Visa rule overhaul forces foreign startup founders in Japan to abandon plans

In October, Japan’s Immigration Services Agency implemented a revised ordinance for the business manager visa, increasing the required capital to 30 million yen and imposing new criteria like full-time employment and proven management credentials. The change caught many foreign founders off guard; Matthew Thomas, an American who had been setting up a language-exchange café in Tokyo, was forced to abandon his venture and move back to Connecticut after learning he could not meet the new financial bar.

The Liberal Democratic Party introduced the amendment last August, and opposition lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi denounced it as politically motivated, citing pressure from the far-right Sanseito party. Legal experts, including Kazuki Yuda of Touch Immigration Law Firm, noted the rapid timeline—less than two months from draft to enforcement—was unusual. The agency is also proposing stricter permanent-residency standards tied to household income and projected pension benefits, which could affect Japan’s growing foreign-resident population of over 4 million. These measures arrive amid a national labor shortage and heightened scrutiny of foreign nationals using public services.