Starting a Business · Japan
Starting a Business - Japan
Japan permits 100% foreign ownership of companies and imposes no statutory minimum capital, so incorporating a subsidiary (typically a Kabushiki-Kaisha or Godo-Kaisha) is mechanically straightforward and takes roughly 2–8 weeks. However, the process involves notarization of articles, registration formalities and prior-notification screening for sensitive sectors, and — critically — a foreigner intending to live in Japan and run the business now faces a substantially tougher Business Manager visa (¥30 million capital and other conditions from October 2025), which makes the overall picture moderate rather than easy.
FEFTA states foreign investors are free to make inward direct investment; full foreign ownership of a Japanese company is permitted in most sectors. Restrictions apply only to designated 'sensitive' national-security sectors (prior notification to MOF via the Bank of Japan and a review/waiting period) and a few sector caps (e.g. NTT capped at 33.3%).
There is no legally required minimum capital to incorporate a Kabushiki-Kaisha (K.K.) or Godo-Kaisha (G.K.) under the Companies Act — even ¥1 is technically sufficient. Capital must be paid in to the incorporator/representative director's account before registration.
Decide company particulars and draft articles of incorporation; have the articles notarized by a Japanese notary (required for a K.K., not for a G.K.); pay in capital; then register establishment at the Legal Affairs Bureau (the application date is the date of establishment), which issues a registration certificate. Foreign incorporators must supply home-country affidavits/certificates of the parent's profile and signatures.
JETRO estimates about two months to establish a subsidiary after particulars are determined (a branch about one month); practitioners report the K.K. registration itself runs ~2–3 weeks. Setup costs total roughly ¥610,000 for a subsidiary (registration license tax for a K.K. is ¥150,000 or 0.7% of capital, whichever is higher).
By amended Ministry of Justice ordinance effective 16 October 2025, a foreign founder seeking the 'Business Manager' residence status must now meet a ¥30 million minimum capital (up sixfold from ¥5 million), employ at least one qualifying full-time employee, show three years' management experience or a master's degree, and demonstrate Japanese language proficiency. A three-year transition (to 16 Oct 2028) applies to existing holders.
Foreign companies typically enter via a representative office (no registration, no sales), a branch office (no separate legal personality), or a subsidiary (K.K. or the simpler/cheaper G.K.). The K.K. is the conventional, more credible form but costs more and requires notarized articles; the G.K. is faster and cheaper with no notarization.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/23/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →