can I open a restaurant with student visa

Hello everyone,

I'm University student in Japan and it have been 2 years now since I came to Japan.

I would like to open a restaurant in Tokyo maybe or saitama anyway I have some Q and I hope you help me with answers :

1- Can a student visa holder open a business if he have a scholarship and salary over 640,000 yen ?

2- If cannot can I change my visa to Investor/Business Manager visa , and continue my study (note that I will manage the restaurant only) ?

3- If cannot Can my Father or Brother come to Japan and open the restaurant and leave it to me to manage and he back home ?

4- In the last What kind of Licenses do I need to open the restaurant and documents ?



Finally, I like to thanks all help in this website its really help us a lot.

I'm waiting,
& best regards.

To my knowledge, I don't think you can open a business under a student visa. I also don't think you can be a student under an investor/business manager visa, but I don't know much about these things...It would be difficult for a foreigner to start a business in Japan without permanent resident status, or so I've read.

If "start a business" means to set up a company, then I can assure you that you don't need a permanent residency to do so. And you don't need an investor visa. Not sure about student visa though.

Things will go more smoothly. though, if you can find a Japanese partner whom you can trust to set up the company with you. (They can own just a tiny percentage on paper.)

Beyond that, these are the sorts of questions you should ask a lawyer, not random people on the internet.

No, you cannot open a restaurant when you hold a student visa. You cannot not also set up a company. Each visa has restrictions. For example, you cannot work full time with a student visa and if you cut classes, school is forced to report it to immigration and you will loose your visa.

If cannot Can my Father or Brother come to Japan and open the restaurant and leave it to me to manage and he back home ?

Where are they from? You know, Japan is not really like Canada when it comes to immigration, people cannot really just come, set up something, get an alien card just like buying an onigiri at the convenience store. Everything is regulated and people cannot not just trick immigration with some stuff like the one you are thinking about.

All NO from 1-3.

For 4, you need the license from Department of Health and also one for food handler.

Japan is such a competitive place in terms of the restaurant business, and you probably need 20,000,000yen initial investment to start decent one in Tokyo. If you have no background with cooking or business, or keen sense for public demands, don't even think about opening a restaurant and stay in school.

Opening a restaurant is one of the most risky business in a lots of country because of the competition, but also because one needs such expensive fixtures and appliances for cooking, plus a professional chef if the owner is not a chef, plus waiters, dishwashers etc., a night cleaner..other staff, plus nice furniture etc. and even several nice restrooms (toilets)

By comparison opening a store selling for example clothes or crafts made by local people will not terribly expensive to set up as one only needs shelves that could be second hand furniture cleverly fixed up, may be a couple of armchairs, lights etc. One staff per day may be enough.. and the stock may not be that expensive, compared to the price of the food and booze a restaurant needs.

In my home town of Vancouver restaurants and coffee shops open all the time but many don't last that long.
And when people are watching their money eating out is one of the things that people cut back very easily.
Right now for X dollars I had rather see a movie and buy a book than go to a restaurant to eat something that I could make at home.