Recommended Order of Steps and the Full 10-Step Checklist

The recommended order of action when opening a business for the Business Manager (BM) visa is: first settle on a director, then find and set up an office, then register the company, then obtain a license for the specific activity if needed, and only after that apply for the visa. This order minimizes the risk of refusal, since immigration expects a physical office and a properly registered corporation to already be in place before the visa application is filed. The full sequence of steps is: 1) decide on the entity form (KK/GK), name, statutory capital, business activities, and registered address; 2) draft the articles of incorporation (定款, teikan); 3) have the articles notarized (KK only — GK does not require notarization); 4) pay in the statutory capital to the founder's personal account (a company account cannot be opened before registration); 5) file the registration documents with the Legal Affairs Bureau / Homukyoku (法務局) — in person, by mail, or online via a card reader and digital signature; 6) obtain the 法人番号 (corporate number), which is assigned automatically and arrives by mail and can also be looked up at houjin-bangou.nta.go.jp; 7) register the corporate seal; 8) file notices with the tax office (Company Establishment Notice plus the blue-form application), with local authorities (prefectural tax office, city/ward office — deadline roughly 15 days), and with the pension fund once employees are hired; 9) open a corporate bank account; 10) file the visa application, if required. Source: https://www.houjin-bangou.nta.go.jp/ — Official National Tax Agency registry of corporate numbers (法人番号).