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The new standards for the Business Manager Visa came into effect in October 2025.

The main changes can be summarized as follows.

Main Points of the New Business Manager Visa Standards

Item	Details
Full-time Employee	At least one full-time employee is required
Capital Requirement	Minimum capital of JPY 30 million
Japanese Language Ability	Equivalent to B2 level or above
Business Plan	Verification by a qualified professional is required
Actual Business Activity	Real business operations are required
Office Requirement	Residential use as a business office is generally not permitted
Renewal Review	Ongoing business operations will be reviewed
Public Obligations	Social insurance, labor insurance, and tax compliance will be reviewed

Summary based on primary materials from the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

At first glance, some people may feel that these requirements have become much stricter.

However, there was one particular point that caught my attention when reading the primary materials.

It was the existence of many mechanisms designed to confirm whether a business is actually operating.

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Confirmation of Actual Business Operations Found in the Primary Materials

The materials mention the fulfillment of public obligations as one of the factors reviewed during renewals and other assessments.

The phrase "public obligations" may sound difficult at first.

However, it includes matters such as:

• Labor insurance
• Social insurance
• Payment status of insurance premiums
• Tax payment status

In addition, ordinary business management records may also become important indicators of actual business activities, such as:

• Employee records
• Payroll records
• Attendance records and other legally required documents

These are not merely documents for administrative purposes.

They may also serve as indicators to determine:

"Is this business truly operating on a continuous basis?"

After reading these revisions, I felt that the focus may be shifting from:

"Was a company established?"

to:

"Is the business actually continuing to operate?"

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Running a Business in a Foreign Country Is Not Easy

Even for people born and raised in Japan, social insurance and labor systems can be complicated.

Health insurance.

Pension systems.

Employment insurance.

Workers' compensation insurance.

Tax systems.

To be honest, even Japanese people sometimes find these systems difficult to understand.

With that in mind, running a business while living in a foreign country is certainly not simple.

There are probably very few people who perfectly understand every aspect of the system.

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There May Be People Who Simply Did Not Know

For example:

• Not knowing that social insurance enrollment was required
• Not completing labor insurance procedures
• Not preparing employment contracts
• Not knowing whom to ask for advice

These situations may happen not because of bad intentions, but because:

"They simply did not understand the system."

Of course, this is different from intentionally misusing or ignoring the rules.

At the same time, there may also be people who genuinely think:

"I want to do things properly."

"I want to continue my business in Japan for the long term."

Yet they may not know what they should do.

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I Want to Support People Who Sincerely Wish to Continue Their Business

Starting a business in Japan is not easy.

Continuing one is not easy either.

There are language barriers.

There are differences in systems and regulations.

There are rules regarding social insurance, labor insurance, taxes, and employment.

Because of this, there may be people who sincerely want to do things properly but simply do not know where to begin.

There may also be people who are preparing to start a new business and feel uncertain.

I would like to support people in those situations.

On the other hand, I do not intend to support people who intentionally misuse systems or have no intention of following the rules from the beginning.

The people I want to support are:

People who sincerely want to continue running their businesses properly.

No one needs to be perfect.

There will always be things that people do not understand.

There will always be difficulties along the way.

What matters is moving in the right direction step by step while seeking advice when needed.

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Closing Thoughts

I work as a Business & Human Rights (BHR) Promoting　Labor and Social Security Attorney

The phrase "human rights" sometimes sounds very large and abstract.

But perhaps it is actually much closer to our everyday lives.

Understanding systems.

Protecting workers.

Building companies that can continue operating over the long term.

Social insurance and labor management are not merely administrative procedures.

They are also important foundations that support sustainable businesses.

Reading the new Business Manager Visa standards reminded me of that once again.