Japan’s crackdown on its Business Manager visa is now showing a striking consequence: 953 foreign residents holding the status left the country during the first half of 2026 without completing the procedures needed to return, nearly four times the number recorded during the same period last year.
The figures, based on Immigration Services Agency data and reported by The Japan Times, indicate that the impact of Japan’s tougher immigration rules is extending beyond prospective applicants and is increasingly being felt by foreign entrepreneurs already operating businesses in the country.
The departures come after Japan substantially tightened its Business Manager residence requirements in October 2025, raising the minimum capital requirement from ¥5 million to ¥30 million — a sixfold increase. The revised system also introduced additional requirements concerning staffing, Japanese-language ability and the applicant’s professional or educational background.
From ¥5 Million to ¥30 Million
Under the previous system, a foreign entrepreneur generally could qualify by meeting either a capital-investment requirement or an employment requirement.
The revised framework is considerably more demanding.
Applicants must generally have at least ¥30 million in business capital or qualifying investment, employ at least one eligible full-time worker, and demonstrate that they have the appropriate management background or education. The business plan must also be considered concrete, reasonable and feasible, with confirmation by a qualified professional.
Japanese-language requirements have also been introduced. Under the revised criteria, either the applicant or an eligible full-time employee must demonstrate sufficient Japanese proficiency, with qualifications including JLPT N2-level ability or an equivalent standard in applicable cases.
For applicants, the new rules represent a major change from the relatively low financial threshold that previously made Japan accessible to smaller foreign-owned businesses.
Existing Business Owners Are Feeling the Pressure
The new rules were designed in part to address concerns that the Business Manager status was being misused through shell companies or businesses with little or no substantive activity.
Japanese authorities have argued that the previous requirements were too permissive and could allow people to obtain residency without actually operating a meaningful business. The government has therefore sought to ensure that foreign residents using the status are genuinely managing viable businesses in Japan.
But the crackdown has created a difficult situation for smaller foreign-owned businesses.
A Tokyo Shoko Research survey of nearly 300 foreign-owned companies found that 45.2% expected the stricter requirements to affect their operations, while about 5.3% were considering closing their businesses. Others said they were looking at increasing capital, selling or merging their businesses, or transferring management to Japanese nationals or permanent residents.
The pressure is particularly significant for businesses such as small restaurants and other service-sector operations, where raising ¥30 million in capital and hiring qualifying full-time staff can be difficult.
Applications Have Also Collapsed
The effect is already visible among people trying to enter the system.
Immigration Services Agency figures previously reported by The Japan Times showed that new Business Manager visa applications plunged by approximately 96% after the October 2025 rule change.
Monthly applications fell from roughly 1,700 before the reform to about 70 afterward. Japanese officials said the decline was viewed positively because one of the government’s objectives was to prevent the visa from being used primarily as a route to residency.
That dramatic drop, combined with the rising number of existing visa holders leaving Japan, suggests the reform is reshaping the foreign entrepreneur landscape from both ends: fewer newcomers are qualifying, while some existing operators are struggling to remain.
Japan Is Not Automatically Forcing Every Existing Holder Out
One important detail is being overlooked in some reports and social-media discussions.
Existing Business Manager visa holders are not necessarily required to leave Japan immediately simply because they cannot meet every new requirement.
Japanese authorities have provided a transition period. Guidance indicates that, following the three-year transitional period ending in October 2028, renewal decisions can still take into account factors such as the financial condition of the business, proper payment of taxes and other obligations, and whether there is a reasonable prospect that the business will meet the revised standards by the next renewal.
That means the 953 departures should not be interpreted as 953 people being directly expelled from Japan because of the new rules.
Rather, the data concern Business Manager status holders who left Japan without completing the procedures necessary to return, effectively indicating that they had departed for good.
A Major Shift for Foreign Entrepreneurs
The numbers underline how dramatically Japan’s policy has changed.
At the end of 2024, Japan had 41,615 foreign residents with Business Manager status, including more than 21,000 Chinese nationals, according to Immigration Services Agency data cited by The Japan Times.
The government maintains that the reform is intended to protect the integrity of the immigration system and ensure that the visa is being used by genuine business operators.
Critics, however, warn that the requirements could disproportionately affect legitimate small businesses that may have been operating successfully but lack the financial scale demanded under the new system.
The debate is therefore no longer simply about who can obtain a Japanese business visa.
It is increasingly about who can afford to keep doing business in Japan.
WWC ONE MEDIA MJE
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