Is CoE required for Long Stay visa?

I want to apply for the Long Stay visa or Future Creation visa. It seems like all visa applications require a COE but it's not possible for these visas? The purpose of a long stay visa is just for tourism so it's not possible to have a sponsor for that...and the purpose of a future creation individual is to participate in job hunting so again, there's no company sponsor. If it is necessary, how do I obtain one? I only have my boyfriend in Japan who is on a work visa.

Can I just submit my application to my embassy without a COE and hope they give me the visa? The embassy officials should understand that it's not possible to apply for a COE for these visas...

Future Creation info: https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page22e_001037.html
Long Stay info: https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page22e_000738.html

Hi there

Someone asked this exact same question on this forum very recently.

No one here can guarantee you an answer, but on the mofa page (the link you sent) it seems to suggest that if you provide a coe then you don't need to submit documents 4-6.

So by reading that we can assume they do accept applications without a coe but you can to provide more documents.

We can guarantee anything here for you so best bet is to ask your local japanese embassy as they would be the ones dealing with your application.

You're right though, the majority of people going for things like sightseeing don't know anyone in japan, so it makes sense to not need a coe.

Your best bet is to honestly just contact the immigration office and ask them what is needed. They know what is required for a COE or if you don't need one. From my understanding (you can check and do your own research to make sure) is that a company generally needs to sponsor you as they are taking responsibility for you when you come to Japan to work.