The October 2025 reform raised capital, experience and staffing requirements together. What that means for how a foreign owner-manager should capitalise a Japanese entity.
- Business Manager visa capital jump
- Inkan and notarization formalities
- How did the Business Manager visa change in 2025?
Japan's national corporate tax rate is 23.2% (reduced to 15% on the first JPY 8 million of taxable income for SMEs with paid-in capital of JPY 100 million or less), but the figure that matters for budgeting is the effective combined rate once local taxes are layered on: national local corporate tax, enterprise tax and inhabitants tax bring the effective rate to approximately 31.5% for large corporations and up to 35.4% for SMEs. Two further changes apply to fiscal years beginning on or after 1 April 2026 — a revised 10.3% national local corporate tax rate and a new 4% "defence capabilities" surcharge on base corporate tax above a JPY 5 million deduction — both of which shift the effective rate mid-transition for companies whose fiscal year does not align with 1 April.
What a foreign hire has to satisfy in Japan. Every figure below is published on the Japan country page.
| Japan | |
|---|---|
| Main work-permit route | Business Manager visa (paid-in capital ≥¥30 million since October 2025, plus management experience or a relevant master's degree, a full-time employee, and Japanese-language proficiency) for owner-operators; Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa for skilled hires; Highly Skilled Professional points-based status (70+ points) offers accelerated permanent residency (as early as 1 year at 80+ points) |
| Official language | Japanese |
| Minimum wage | ¥1,226/hour in Tokyo (effective October 2025, the highest of Japan's 47 prefectures); national weighted average ¥1,121/hour (2026) |
| Legal forms | Kabushiki Kaisha (KK) · Godo Kaisha (GK) |
| Corporate tax rate | 23.2% national (15% on the first JPY 8M for SMEs with capital ≤JPY 100M); effective combined rate ~31.5–35.4% with local taxes |
What makes it complex in Japan
- Business Manager visa capital jump — — raised from JPY 5 million to JPY 30 million in October 2025, alongside new management-experience-or-degree, full-time-employee and Japanese-language requirements for the applicant or that employee.
- Inkan and notarization formalities — — KK incorporation requires Articles of Incorporation notarized by a notary attached to the Legal Affairs Bureau and a registered company seal (inkan), adding steps with no direct analogue in signature-based jurisdictions.
How did the Business Manager visa change in 2025?
A Ministry of Justice ordinance effective 16 October 2025 raised the minimum capital requirement from JPY 5 million to JPY 30 million — a sixfold increase — and added requirements for either 3+ years of management experience or a relevant master's degree, at least one full-time employee, and Japanese-language proficiency held by the applicant or that employee. Applications submitted before 16 October 2025 were assessed under the old JPY 5 million threshold.
When does a Japanese company require a statutory audit?
The Companies Act requires a CPA or audit-corporation statutory audit for "large" Kabushiki Kaisha — defined as paid-in capital of JPY 500 million or more, or liabilities of JPY 20 billion or more — and for any company that voluntarily establishes an accounting auditor, audit committee, or nominating committee.
Business Manager visa capital jump is one of the points HTLC Network handles for clients operating in Japan, within a single engagement that covers every other country they operate in — executed locally, governed centrally.
In Japan the scope is: Business Manager and Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa coordination, including the post-October 2025 capital and staffing requirements.
See Workforce Mobility in Japan for the full scope, or the Japan country page for the statutory framework across every service.
Figures as published on the HTLC Network country pages, reviewed September 2026 and collected from public sources. They are not a substitute for advice on a specific case and should be verified before being relied on.