Japan Plans Japanese Language Requirement and Sixfold Capital Increase for Entrepreneur Visa

Entrepreneurs face a higher bar from October

Japan plans to require Japanese language skills, at least 30 million yen in capital or investment, and one full time employee for its business manager visa, the main route for foreign entrepreneurs starting or running a company in the country. The language condition could be met by either the applicant or an employee, giving founders who do not speak Japanese a way to qualify through hiring.

As of September 14, 2025, the changes remain proposals. The Immigration Services Agency intends to set the language standard at roughly B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, or CEFR. That is a six level international scale used to describe how well someone can communicate in a language.

The financial requirement would rise sixfold, from five million yen to 30 million yen, a little over $200,000 at current exchange rates. Applicants would also have to employ at least one full time worker in Japan while continuing to meet the existing requirement for a business office.

The justice ministry opened public consultation on a draft ministerial ordinance on August 26, 2025. Comments are being accepted until late September, with implementation targeted for October and potentially beginning as early as the middle of that month.

Officials describe the package as a way to improve communication and ensure that visa holders run genuine businesses. About 41,600 people held business manager status at the end of 2024. The category allows stays of up to five years, with renewals, and permits family members to accompany the holder.

For applicants, the central change is that money and employment would become joint requirements. The current rules allow qualification through either an investment of five million yen or the hiring of two full time employees. The proposed rules would require 30 million yen and at least one full time employee.

Who would need to speak Japanese?

The Immigration Services Agency plans to accept proof of sufficient Japanese from either the entrepreneur or at least one full time employee. A founder could therefore meet the condition by employing someone with the required language ability rather than personally reaching B2.

A Japanese national employed full time would ordinarily satisfy the language requirement. An employee who is not Japanese could also meet it by documenting the required proficiency. For an entrepreneur without Japanese skills, a bilingual manager or operations lead could fill that role while handling daily business communication.

B2 describes someone who can understand the main ideas of complex text, take part in meetings and negotiations, and communicate at work with limited support. In a business setting, the intended abilities include reading and writing common documents, answering telephone calls, visiting public offices, and discussing problems with suppliers or employees.

Officials say those skills should help owners communicate with customers, staff, landlords, banks, suppliers and local government. Better communication could reduce everyday friction and help companies meet community expectations without relying so heavily on costly intermediaries.

Authorities will publish the accepted ways to prove proficiency, such as standardized test results or certificates from recognized institutions. The final list of acceptable evidence has not yet been set out.

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or JLPT, uses a different scale from CEFR. There is no official one to one mapping between the two, although many employers regard JLPT N2 as roughly comparable to an upper intermediate standard. Applicants would need to follow the evidence requirements authorities eventually publish.

What the money and staffing rules would change

The proposed 30 million yen threshold would make the financial test substantially more demanding. Compared with the existing five million yen investment route, an applicant would need another 25 million yen to reach the new minimum.

The staffing change would also remove the present choice between qualifying through investment or through two full time employees. Under the proposed package, capital alone would no longer be enough, and hiring would have to accompany the higher investment.

Regulators say the combination is intended to screen out applicants with limited commitment and favor businesses that contribute to local employment and tax revenue. An actual office, sufficient capital and an employee would together help demonstrate that a company has activity in Japan.

The aim is to make it harder to obtain residence through a company that exists mainly on paper. Applicants should expect more detailed documentation of their operations, including contracts, payroll records and evidence that their office is real and used for the business.

For a small founder, the practical effect extends beyond finding more investment. The company would also need to support an employee and maintain a suitable workplace. For a business already planning to invest at least 30 million yen and hire locally, the proposed criteria make those expectations more explicit.

When would the changes take effect?

The justice ministry is using an amendment to the ministerial ordinance governing status of residence criteria. This process does not require a separate act of parliament. After the public comment period, the ordinance can be finalized.

The proposed timetable leaves applicants with a short period to assess their plans. The main dates are:

• August 26, 2025: The justice ministry published the draft ministerial ordinance and opened public consultation.
• September 14, 2025: The changes remain proposals, with consultation still under way.
• Late September 2025: The public comment period is scheduled to end.
• October 2025: Authorities aim to introduce the tightened rules, potentially as early as the middle of the month.

New applications filed after the effective date would be assessed against the new criteria. The government has not publicly detailed every transitional arrangement, including whether existing holders would retain the old thresholds when renewing.

Renewal reviews typically examine whether a business is still operating, complies with labor and tax laws, and has fulfilled earlier commitments. Existing holders preparing to renew should therefore plan for closer examination of genuine activity and staffing while awaiting the transitional rules.

The difference matters for an entrepreneur who already has residence status. The proposed capital and hiring thresholds are clear for future applications after implementation, but the treatment of existing businesses at renewal remains an unresolved part of the package.

Why authorities want tighter checks

Officials have pointed to both immigration policy concerns and investigations into misuse of the business manager category. Cases in recent years have involved brokers setting up dummy companies, forging documents and submitting sham applications.

In one case, authorities allege that hundreds of front companies were established to help people obtain residence status without operating genuine businesses. The proposed capital threshold and clearer evidence requirements are intended to make such arrangements harder to carry out.

Government and industry critics have argued that the category became too easy to misuse compared with equivalent routes in other countries. Officials present the language condition as a way to raise standards while keeping the route open to serious founders.

The political setting has also changed. Support has increased for parties campaigning for stricter immigration, and the ruling coalition lost its upper house majority in July. Senior officials have promised stronger oversight of residence categories vulnerable to misuse, while the justice minister has commissioned a review of policies for foreign residents.

