Real Cases: Foreign Shareholder, Visa Renewal, and a Business-Plan Rejection

A detailed real case of registering a KK with a foreign non-resident shareholder: the articles of incorporation were entirely in Japanese, the non-resident's address was listed twice (in katakana and in English, exactly as on the signature certificate), a power of attorney (委任状) from the non-resident to the Japan-based founder was needed for notarizing the articles, and a notarized signature certificate from the non-resident's home country was couriered to Japan. It is easier to keep a non-resident as a shareholder only, not a director, since that requires fewer signatures and translations. The representative director (代表取締役) opened a temporary personal account, paid in the capital, and obtained a bank statement. Total cost of DIY registration in this case was roughly 168,000 yen: about 150,000 yen in government fees plus about 18,000 yen in additional fees. Renewal of the Business Manager visa in the first one to two years tends to go through "on autopilot," without strict scrutiny of business results — based on one participant's experience with a BM visa obtained in the early 2000s. From the third year on, immigration examines financial performance more closely: in one case an applicant with a 2 million yen loss was nearly refused, and the renewal was only saved by a sale to a Japanese company that happened to close during the review. In another case, immigration rejected a business plan submitted for the BM visa without a detailed explanation — the wording amounted to roughly "we didn't like your business plan." The applicant was, however, given the chance to revise and resubmit it. See: Recommended Order of Steps and the Full 10-Step Checklist.