What business would you start in Japan? Leave a comment below! FREE GUIDE: How to Buy an Akiya as a Foreigner: stan.store/shumatsuopost FINAL SPOT: Exclusive 1 on 1 Coaching Program: forms.gle/MHnfxEVFvXPsLgvV9
don't laugh but I really want to start a police academy bar. You know the movies? The walls will have all the posters and pictures, the teevee will show the movies all day long. And the best part is in the corner, it will be a "blue oyster" corner just for gay customers another idea I had was to open my own school "how to talk like cool Americans talk" but does the Japanese government allow that?
Few things ive learnt over the years from friends with business manager visas. If you buy a house an then renovate it for your office space you can then register the house as your business location. The money you have spent on the house will come out of the 5 million yen for your business manager visa application. You dont need 5 million yen, you just need to show you have invested 5 million yen into the business. I will add, you dont need any employees, there are plenty loopholes out of that one.
I got this visa in 2006. First i got 1 year then again 1 year then 3 years then 5 years then 3 years ( business went down) then 1 year. It was a formidable experience because in japan any kind of business IS working good. I rented a great warehouse and imported containers out if china. Banksy lent me roughly one million dollars which was 1 oku yen AT the Time. I was AT the top of my game. Strangely the toughest issues i had was finding skillfull staffs. I was managing everything alone including customer service. Till i reached a point where i became fluent in japanese and customers over the phone dis not Guess i was a foreigner. It was hard top get this visa AT first took me 9 months and i believe i was the first foreigner to get it. If you get hat visa you MUST hire an accountant as this will male life much easier. Accountants have relations in Banks and hé got me business loans each year.
Brilliant and helpful; thank you, Shu. A part of me had already resigned to the fate of recurrent 3 to 6 month visas, "forcing" me to take regular vacations all around South East Asia -- but if I decide that my forever-home needs to be in Japan, I can see a beautiful path to two five year management visas and then applying for permanent residency.
That is exactly what i'm in actually, sponsoring myself by creating a new business in japan. In fact, I'm extanding the one I own in france, to Japan and I work on this since at leat one year. Since I don't speak japanese that good, I requested the services of a lawyer for the company creation status and the visas for me and my family. But once I'm there, there are few chances that I leave the contry very often 🙂. Thank you for this video and the informations that I didn't have.
Thank you for another great video and all the work you put on to give us all this information. Have you ever heard about the “Artist Visa”? I’m an illustrator and I have been trying to find more information about it, but it’s all over the place. It would be great if you could make a video about this other kinds of visas. Thank you!! 😊🙌🏼
Great video! Perfect visa for me. I'm French from France actually living in Vancouver. I love to cook and to bake. My business would be in making food, home food from my culture and childhood. I made amazing sandwiches with my own bread, baguette, and very low-gluten bread. And I'm not talking about my sweet and sugarless pastries.
U should make a video about investing in apartment complexes. I was searching and it seems that they generate a better income comparing with family houses
I saw in another video on youtube where a Japanese visa lawyer says that every year the Japanese government wants to see all of your accounts, taxes etc and its up to the Japanese government whether or not your business is viable enough to stay in Japan. Thats too much of a grey area that at anytime can be used to kick you out of the country if they feel like it. Which sucks because foreigners are openly discriminated against in Japan.
You can get permanent residency even in 1 year . You need to meet the 70 points requirement. I have many friends who’ve gotten it in that time, money is the biggest factor
Great video. I've known about this, but always thought the minimum employee and investment amount were both requirements, and not an and/or sort of thing. Thank you for the clarification
Yup, thats my plan. I plan to buy and renovate houses on my own since I already do that here. Then I plan to rent them out. Originally I thought Airbnb was was the way to go, but I'm realizing there are a lot of hurdles and normal renters will be easier. What I'm not sure of is if the purchase price counts towards the investment amount.
I would've also thought airbnb was the way to go given certain advantages like not being locked into rental prices if inflation hits Japan harder esp. given their sustained interest rate stance What was your take on it that made you change your mind?
@@jeremyk5310 There are a lot more regulations to get a license for an Airbnb. Also, you get new tenants much more often and that's more chances of someone damaging your property. Also, that's more times you have to clean it or get it cleaned and prepared. Plus furnished and livable. A normal rental you don't have any of that.
@@shumatsuopost Sorry for the confusion. I'm a carpenter in America and have built about 300 homes over the years. Lately I stick to smaller renovations. But it would be a perfect way to get a visa in Japan.
@@Big-Wonka I was also concerned about similar things Regulations: Harder but not insurmountable -- local partners can help with this sort of thing Dmg/cleaning: Agreed, and I think this is where scale is maybe the solution. Have multiple properties and create a business that not only manages the rentals in the same area but also hires a cleaner/property manager dedicated to the properties in the same area. Thought of this specifically when I was thinking slightly more rural areas for airbnb for that "natural escape in a traditional style house / quasi-glamping" experience where local labour is probably fairly sparse. Damage/new tenants: Comes with the territory in general -- not specific to Japan but fair point Thanks for sharing your thoughts
It's the education requirement for the Visa that I would be worried about. I have a graduate degree but my schooling was all in the arts (Music). Aside from that I do have many years of experience as a Project Manager, especially in Construction, and I've managed construction projects worth several million dollars. Project Management is about 90% overlap with Business Management as far as I can tell, and it sounds like my experience doesn't really matter. Also if I were to do this I would want to build a recording studio and manage that and I really don't need a post-graduate degree in business to do that. Sometimes the arbitrary stuff makes things really difficult to navigate.
It sounds like you have a ton of relevant experience. I would definitely work with an experienced lawyer so they can help you get this visa for you. Good luck!
This is so compelling, especially if you speak Japanese (I do not, regrettably). I wonder if I could purchase a 4 or 5 LDR, have it refurbished, live in one room while renting the rest out to foreigners who are arriving and not yet able to sign a lease with a Japanese landlord? It would give foreigners a place to land when they arrive, and they could take time finding a landlord who will lease to them. I'd be seriously interested in starting that kind of business.
Hi Shu, if you hire someone else as the manager and simply be the business owner, would that be a way to bypass the 3 year experience requirement? I can fulfill everything but that experience requirement..
Hi Shu, I’m a bit confused about the part where you need to show you have a business location/office…. Do you create your business first, get the lease, set up your office and THEN apply for the business visa? Also, any idea how much it would cost to rent a 2000sq foot space in Kyoto? Thank you so much!! Great video BTW 😊
Can we purchase property through you? I may be just looking in the wrong places but it would apear that there is a lack of websites for buying and renting in Japan as well as general property management. Hopefully you will start your realestate business very soon and manage the properties we intend to purchase.
My husband and I followed your instructions to purchase our first Japanese ikkodate in Yokohama. Thank you very much for your video. We are retiree who do not want to move to Japan yet, but want to stay little longer than 180 days limits (for sight seen visa). We own 3 properties loan free in California and Oregon. One of them is income producing apartment building. Do you have any suggestions for visa?
So, i have a question. You said those were the requirements, what if you dont have business experience or a degree in business, but you buy an apartment building to rent out? can you still get the visa?
@@shumatsuopost Sweet. I also have another question, here in the US we can hire a company to basically run the business for us for a fee, can you do that in Japan? Like lets say i bought a small hotel in Japan but i dont want to personally run it/manage it, i think the term for it would be "absentee-owner"
Have been considering potentially running a rental property business around multi-family homes. With the business being focused on managing rental properties. Do businesses qualify for property loans? As this is a narrative that real estate agents selling Japanese properties in my country are pushing for. They are advising us to set up companies to hold the real estate and take use the business to take a loan.
Hi Shu, just stumbled upon your channel, thanks so much for sharing this! It's gave me hope for the future! I have a question, once you obtain the Business Manager Visa and live in Japan, are you allow to do other work on the side (full or part-time) not related to the business? I tried searching everywhere but no one mentions this
This is a great video. I just returned from a 1 month trip in japan. I have plans to move to japan shortly. Can you also discuss how health care fits into all this? Thx
I love your video. Explain the business manager fisa although I do have one question, what if you plan on buying a house in Japan and you plan on not only loving in it but running your business from the home as well with your employees I'm planning on starting an online newsletter business that specializes in technology and AI ask Wall ass in-person visits, teaching people how to use that technology, and I'm curious if you're home can be counted as an office or not
Hi , Is there are any clue about how long we have to stay in Japan to extend this business visa. Im working in Australia and can I operate it without visiting japan much?
What do they mean by 'business manager expereince', how do I prove that? I registered a company in my home country, which has filed tax returns and is officially documented for years. With me as the founder and CEO. im in japan now and my company still exists but is dormant, no cash flow. Can i still pass the Business manager experience requirement like this?
Interesting. One thing I'm concerned about is, when hiring employees, what I am commiting myself to. How much would an employee, effectively and in totality, cost me? And how hard it is to fire an employee (for being dishonest or incompetent, strategic reorganization or whatever reasons) and what kind of expenses would that entail?
Japan is an employee-friendly society. It's extremely difficult to "fire" an employee. You would basically want them to quit. My recommendation is hire very slowly in Japan because it's hard to fire fast
@@shumatsuopost appreciate it. I'm currently a bicycle assembly and repair technician in the states, but I know there is a huge no nihongo market in Japan for that. I'm putting in a few more years in my current job and getting some certifications ready while I finish my degree.
How can I obtain a visa to retire in Japan? My son lives in Kanagawa and recently married a Japanese citizen. Is there a way I can get a visa to become their nanny when they have a child?
Hi Shu, I have already built a portfolio of properties in Japan. But obviously I am not very happy with the jobs done by the management company. Are you doing properties management in Japan? Thanks.
@@shumatsuopost I started within Tokyo 23 wards back in 2013. I got around 10 few years ago. But then the management compare keep charging me a lot for maintenance and renovation. Even at prime location, they requested me to pay 3 months rental for advertisement, otherwise it will be emptied forever. When the tenant return the rental properties, always in very bad conditions(which is very abnormal in Japanese culture) and they never able to claim back the repair reimbursement from tenant or guarantor. Tons of problems. So I downsized to half the portfolio size now. I have changed the management company too, but both the old and the new management company more or less similar. I got stuck in the middle. I am not living in Japan and my Japanese far from native level, it makes me difficult to take back the management job too.
@@lungpeter57 I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I have a few follow up questions - do you mind sharing your email address or email me your contact info, if that's OK? shu@postfi.co
Hi, I am 52 years old and I will retire in 8 years. I have traveled several times all over Japan for holidays and I would like to retire in Japan 100%. I am thinking of finding a ready business to purchase in one of the major cities because I have a daughter who will have to attend an international private school, and my question is if i invest 500K US$ in any kind of business that already has employees and a standard yearly profit, will this help me obtain the visa immediately? My family's expenses will not depend on this business since I have fixed incomes from investments that will not cause me any future financial issues. My main wonder is if I will obtain the visa for sure or not. Shall I invest or not? I am not looking to start when I am almost 60 from scratch any business and I will not be in that mood anyway. Any idea or thought will be mostly welcome. Just subscribed
What about an arts and crafts business? I only rely on myself for creating handmade goods to sell at very small scale. I would love to be eligible but I don't have any degrees, etc. and hiring someone else would be difficult given the tiny scale of my project outputs and sales. I can't imagine how solo entrepreneurs could fit in sadly
i just need an agent Now to buy a house i saw on cheap house in japan. no agents for low priced ones? i just want to pay cash. no course unless they will be an agent to buy. please, thanks.
hi, I am from the phillipines and my dream is to be in japan and work there for atleast a lifetime... so maybe you can help me to make my dream come true
They should give residency after 5 vs 10. I don't want to vote in the elections and I don't want any public money. I like Japan the way it is. If they did dual citizenship that would be great not ready to give up my US Citizenship yet
thanks for the info, it would be great to have your WhatsApp to communicate and to reach our for some legal assistance in registering a business and sponsoring myself. thx.
Absolutely. Could you fill out one of these forms to get started? Akiya Income Generator (for rental properties): forms.gle/7ySUCdpiLVy9mHoy9 Japan Akiya Assist (for vacation homes): forms.gle/1A7FHHJxqHfuuUjh7