The language proposal connects that oversight with daily life. Authorities want owners to deal more effectively with city halls, tax offices, banks and landlords, helping reduce complaints from local communities and improving integration.

A business with a qualified bilingual employee may also be better equipped to handle safety briefings, labor consultations and emergency communication. Those tasks give the language condition a practical role beyond preparing an immigration application.

Which entrepreneurs would feel the impact?

Founders with strong funding and plans to hire local employees are more likely to meet the proposed requirements. Small operators seeking to qualify with minimal capital and little physical presence in Japan would face a narrower route.

Service businesses built around short stay rentals and low overheads, which have featured in past misuse cases, would be harder to justify under the new framework. The combination of capital, staffing and office evidence would require applicants to demonstrate a more substantial operation.

About half of business manager visa holders are from China, according to recent immigration data. Many others come from South and Southeast Asia. The higher capital requirement may reduce application volumes from places where small family businesses have been common.

Companies in technology, manufacturing support, healthcare services and wholesale trade across borders may find the expectations clearer if they can deploy 30 million yen and maintain staff. Their ability to qualify would still depend on meeting the full requirements for their business.

Entrepreneurs without Japanese skills would retain some flexibility because an employee could meet the language condition. Hiring a bilingual operations lead could both satisfy that requirement and help with customers, suppliers and public administration.

The proposed rules therefore change several decisions at once: how much money to commit, when to hire, who should handle Japanese communication, and what evidence to keep. Those decisions would need to fit the actual business plan.

How the startup visa fits into the changes

Japan also offers a startup visa under the designated activities category. This route allows entrepreneurs to live in the country for a limited period while preparing to meet the business manager requirements, with municipal governments providing mentoring and administrative support.

An applicant submits a business plan to an approved city or prefecture. The municipality and the Immigration Services Agency assess the proposal before the founder receives permission to stay and build the foundations of the company.

Authorities expanded the framework in 2025, extending the preparation period from the traditional six months to as much as two years and rolling out availability nationwide. The longer period gives founders more time before moving to business manager status.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry publishes details, participating municipalities and contact points on its startup visa page. Applicants still need a credible business plan and municipal endorsement.

The route reduces immediate barriers such as arranging an office lease or committing substantial capital at the outset. Municipal support can also help founders connect with banks, landlords and advisers as they prepare their businesses.

Many entrepreneurs use the startup visa as a preparation stage before applying for the business manager category. Policymakers have signaled that they want to keep opportunities open for promising innovators while raising the standards for that category.

For a founder still building funding and local connections, the extra preparation time may be valuable. The eventual move to business manager status would require planning around the standards that apply when that application is made.

What applicants should prepare

Applicants planning to file after the ordinance takes effect should build budgets and schedules around the proposed higher requirements. Their paperwork should show how the company is funded, where it operates, whom it employs and how it expects to earn revenue.

A business office should suit the intended activity, with a lease in the company name. Photographs, a floor plan and utility contracts can help document the premises. Capital records should explain both the source of the money and its transfer into the business.

The main preparation tasks include:

• Keep bank statements, shareholder resolutions and proof of remittance documenting the proposed 30 million yen capital or investment threshold.
• Hire or identify at least one full time employee and prepare the employment contract, social insurance enrollment and payroll records.
• If relying on an employee for the language condition, prepare evidence of B2 ability using the tests or certificates authorities accept.
• Write a detailed business plan explaining expected revenue, staffing and initial customers, supported where possible by contracts, letters of intent or purchase orders.
• Maintain accurate books from the start, file taxes on time, enroll in labor and social insurance, and follow employment rules.
• Identify sector approvals, such as food service permits or travel agency licenses, and document progress toward obtaining them.
• Consider the startup visa when a preparation period is needed, including municipal help with banks, landlords and advisers.
• Avoid brokers selling package companies or promising guaranteed approvals, as checks on dummy activity and forged records have increased.

Founders should connect each document to a real part of the business. Payroll records should reflect actual employment, office evidence should match the premises used, and the business plan should explain the activity the company intends to carry out.

Existing holders also need to keep records of ongoing operations and compliance. Until the transitional arrangements are published, careful preparation for renewal means being able to show what the business has done and whether it has met its earlier commitments.

A tougher route with an employee language option

Japan's proposal combines three tests that address different parts of running a company: funding, local employment and communication. The office requirement remains alongside them, reinforcing the expectation that a visa holder operates a genuine business in the country.

The employee option is especially relevant for foreign founders who have funding and a viable plan but limited Japanese. It allows the company to provide the necessary language ability through its workforce while making that hiring decision part of the application strategy.

As of September 14, the next steps are the close of consultation in late September and finalization of the ordinance ahead of the intended October introduction. Applicants and existing holders are awaiting the accepted language evidence and details of transitional treatment for renewals.

Key Points

• Japan proposes a Japanese language condition at roughly CEFR B2 for the business manager visa, met by either the applicant or one full time employee.
• The capital or investment minimum would rise from five million yen to 30 million yen, alongside a requirement for at least one full time employee in Japan.
• The existing business office requirement would remain, with closer scrutiny of genuine operations and supporting records.
• Public consultation began on August 26, 2025, and runs until late September. Implementation is targeted for October, potentially from the middle of the month.
• Transitional treatment for existing holders at renewal has not been fully detailed.
• About 41,600 people held business manager status at the end of 2024, roughly half of them from China.
• The startup visa framework was expanded in 2025 to provide up to two years of preparation with municipal support.
• Officials say the package aims to reduce misuse, improve communication and favor genuine businesses that contribute employment and tax revenue.