Stricter Criteria for Business Manager Visa: Make Revisions a Step Forward in Preventing Fraudulent Acquisition

Editorial

15:59 JST, October 20, 2025

A status of residence originally created to help Japan’s economic growth by accepting entrepreneur-minded foreign nationals is being abused.

The system must be changed in line with its original intent, while authorities must firmly crack down on illegal residency.

The Justice Ministry has tightened the requirements for obtaining the business manager visa, a type of residence status, by revising a ministerial ordinance under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law.

This type of visa was created in 2015 for foreign nationals who launch businesses in Japan. The number of business manager visa holders has continued to increase, reaching 44,800 in June this year.

In recent years, there have been cases where foreign nationals have reportedly obtained this visa fraudulently by establishing shell companies. The Immigration Services Agency investigated 300 applications suspected of fraud and found that 90% of them had irregularities such as having no actual business operations.

It is believed that the holders of this visa in those cases have come to Japan under the guise of starting businesses with their real purpose being to bring their families for advanced medical treatment or to provide their children with high-quality education. This situation where the system’s original intent is being disregarded cannot be overlooked.

Previously, the government granted this status of residence for up to five years if applicants had an office in Japan and met either of these requirements: having capital of ¥5 million or more or hiring two or more full-time employees.

Under the revised ministerial ordinance, the minimum capital requirement has been raised to ¥30 million and it is now mandatory to hire at least one full-time employee. A certain level of Japanese language ability is another new requirement.

In South Korea, obtaining a similar visa requires about ¥32 million in capital, and in the United States, about ¥15 million to ¥30 million in capital is needed. Compared to other countries, Japan’s lenient visa criteria may have contributed to the rampant abuse.

There are other areas that need to be changed. Currently, screenings for the visa have been conducted primarily through documents alone. If illegal acquisition is suspected, why not conduct interviews with the applicants in addition to on-site inspections?

It is also important to check business operations regularly after the visa is granted. To that end, strengthening the system for immigration checks is indispensable.

Some people say that because screenings of registrations for companies and other entities have been lax in the first place, shell companies have been used as covers for money laundering and other purposes. The loose screening system must be overhauled.

With labor shortages worsening, foreign workers have been valuable contributors to society. On the other hand, friction between them and local residents has also arisen in many areas.

To what extent should Japan accept foreign nationals? What kind of systems should Japanese society establish to accept them? The next administration needs to work out a comprehensive policy on foreign residents.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 19, 2025)