Cost and Timeline of Registration — Summary

Cost estimates for registration vary widely in the chat depending on whether it is done alone or through intermediaries. DIY registration of a GK runs about 100,000+ yen and of a KK about 168,000 yen, though these amounts can be lowered through free municipal courses for entrepreneurs. Full support from lawyers costs 100,000 to 1,000,000 yen depending on the scope of services. Registration takes from a few days to a couple of months, and the minimum annual tax, even at a loss, is about 50,000–70,000 yen. DIY registration of a GK (without a turnkey lawyer) breaks down roughly as: a 60,000 yen filing fee, a 3,000–10,000 yen seal set, articles notarization/printing costs of about 40,000 yen if not filed electronically, and about 2,000 yen for printing documents — around 100,000+ yen in total at the start. For a KK: government fees of about 150,000 yen (notary/stamp duty) plus about 18,000 yen in extra fees, totaling around 168,000 yen (a real case from one participant); another estimate puts the KK registration fee at about 150,000 yen, the notary at about 53,000 yen, and the seal at about 10,000 yen. A DIY initial notarization of the teikan cost about 16,000 yen in one real case, plus considerable time and research. The 150,000 yen registration fee can be reduced by completing free, but labor-intensive (Japanese-only), courses for aspiring entrepreneurs offered by the municipality — for example, Chuo-ku Tokyo (city.chuo.lg.jp/a0016/shigoto/kigyoushien/sougyousienjigyou.html); this also raises the subsidy cap available later. The courses can be taken even after the company is opened, but the benefits are not applied retroactively. A judicial scrivener's (司法書士) fee for handling registration changes runs around 50,000 yen. Full lawyer-assisted registration costs around 100,000 yen in one chat example, or about 300,000 yen in another (a KK with several co-founders: 200,000 yen to the government plus 300,000 yen to the lawyer for registration and one simple license, totaling about 500,000 yen). Opening a company through a lawyer plus the first office payment runs roughly 500,000–600,000 yen by one estimate; a more conservative turnkey estimate for a BM/Startup visa is around 1,000,000 yen, or from 500,000 yen for a budget approach. A nominal Japanese director costs about 60,000 yen/month independently; a turnkey package including a nominal director can run up to about 400,000 yen. Turnkey intermediary agencies — some advertised on YouTube with testimonials from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh — can charge 900,000–1,000,000 yen for registration, which chat participants consider inflated; the usual cost of a comparable package is 100,000–200,000 yen. Turnkey firms such as ACROSEED do exist, but each founder's personal involvement (opening the account, interviews, etc.) is usually still required — a fully hands-off outsource is difficult. On timing, GK registration takes about a week and KK about two weeks, though it can stretch to several months in complex cases such as a foreign shareholder; one participant registered a company in just 3 days. Registering a company with an existing residence card (zairyu) is significantly simpler and faster than with a student visa — acquaintances have opened a company in 10 days. Official registration-time statistics are published at houmukyoku.moj.go.jp/tokyo/static/kanryoyotei_00070.htm. The minimum annual tax: for a GK with zero profit, the minimum annual resident tax for a corporation is about 70,000 yen even at a loss, or, by another estimate, a minimum of about 50,000 yen/year in cheaper cities. On top of that come office costs, and, if the owner employs themself, monthly corporate insurance and pension contributions. Source: https://www.city.chuo.lg.jp/a0016/shigoto/kigyoushien/sougyousienjigyou.html — Chuo-ku Tokyo municipal page on free courses supporting new entrepreneurs. Source: https://www.acroseed.co.jp/ — Example turnkey company-registration agency in Japan (some services, including business-visa support, have been discontinued). Source: https://houmukyoku.moj.go.jp/tokyo/static/kanryoyotei_00070.htm — Official Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau statistics on registration processing times.