Designated Activities (Business Startup Preparation)
A Designated Activities status that gives founders up to two years to prepare a business in Japan before they have to meet the Business Manager criteria, marketed as the Startup Visa.
Two things are routinely misunderstood. The first is that this is a national scheme with national rules: it is not. Approval comes from a municipality or one private organisation, each of which sets its own business plan and residency conditions, and only about 20 municipalities operate it at all. The second is that it is a stepping stone with slack in it. It is not an extension of the business route. When the two years end you must satisfy the full Business Manager criteria, including JPY 30,000,000 of capital, and since the 2025 repricing that conversion has become harder rather than easier.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Founders who do not yet meet Business Manager requirements, typically no office or no capital |
| Route family | Business |
| Validity | Up to 2 years |
| Stay per entry | Usually granted in 6 month or 1 year increments, depending on the municipality |
| Threshold | No fixed capital figure (2026). Each municipality sets its own business plan and residency conditions, and municipal approval substitutes for the Business Manager criteria |
| Renewal | Renewed within the 2 year window while the business plan is on track |
| Settlement | Switch required. Must convert to Business Manager |
| PR clock | None while on this status. The clock effectively starts on conversion |
| Citizenship clock | None |
| Family | Partial. Dependants are generally allowed only after conversion, and practice varies by municipality |
| Local employment | Yes. You are building the company |
| Tax headline | You become a Japanese tax resident once you hold a residence card and a registered address; the startup phase is usually loss-making |
| Processing | 2 to 4 months, split between the municipal examination and the immigration examination |
Application flow
- Check the METI list of participating municipalities and the one private organisation. Your city may not run the scheme, and the list changes.
- Apply to the municipality with a business plan. Expect the plan to be tested on evidence of capital raising, not just on the idea.
- Obtain the recommendation or confirmation from the approved Foreign Entrepreneurship Promotion Organization.
- Apply for the Designated Activities status, with the municipal examination and the immigration examination running in sequence. Expect two to four months in total.
- Enter Japan and start building. The status is granted in six month or one year increments within the two year window.
- Renew inside the window while the plan is on track.
- Convert to Business Manager before the two years run out, meeting the full criteria including JPY 30,000,000 of capital (2026).
- Bring dependants after conversion, subject to municipal practice.
Good fit
A founder with a credible plan, some runway, and a genuine need for time: time to lease an office, time to raise the JPY 30,000,000, time to build the trading history that makes a Business Manager application credible. It suits people who are moving to a city that actually runs the scheme and who have already begun talking to investors, since municipalities now look for evidence of fundraising.
Poor fit
Anyone who needs certainty. Municipal approval is discretionary, the two years are finite, and the conversion test is the same one you would have faced on day one. Founders with no capital-raising activity should not bother, because municipalities increasingly reject plans with no evidence of it. People who need their family in Japan from the start should also look at the Business Manager route directly, since dependant rules here are partial and vary by municipality.
Watchpoints
- Only about 20 municipalities and one private organisation operate the scheme. Your city may not. The METI list changes, so check before you plan around it.
- Two years is not an extension of the Business Manager route. At the end you must satisfy the full new criteria, including JPY 30,000,000 of capital (2026).
- The clock does not count toward permanent residence. The status is also not a work visa for anyone else, so a spouse cannot use it to work.
- Municipalities increasingly reject plans with no evidence of capital raising. The 2025 Business Manager change made conversion harder, and screening tightened in response.
- The date on your confirmation certificate matters. If it was issued before 16 October 2025, the old Business Manager criteria may still apply at conversion. Certificates issued after that date do not get the old test.
- Dependant rules vary by municipality and were not tested against a specific municipal page. Confirm with the municipality before you build a family plan around it.
Sources
- Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Startup Visa programme page, checked 2026-10-22
- Immigration Services Agency, Designated Activities (Business Startup Preparation) status guidance, checked 2026-10-22