This article is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. Read the Japanese original（日本語版を読む）
The criteria for landing permission for 在留資格「経営・管理」 (Business Manager) have been reviewed, and the capital or total contribution has gone from 5 million yen (500万円) to 30 million yen (3,000万円). Added to the requirements at the same time are at least 3 years of experience in business management (or a degree equivalent to a master's degree or above), the employment of at least 1 full-time employee, a fair degree of Japanese ability and confirmation of the business plan by a specialist. People who are already living in Japan are covered too.
It is a status of residence created so that you can engage in running a business, or in management work.
The 入管法 (Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act) describes it as "activities to operate a trade or other business in Japan, or to engage in the management of such a business". In concrete terms, this covers representative directors, directors, corporate auditors, department heads, branch managers, plant managers and the like.
There are 3: starting a business and running it, taking part in an existing business, and acting in place of the person running the business.
When you start out there is the question of whether to set up a company or to trade as a sole proprietor, but 在留資格「経営・管理」 is needed in either case. Under the 入管法, it is not necessarily required that the business be a company with legal personality.
With the review of 1 September 2024 (令和6年9月1日), 5 points changed: capital, career history, employment, Japanese ability and confirmation by a specialist.
The criteria for landing permission for 「経営・管理」 have been reviewed. The former requirements and the requirements after the amendment are as follows.
| Item | Former | After the amendment |
|---|---|---|
| Capital or total contribution | 5 million yen (500万円) | 30 million yen (3,000万円) |
| Career history and education (the manager) | None | At least 3 years of experience in business management, or a degree equivalent to a master's degree or above in business management or in the field of the business to be run |
| Obligation to employ | None (a requirement to employ at least 2 people, as an alternative to the capital requirement) | Employment of at least 1 full-time employee |
| Japanese ability | None | Either the applicant or a full-time employee must have a fair degree of Japanese ability |
| Confirmation by a specialist | None | Confirmation of a new business plan by a person with specialist knowledge of business management (except, among others, where the scale is equivalent to that of a listed company) |
The capital has changed greatly, from 5 million yen (500万円) to 30 million yen (3,000万円). Whether you are thinking of starting a business or are already running one, please check how it affects you early.
Whether you are a manager in name only, and whether you are substantively running the business, is judged as a whole.
Where you are newly starting a business, the business has not yet begun, so whether you are a person who will substantively run it, rather than a manager in name only, is judged as a whole from the concreteness of the business, the source of the shares acquired and of the money put in, the course of events up to now, and so on.
Even where a business is already being carried on, whether the person being invited will actually engage in its management or administration is judged as a whole, taking into account the scale of the business, whether there are other managers or administrators, the proportion of the shareholding, the content of the work, and so on.
If it is judged that the business will founder in a short time, permission is denied.
If it is judged that the business you will carry on will founder in a short time and cannot be run continuously, permission is denied. It has to be objectively accepted that the business will be carried on stably and continuously.
You can start a new business in Japan, take part in an existing business, or take a business over.
Side work, or activities outside the scope of 経営・管理, are not permitted. The business must also be lawful.
After the amendment it is 30 million yen (3,000万円). It was formerly 5 million yen (500万円).
They do. From the first 在留期間更新許可申請 after 3 years have passed since the amendment came into force, you are, as a rule, required to meet the amended criteria.
You need at least 3 years of experience in business management, or a degree equivalent to a master's degree or above in business management or in the field of the business to be run. The experience includes activities preparing to start a business under 「特定活動」.
Either the applicant or a full-time employee must have a fair degree of Japanese ability. Something equivalent to CEFR B2 is taken as the standard.
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This page is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails.