Startup Visa Eligibility, Capital, and Business Plan Requirements

The startup visa itself does not require importing capital into Japan — confirmed funds in an overseas account are sufficient (Shibuya's requirement was around 5 million yen, though expectations later shifted toward roughly 30 million yen). Capital and hiring a Japanese employee only become necessary when transitioning to a full BM visa. The visa is available to applicants currently on a student or tourist status; there is no direct transition to it from a work visa. It can even be obtained while on a tourist visa: arrive, meet with a lawyer, find an office (via a realtor/interpreter), submit documents, leave to await the certificate, then return to collect the visa. According to one view expressed in discussion ("at least that used to be the case"), a company that is already registered in Japan cannot apply for the startup visa. Once on the startup visa, real business activity is already allowed, including hiring employees and sponsoring their work visas, depending on the specific program. Business plans are commonly expected to include an exit strategy (which country an IPO or M&A is envisioned in), a list of local competitors, a justification for "why Japan/this city", and a depreciation rate for equipment (減価償却資産, depreciable assets). Common mistakes include overly technical language (the immigration officer reviewing the plan is not a specialist in the applicant's field) and using the standard form, which is built for B2B — B2C applicants need to adapt it themselves and attach supplementary documents. According to a TOSBEC seminar, the most common — and therefore most "suspicious" — business ideas among applicants are startup cafes/restaurants and generic IT outsourcing. JETRO can issue a "business plan approval" certificate, which immigration takes into account and which improves the odds of visa approval. See: Startup Visa Programs (City and Prefecture): How They Work; Boosting Startup Visa Approval Odds: Grants, Affiliations, and Benchmarks. Sources: https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/shotoku/2100_01.pdf — National Tax Agency reference material on depreciable assets (減価償却資産); https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/setting_up/section3/page6.html — official JETRO information on support for foreign entrepreneurs.