Of all the ways a Business Manager Visa application goes wrong, the office is the one founders least expect. The capital requirement is loud and obvious — JPY 30 million, impossible to overlook. The premises requirement is quiet, and people sign a cheap virtual office contract months before anyone tells them it will not count.
This guide sets out what the requirement actually asks for, and compares the Tokyo operators we have researched on the points that decide whether a room qualifies.
A note on where these points come from. The Immigration Services Agency publishes less than this section implies. It requires premises “necessary and sufficient” for the scale of the business, and states that using your home as the office is not permitted in principle. It does not name virtual offices or coworking, and it sets no lease term. The specifics below are practitioner convention drawn from how applications have been decided — sound guidance, and worth following, but not published rule. We separate the two in what the office rule says and what is convention.
What the requirement asks for
You need an independent place of business in Japan. In practice, immigration practice treats that as three separate tests, and a space has to pass all three.
1. It must be physically separate
A room enclosed by walls and a door, separated from other offices. This is where most cheap options fail:
- A virtual office does not qualify. An address and a mailbox is not a place of business, however prestigious the building.
- A coworking desk does not qualify. Neither does a dedicated desk in an open room.
- A partitioned booth generally does not qualify if the partition does not reach the ceiling. An open-topped divider is not a wall.
One Tokyo operator, Entre Support, states this on its own site in plain terms: a private lockable room is required, and coworking spaces and virtual offices cannot be used. That is a more direct statement than most operators in this sector are willing to make, and it is consistent with how applications are decided in practice.
2. The contract must be for business use, in the company’s name
The lease needs to make clear it is for business purposes. A residential contract, or one in your personal name with no mention of the company, invites questions you do not want at the examination stage.
3. The term must be long enough to look like a real operation
This is the test that catches people who have solved the first two. Practitioners generally advise a lease of at least one year, with two years or more preferred. A month-to-month arrangement, or a six-month introductory rate, undercuts the impression of an established place of business — which is precisely what the requirement exists to test.
The trap here is that flexible, short terms are exactly what the serviced office industry sells on. The product that is most convenient commercially is the one least suited to a visa application.
Tokyo operators compared
Compiled from each operator’s own published material, checked on the dates shown in the directory listings. “States visa suitability” means the operator itself addresses the Business Manager Visa on its site — not that we have verified any application succeeded.
| Operator | Private rooms | Contract length | Published price | English support | States visa suitability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entre Support | Yes, lockable | Fixed term stated as required | Not published | Not mentioned | Yes, explicitly |
| Tensho Office | Yes, all rooms, lockable | Short-term available; minimum not stated | From JPY 29,700/month | Not mentioned | No — but states company registration supported |
| CROSSCOOP | Yes, plus coworking | From 1 year | Campaign figures only | Not mentioned | No |
| Servcorp | Yes, serviced | Flexible | From JPY 100,000/month | Yes, bilingual staff | No |
| Hello Office | Yes, all rooms | 6 months (campaign terms) | Not published | Not mentioned | No |
| Regus | Yes, individual to full floor | Not published | From JPY 600/person/day | Yes | No — but points to guidance on registration addresses |
| The Executive Centre | Yes, serviced | Not published | Private office on request; virtual from JPY 16,200/month | Yes | No |
What that table actually tells you
Nobody has everything. The one operator that is clearest about the visa publishes neither prices nor English support. The three that do offer an English service — Servcorp, Regus and The Executive Centre — say nothing about the visa and sell on flexible terms. The cheapest private room does not state whether it issues the kind of lease agreement an application wants. Not one operator we have found combines English support, published pricing, and an explicit statement about the premises requirement.
So the realistic approach is not to find the perfect operator. It is to pick on the constraint that binds hardest for you — language, budget, or contract term — and then ask the operator directly about the other two, in writing, before signing.
Price range is wider than you would expect. A private room runs from about JPY 29,700 a month to JPY 100,000 and up. That is a factor of three for a requirement that is binary: the room either satisfies it or it does not. Paying more buys you address, service and English support — not a better chance of approval.
Watch the virtual office line item. Servcorp’s virtual office is JPY 8,000 a month against JPY 100,000 for the serviced office. That gap is tempting, and it is the single most expensive mistake available in this part of the process.
Three questions to ask before you sign
- Will you issue a lease agreement (賃貸借契約書) in my company’s name, stating business use? Ask for a specimen. Some operators issue a membership or usage agreement instead, which is a different document.
- What is the longest term you will contract for? If the answer is six months or month-to-month, that is useful to know before rather than after.
- Is the room fully enclosed to the ceiling and lockable? “Private” is used loosely in this sector. Ask specifically.
Sequence matters
The common failure is ordering. Founders often sort out the office first because it feels concrete and cheap, then discover at the application stage that the space or the contract term does not work — and by then they are locked in.
Talk to whoever will handle your application about the premises before you sign anything. See our guide to the October 2025 rules for how the office requirement fits alongside the capital, employee, language and business plan tests, and the directory for the firms that handle them.
One caveat on everything above: this is a summary of published information and general practice, not advice on your case. Immigration examines applications individually, and the only person who can tell you whether a specific room will be accepted is a licensed professional looking at your specific application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a virtual office satisfy the Business Manager Visa office requirement?
No. An address and a mailbox is not a place of business, however prestigious the building. This is the single most expensive mistake available in this part of the process: one Tokyo operator sells a virtual office at JPY 8,000 a month against JPY 100,000 for the serviced office that would actually qualify.
Does a coworking space or a dedicated desk count?
No. Neither a hot desk nor a dedicated desk in an open room qualifies, and a partitioned booth generally does not qualify if the partition stops short of the ceiling. An open-topped divider is not a wall. What is required is a room enclosed by walls and a door, and lockable.
How long does the lease need to be?
Practitioners generally advise at least one year, with two years or more preferred. A month-to-month arrangement or a six-month introductory rate undercuts the impression of an established place of business, which is precisely what the requirement exists to test. Note the trap: short, flexible terms are exactly what the serviced office industry sells on.
How much does a qualifying office in Tokyo cost?
Published private-room pricing runs from about JPY 29,700 a month to JPY 100,000 and above — a factor of three for a requirement that is binary. The room either satisfies it or it does not. Paying more buys address, service and English support, not a better chance of approval.
Which Tokyo office operators support English speakers?
Of the operators researched for this directory, three state an English-language service: Servcorp, Regus and The Executive Centre. None of the three says anything about the Business Manager Visa, and all sell on flexible terms. The one operator that is explicit about the visa requirement publishes neither prices nor English support. No operator we have found combines all three.
What should I ask an operator before signing?
Three things, in writing. Will you issue a lease agreement (賃貸借契約書) in my company’s name stating business use — and may I see a specimen? What is the longest term you will contract for? Is the room fully enclosed to the ceiling and lockable? “Private” is used loosely in this sector.