Why AI cannot tell you what Japan incorporation costs
Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini what it costs to incorporate in Japan with professional help, and you will get a confident-sounding range. Ask it which firm…
Guides
The Business Plan: There Is No Template, and That Is the Point
No format is published and no checklist exists. The standard is three words — specific, rational, feasible — and a named professional has to sign their…
Permanent Residence: The Ten-Year Rule and the March 2027 Change
Ten years, or three on 70 points. Paying tax late counts against you even after you have paid. And the transitional measure letting a three-year status…
Sole Proprietor or Company? How the JPY 30 Million Differs
A sole proprietor can hold the Business Manager status, and the JPY 30 million is measured completely differently — total invested, not paid-in capital. For companies,…
Bringing Your Family: What the Dependent Visa Allows
Spouse and children only — parents are not eligible. And a dependent spouse may work at most 28 hours a week, with permission. The two constraints…
Social Insurance: The Cost That Comes With the Mandatory Employee
Every Japanese corporation must enrol — even with only a representative director. The employer pays roughly the same again as the employee, and the filing clock…
The Office Requirement: What the Rule Says and What Is Convention
Virtual offices banned, partitions to the ceiling, a two-year lease — most of what you will read is practitioner convention, not published rule. Knowing which is…
The Japanese Language Requirement: You May Already Satisfy It
B2 or above, held by you or a full-time employee. Two of the five accepted routes are not tests at all — and the employee who…
The Consumption Tax Trap in Japan’s New JPY 30 Million Rule
The capital figure the Business Manager Visa now demands is three times the threshold that cancels the consumption tax exemption new companies normally get. You are…
Already Hold the Business Manager Visa? Your Deadline Is October 2028
Existing holders have a three-year grace period to 16 October 2028 — but it is conditional on sound management and tax compliance, and two of the…