starting your own buisness in japan

I'm currently thinking aout moving to japan (actually been thinking of it for a while now)

I'm a self employed artist and generally work online... basically people email me photos which I use to draw portraits which I then mail back to them.

acording to what I've read about the buisness manager visa it requires one to have a seperate office space from which to run the buisness as a home office isn't always considered acceptable. as well as this it states that I would have to employ at least one japanese national.

this is where things become tricky as my buisness only requires desk space for a computer and where I can draw as well as an internet connection and is essentially a one man operation (I currently run the whole thing from a laptop next to my bed where I sit and draw) so how essential are the above requirements?

my back up plan should it be essential to hire a space and employ someone would be to open a small workshop where I can do things like wood carving and clay work, or add a studio for taking photos from which to work. in which case I could probably hire someone at least part time.

granted this is all largely a basic plan as I don't plan to move for at least a couple of years (I plan to save up enough money to cover my cost of living/rent, emergencies ect) and I'm still researching many areas

Hi,

For being self-employed, I can tell you it is not necessary to hire any Japanese National. However, having a Japanese person help you, will be indispensable (unless you are fluent in Japanese) - for instance for accounting purposes. There is now a simplified solution for gaijin to create their own business.

Regarding the office: just use of those companies that "rent" a mailbox and a (prestigious) address. Cost starts at something like 40 dollars a month (including mail forwarding).

But if I may ask: how do you intend to come to Japan? I mean, with what kind of visa?

Best,

Marc

Considering that the Japanese immigration laws were established decades ago, they still reflect the old-style thinking: visa/resident status is granted to those who need to be in Japan, who want to study in Japan, who are needed to be in Japan to work for local companies, who want to be here because of family/spouse relations, etc. They have not really taken into consideration any work that can be done anywhere/remotely via computer.

So they don't really have provisions for people who just want to be here though they don't have to be... so, to be eligible for the visa you need to have a proper office and staff and what's usually required in a physical office. I have heard that the conditions for having a physical office are strict, they come to see that you have one, and it needs to be something other than your home (as far as I know).

So... yes, I would assume that you will need an office, and a full-time employee. Maybe an idea might be to open a joint office/studio if you find someone local to do that with.

For being self-employed, I can tell you it is not necessary to hire any Japanese National. However, having a Japanese person help you, will be indispensable (unless you are fluent in Japanese) - for instance for accounting purposes. There is now a simplified solution for gaijin to create their own business.

thanks, I can see how that would be a good reason, I'm resionably fluent in japanese... at least speaking still studying reading (I can read kana just not kanji at the moment)

Regarding the office: just use of those companies that "rent" a mailbox and a (prestigious) address. Cost starts at something like 40 dollars a month (including mail forwarding).

from what I read on the subject the immigration bereau has to visit the office to judge it's accepability and that home and tempoary offices aren't always acceptible. which is why I asked. guess I could look into the acceptability of rented mailbox space.

But if I may ask: how do you intend to come to Japan? I mean, with what kind of visa?

like I said I'm still doing research as I don't plan to move for a few years yet but what I've read the easiest way to move while self employed would be with a buisness manager visa which allows 4 months to set up a buisness and can be extended later, but I'm still looking into other options.

It sounds like Marc5 may be self-employed on some other resident visa (like a spouse visa), in which case the requirements are far more lax in how you operate your business.

If you are self-sponsoring then you'll probably be looking at a business manager visa. The rules recently got easier for that visa type, but they are still quite strict, for example, rental offices are not acceptable. You can find more info elsewhere on the internet for example:

http://www.tokyoimmigration.jp/eng/sougyou.html

Business/Investor visa - yep, the advice I've had is "physical" office, not a mail box, and a home office normally doesn't work. Also be aware of the other requirements like business plan, evidence of income etc (in Japanese).

Business/Investor visa - yep, the advice I've had is "physical" office, not a mail box, and a home office normally doesn't work. Also be aware of the other requirements like business plan, evidence of income etc (in Japanese).

that's basically what I've been able to find in my research, which is why I had to ask about teh home office as it seams that from what I've read there are occasions that they deam it acceptable which makes me wonder if it's due to they type of job or type of residence (own home as opposed to rented home ect)

buisness plan is easy, I already had to write a few of them for buisnesses that I've either run or worked with in the past, just have to get it translated into japanese, but as I don't plan to move for a long while yet that will come at a later date (I'm still in the early stages of planning)

The "home office" option requires access to the office without entering the rest of the house/living areas. For example, a 1st bedroom off a hallway. If you have to go through a living room, probably not. (Based on some professional advice I got as part of the process.)

I ended up renting a "small" office in Shinjuku (including common areas/costs, Y23,000 per month), but I don't need it for a physical office, but the space is very useful.

thanks. that's very useful.

if all else fails I guess I could always rent somewhere I could set up a workshop/office space which would require a little more investment but would also be a bigger gamble (as I'd have to make enough to cover rent, equipment ect right off the bat).

ultimatly I would have to expand to an workshop/store space further down the line so I could expand what services I provide, at the moment most of the stuff I do is small scale such as portrait art, and handy crafts that can be done anywhere and sold online. which is why I'd like to start with a home office to reduce my expenses while I start up.