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 main battleground of screening has moved to physical confirmation of the actual state of affairs — whether business is genuinely being carried on at that address. The focus is on unannounced investigations of the business premises, whether you are enrolled in social insurance, and whether the director's remuneration matches the tax data. Please note that this is no longer a status you can keep simply by having capital of 30 million yen (3,000万円).
For applications for extension in spring 2026, we receive a great many enquiries about surprise investigations of business premises and about enrolment history for social insurance.
Until now the emphasis has been on consistency on paper. At present, the main battleground of screening is physical confirmation of the actual state of affairs — whether business is genuinely being carried on at that address.
3 points are checked: exclusive use of the business premises, whether the equipment is in operation, and whether employees are present.
The enquiry we now receive most often is this: "an officer of the 地方出入国在留管理局 turned up at my office without warning". Since the start of 2026, on-site investigations without prior notice have been stepped up, with the aim of weeding out paper companies.
Cases where a virtual office, or part of your home, is treated as the business premises in form only are, under the criteria for fiscal 2026, subject to denial of the extension, or to shortening to a 1-year visa.
If you have a company, enrolment is compulsory even where the president is its only member, and filing for extension while not enrolled leaves you at an extremely high risk of denial.
In screening for extension as of April 2026 (2026年4月現在), checking whether you are enrolled in social insurance (health insurance and employees' pension insurance) is no longer a formality.
Ahead of the start in June 2026 (2026年6月) of the 特定在留カード (the Residence Card integrated with the My Number system), data enquiries between the Immigration Services Agency of Japan and the Japan Pension Service have been fully systematised.
Explanations such as "my director's remuneration is small, so I am on National Health Insurance" or "although this is a company, there are fewer than 5 people employed, so it has not enrolled" no longer work in screening under fiscal 2026. In addition, a sole proprietorship that constantly employs 5 people or more is, apart from certain industries, an establishment to which social insurance (employees' pension insurance and health insurance) compulsorily applies.
If you have a company, enrolment in social insurance is compulsory even where the president is its only member. Filing for extension while not enrolled is tantamount to declaring "I have no regard for compliance with the law", and leaves you at an extremely high risk of denial.
Your personal My Number will be linked to the company's withholding tax data, so any mismatch between the director's remuneration and the amount taxed will come to light at once.
The move to the 特定在留カード, which is scheduled to start in June 2026 (2026年6月), is also a considerable pressure for business owners. Through the integrated card, your personal My Number will be linked to the company's withholding tax data.
If the amount of director's remuneration shown in your application documents differs from the amount actually taxed as resident tax, suspicion of a "false application", or of "tax evasion or under-declaration", will arise at once.
To fit in with the closing of accounts in April (4月) and the annual renewal period, it is essential to check again that the data in the company's financial statements, the payroll ledger and your personal tax certificate all match perfectly.
The activity under the 経営・管理 visa is management and administration, and a president who routinely does front-line work will be regarded as engaging in an activity other than that permitted.
Since 13 April 2026 (令和8年4月13日), new acceptance under 在留資格「特定技能1号」 (Specified Skilled Worker (i)) in the food service industry field has been suspended, and this continues as of August 2026 (2026年8月現在) (the timing of any resumption is undecided). Following this, we receive more enquiries from holders of the 経営・管理 visa who run restaurants, asking "we are short of hands; may I, the president, work on the floor myself?"
The activity under the 経営・管理 visa is "management" and "administration". Being short of hands is no excuse: a president who stands in the kitchen every day and serves customers in the dining room will be regarded as engaging in an "activity other than that permitted".
If the president is found working in chef's whites during an investigation of the business premises, or images of the president at work are spread on social media, the next extension becomes hopeless.
Carry through 3 points: keep the business premises real, put social insurance and tax payment in order, and separate management from front-line work.
As of April 2026 (2026年4月現在), the 経営・管理 visa is no longer a status you can keep simply by having capital of 30 million yen (3,000万円). Within a digitised screening process, your "good faith" as a business owner is tested against data.
3 points: exclusive use of the business premises (a space partitioned off from other companies, a sign or nameplate), whether the equipment is in operation (traces of use of computers, a printer, telephones and Wi-Fi), and whether a full-time employee is actually present.
Cases where the place is treated as business premises in form only are, under the criteria for fiscal 2026, subject to denial of the extension, or to shortening to a 1-year visa.
If you have a company, enrolment in social insurance is compulsory even where the president is its only member. If you apply for extension while not enrolled, the risk of denial becomes extremely high.
The activity under the 経営・管理 visa is "management" and "administration". A president who stands in the kitchen every day and serves customers in the dining room will be regarded as engaging in an activity other than that permitted, and this will seriously affect the next extension.
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This page is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails.