with the quickest route to naturalisation and residence versus citizenship by investment.