BM Visa Reform in the Media, Legal Commentary and Business-Plan Template

The Business Manager visa reform was widely covered as it developed. Reuters ran one of the first major stories on Japan's plan to tighten terms for foreign entrepreneurs on August 26, 2025, followed by Japan Times pieces the same week on the tightening and on the underlying immigration policy report. Asahi published articles clarifying that the changes would not affect already-held visas and detailing the capital increase, while TBS News covered the exact timeline for the new capital requirement taking effect. An event-registration platform hosted a session specifically on the risks and details of the BM visa in light of the reform, and Reddit's r/JapanFinance community discussed both the draft 30-million-yen capital proposal and its eventual finalization; Japan Today separately reported on so-called "Chinese ghost buildings" that exploited weaknesses in the old BM visa requirements, one of the arguments cited in favor of tightening the rules. Complementing the news coverage, several articles and legal commentaries discuss the 4-month temporary Business Manager visa status, a practicing lawyer's analysis of the 30-million-yen capital requirement, applicant-nationality statistics amid the tightening, and a points table for the BM/highly-skilled visa track; a template business plan from the Tokyo Startup program (Form 1-3) was used successfully by one founder in the community to obtain a BM visa and is worth requesting through the program's current channels if a current sample is needed. Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/japan-plans-stricter-terms-visas-foreign-entrepreneurs-2025-08-26/ — Reuters — first major report on Japan's plan to tighten BM visa terms. Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/26/japan-tighten-visa-business-manager/ — Japan Times article on the tightening of the Business Manager visa. Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/29/japan/society/immigration-policy-report/ — Japan Times article on the underlying immigration policy report. Source: https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/15947327 — Asahi — the reform will not affect already-held visas. Source: https://www.asahi.com/sp/articles/AST833FLKT83UTIL001M.html — Asahi article on the increase of the minimum capital requirement. Source: https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/2088763?display=1 — TBS News on the timeline for the new capital requirement. Source: https://client.eventhub.jp/ticket/e17mY_sZJE — event registration on the risks and details of the BM visa reform. Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/1n0d7px/draft_proposal_on_30_million_yen_requirement/ — Reddit discussion of the draft 30-million-yen capital proposal. Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/1o2nenj/business_manager_changes_officially_finalized/ — Reddit discussion of the finalized BM visa changes. Source: https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/empty-%27chinese-ghost-buildings%27-exploit-japan%27s-lax-business-visa-requirements — Japan Today case study on exploitation of the old BM visa requirements. Source: https://mailmate.jp/blog/4-month-business-manager-visa-japan — article on the 4-month temporary Business Manager visa. Source: https://keiei.kyoka-ok.com/keieivisa-strict.html — lawyer's analysis of the 30-million-yen capital requirement. Source: https://www.globevisa.com/examining-japan-business-manager-visa-tightening-requirements-in-a-changing-landscape/ — article on BM visa tightening and applicant-nationality statistics. Source: https://www.tn-office.jp/_p/acre/16294/documents/Points_Calculation_Table.pdf — points table for the BM/highly-skilled visa track.