Founders arrive in Japan braced for the visa and the incorporation. Then the company exists, the visa is in hand, and the bank says no — repeatedly, without explaining why.
This is the step that catches people, and it is the one nobody warns you about, because it is not a legal requirement you can satisfy by ticking boxes. It is a judgement call made by a person at a branch about whether your company looks real.
Why banks are cautious with you specifically
Japanese banks carry heavy anti-money-laundering obligations, and a newly registered company with foreign ownership, no trading history and a director who arrived recently is exactly the profile those rules were written about. Nobody at the bank thinks you are a criminal. They think you are a risk they are not paid enough to take.
What follows from that: your job is not to prove you are legitimate in the abstract, but to make the company look like it is actually operating. Every point below is a version of that.
The one thing that is close to non-negotiable
You need a representative director resident in Japan. Banks will generally not open a corporate account without one, and the October 2025 reforms tightened expectations here further.
Note that this is a bank’s requirement, not a registration one. Company law stopped requiring a Japan-resident representative director in 2015, which is why a company can be incorporated entirely from abroad and still fail at this step — see can you set up a company in Japan without living there?
If you are the founder and you hold the Business Manager Visa, you are that person and this is solved. If you are a foreign parent company setting up a subsidiary and planning to run it from abroad, this is the constraint to solve before anything else — it is why nominee and executive-manager services exist. Register Company in Japan states it offers bilingual nominee director services specifically to satisfy Japanese banking requirements, and Venture Japan publishes executive manager services from JPY 52,500 a month.
Not all banks are the same difficulty
This is the most useful thing to know, and most guides skip it. Applying to the wrong tier first wastes a month.
| Tier | Typical timeline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Online banks (GMO Aozora, PayPay Bank, Rakuten) |
1–2 weeks | Highest approval rates for foreign-owned businesses. Weigh convenience over traditional credibility. |
| Regional banks and shinkin | 2–3 weeks | Workable if you can show genuine local activity. Requirements vary a lot branch to branch. |
| Japan Post Bank | around 4 weeks | Thorough scrutiny, but a low rejection rate once accepted for review. |
| Megabanks (MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho) |
3–6 weeks | Hardest for new companies. Highest credibility with Japanese counterparties. |
The practical sequence most founders should run: open with an online bank first so the company can actually transact, then apply to a megabank later once you have a few months of activity, invoices and a filed tax return behind you. A second application from a company with a trading history is a completely different conversation from a first application from a company with none.
The trade-off is real, though. If you sell to large Japanese corporates, some procurement departments still look at which bank you use.
Documents
Every bank will want, at minimum:
- Certificate of Registered Matters (履歴事項全部証明書) — issued within the last six months, and some banks insist on three
- Articles of incorporation
- Corporate seal registration certificate
- The representative’s ID and residence card
- Notification of incorporation filed with the tax office
Gathering these is the easy part. They are necessary and nowhere near sufficient.
What actually moves the decision
Beyond the paperwork, banks look for evidence of substance. Reports from foreign-owned companies describe delays of two to five months, repeated rejections, and outright refusals where the bank was not satisfied on these points:
- A real office. A registered address at a virtual office is a flag. This is one of several places where the visa’s premises requirement and the bank’s expectations point the same way — see the office requirement guide.
- A website that exists in Japanese. An English-only site describing a company with a Japanese address raises the question of who your customers are.
- Contracts or invoices. Anything showing the business does something. A signed contract with a first customer is worth more than any amount of explanation.
- A business plan, in Japanese. Branch staff have to justify the decision internally, in Japanese. Make that easy for them.
- A phone number that is answered. Banks call.
The language problem
Application forms, contracts and the interview are conducted in Japanese at most banks, and English support at branch level ranges from minimal to none. This is not a formality you can work around with a translation app during a meeting where the bank is assessing whether your operation is real.
If you do not read Japanese comfortably, bring someone who does — the employee you hired for the visa requirement, your accountant, or the firm that handled your incorporation. Several firms in our directory list bank account opening among their services: Kaisha Setsuritsu Express, AIC Tax, TOMA Consultants Group, Kreston ProWorks, Capital Tax and SBC Group among them.
Sequencing
Two ordering mistakes are common and both cost weeks.
Do not leave the bank until last. Founders finish the visa, celebrate, and then discover the account takes another month during which the company cannot pay anyone. Start the bank conversation as soon as the registration certificate exists.
Do not apply everywhere at once. Rejections are not formally shared between banks, but a scattergun approach produces a stack of applications you cannot answer consistently. Pick the tier that matches where you actually are, get one account open, then expand.
What to ask a firm before you engage them
- Do you support bank account opening, or only the incorporation filings?
- Will someone attend the bank meeting with me, or do you only prepare documents?
- Which banks do you usually start with for a company like mine?
- What happens if the first application is refused?
The fourth question is the one that separates firms. Refusal is a normal outcome, not a catastrophe, and a firm that has a plan for it is telling you they have been here before.
Our directory records which firms state that they handle bank account opening, alongside their languages, published fees and the date each listing was checked. As always: this describes general practice, not advice on your situation, and the bank’s decision is the bank’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it so hard for a foreign-owned company to open a bank account in Japan?
Japanese banks carry heavy anti-money-laundering obligations, and a newly registered company with foreign ownership, no trading history and a recently arrived director is exactly the profile those rules were written about. Nobody at the bank thinks you are a criminal; they think you are a risk they are not paid enough to take. Your job is to make the company look like it is actually operating.
Do I need a representative director resident in Japan?
For the bank, in practice yes. Banks will generally not open a corporate account without one. Note that this is a bank requirement, not a registration one — company law stopped requiring a Japan-resident representative director in 2015, which is why a company can be incorporated entirely from abroad and still fail at this step.
Which Japanese banks are easiest for a new foreign-owned company?
Online banks such as GMO Aozora, PayPay Bank and Rakuten have the highest approval rates and typically decide in one to two weeks. Regional banks and shinkin take two to three weeks. Japan Post Bank takes around four weeks with thorough scrutiny but a low rejection rate once accepted for review. Megabanks — MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho — take three to six weeks and are hardest for new companies.
How long does it take to open a corporate account in Japan?
One to two weeks with an online bank, three to six weeks with a megabank. Reports from foreign-owned companies describe delays of two to five months, repeated rejections and outright refusals where the bank was not satisfied on substance. Start the application as soon as the registration certificate exists rather than leaving it until last.
What documents does a Japanese bank require?
At minimum: the Certificate of Registered Matters (履歴事項全部証明書) issued within the last six months and sometimes three, the articles of incorporation, the corporate seal registration certificate, the representative’s ID and residence card, and the notification of incorporation filed with the tax office. Gathering these is the easy part — they are necessary and nowhere near sufficient.
What actually decides the bank’s answer?
Evidence of substance beyond the paperwork: a real office rather than a virtual address, a website that exists in Japanese, contracts or invoices showing the business does something, a business plan in Japanese so branch staff can justify the decision internally, and a phone number that is answered. Banks call.
Is the process conducted in English?
Generally not. Forms, contracts and the interview are in Japanese at most banks, and English support at branch level ranges from minimal to none. Bring someone who reads Japanese comfortably — the employee hired for the visa requirement, your accountant, or the firm that handled the incorporation.