The Japan Startup Visa: how international interns convert a Tokyo placement into a founder pathway
Japan's Startup Visa gives foreign entrepreneurs up to two years to prepare a business in Japan before converting to the Business Manager visa. Since October 2025 the conversion bar has risen — which is why a host-company internship is now the de-risked first step.
Japan's Startup Visa gives foreign entrepreneurs up to two years to prepare a business inside Japan before converting to the Business Manager (経営・管理) visa. As of October 2025 the target on the other side of that conversion has tightened — and that change is exactly why a host-company internship is now the most de-risked first step into the founder pathway.
Most guides treat the Startup Visa as a stand-alone product. It isn't. It is the bridge between being able to live in Japan and being allowed to run a company there. The bridge is two years long, and the height it bridges to has just doubled.
This guide explains how the bridge works, what changed in October 2025, which municipalities issue the visa, and how an Aoyama Professionals internship converts a Tokyo placement into a defensible run at the Business Manager threshold.
How the Startup Visa actually works
The Startup Visa is not a separate residence category. It is an extension of Japan's Designated Activities (特定活動) status, granted under the Foreign Entrepreneurial Activity Promotion Programme administered by METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). Each authorised municipality issues a Confirmation Certificate that the Immigration Services Agency uses to grant the residence status.
The preparation period was originally six months. It extended to one year in 2020 and to two years in April 2025. The longer window matters: a Tokyo founder needs runway to incorporate, hire, secure office space, and prove commercial traction — and the post-October 2025 capital threshold makes that runway more valuable, not less.
Who is eligible
The Startup Visa is a low-bar visa by Japanese standards. There is no university-credential requirement, no income floor, and no upfront capital test. What it asks for is:
- A business plan the host municipality believes is realistic
- Proof of funds for living expenses during preparation (around ¥200,000 minimum, varies by municipality)
- A passport and proof of identity
- A municipality willing to issue the Confirmation Certificate
The municipality is the gatekeeper. Different cities prioritise different sectors. Tokyo's Invest Tokyo programme emphasises high-growth ventures; Shibuya Startup Support leans on creative industries and Web3; Kyoto favours manufacturing, life innovation, and social-impact startups; Osaka gives weight to advanced industry plays through its Innovation Hub.
A founder rejected in one city can re-apply in another. The decision is local, not federal.
The October 2025 change and what it means
In October 2025 the requirements for the Business Manager (経営・管理) visa — the residence category that Startup Visa holders convert to — were tightened materially. The most consequential element: the capital-and-investment threshold widely reported to have moved from ¥5 million to ¥30 million.
The strategic implication is simple. Pre-October 2025, a foreign founder could justify launching from cold by setting up a small entity with ¥5 million and working forward. Post-October 2025, the same founder needs to demonstrate either ¥30 million in capital, or a path to it, plus an office, a qualifying employee, and management experience or relevant academic credentials.
For most international interns considering a founder pathway, a year inside a Japanese host company is no longer a detour. It is the most efficient way to build the relationships, the demonstrated commercial track record, and the network of warm introductions that make the Business Manager threshold achievable.
How to get a Startup Visa
The procedure is administrative, not opaque. The order matters because municipal review precedes immigration review, and skipping the order resets the queue.
Identify a host municipality
Pick a Japanese city or prefecture certified to issue Startup Visa Confirmation Certificates. Tokyo, Yokohama, Shibuya City, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Sendai are the most active as of mid-2026. Each city has its own application portal and review committee. The choice is strategic: review timelines, sector preferences, and on-the-ground support all vary.
Submit a business plan to the host municipality
The plan must convince a panel of business advisors that the venture is real. Tokyo and Osaka publish plan-sheet templates. The plan is reviewed by external advisors — typically a mix of accountants, investors, and business mentors. Tokyo cites a one-to-two-month review window; Osaka cites about five months end-to-end.
Receive the Startup Preparation Activity Confirmation Certificate
On approval, the municipality issues a Confirmation Certificate (起業準備活動計画確認証明書). This is the document the Immigration Services Agency requires to grant the residence status. The certificate is valid for three months, so file the visa application promptly after receiving it.
Apply for a Certificate of Eligibility at the Immigration Services Agency
File a Certificate of Eligibility application at the regional Immigration Services Agency office, with the Confirmation Certificate and supporting documents — passport, photograph, proof of living funds, residence address. Processing typically takes one to three months.
Convert to the Designated Activities residence status
Switch to, or enter Japan on, the Designated Activities (特定活動) status. The visa is renewable up to a combined total of two years from 1 April 2025.
Use the two-year window to meet the Business Manager threshold
During preparation: incorporate, secure office space, hire one full-time qualifying employee (Japanese national, permanent resident, or qualifying long-term resident), and accumulate the capital required for the Business Manager (経営・管理) visa. Convert to Business Manager before the Designated Activities period expires.
Approved municipalities at a glance
The Startup Visa programme rolled out nationwide from January 2025. The active cities, as of mid-2026:
| Region | Programme | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo (metropolitan) | Business Development Center Tokyo Startup Visa | Invest Tokyo |
| Tokyo — Shibuya City | Shibuya Startup Visa | Shibuya Startup Support |
| Yokohama | Yokohama Startup Visa | City of Yokohama |
| Osaka | Osaka Startup Visa Support Desk | Osaka Innovation Hub |
| Kyoto | Kyoto Startup VISA | Kyoto Startup Ecosystem · Kyoto Overseas Business Center |
| Fukuoka | Fukuoka City Startup Visa | Fukuoka City Startup Café |
| Nagoya | Aichi Startup Visa | Aichi Prefecture |
| Sendai | Sendai City Startup Visa | Sendai International Relations Association |
Each programme has different sector preferences and different review cadences. Pick one that matches the venture, not just one that issues the fastest visa.
Business Manager conversion: the second step
The Business Manager (経営・管理) visa is the long-term residence category for foreign nationals who run businesses in Japan. The post-October 2025 conversion checklist — confirm the exact thresholds with the Immigration Services Agency before banking on numbers — broadly comprises:
- An incorporated company in Japan
- A physical office (rented commercial space, not a residence)
- Capital or paid-in investment at the current threshold (widely reported as ¥30 million as of late 2025)
- One or more full-time qualifying employees, with Japanese national, permanent resident, or qualifying long-term resident status
- Three or more years of management experience, or an MBA or equivalent advanced degree
- A demonstrated business plan reviewed by a qualifying expert, such as a certified accountant
- Sufficient Japanese-language proficiency for the applicant or a qualifying employee to operate the business
The Business Manager visa is renewable for one, three, or five years, and is a recognised path to permanent residence after three to five years of continuous residence in Japan, depending on individual circumstances.
How an APRO host placement de-risks the pathway
Aoyama Professionals does not issue visas. What APRO does do is operate the bridge that makes the founder pathway plausible.
A typical APRO placement is twelve weeks inside a Japanese host SME, deploying AI-augmented operations work in manufacturing, finance, or healthcare under the Orbweva Academy methodology. The placement gives an international intern four things that the Startup Visa application cannot fabricate:
- A network of host-municipality contacts. APRO host companies are concentrated in Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region. The municipality is the Startup Visa gatekeeper. Knowing people inside the local startup ecosystem before applying is not optional — it is the difference between a plan reviewed in four weeks and one queued behind every other applicant.
- Demonstrated commercial track record in Japan. Twelve weeks of measurable, documented work for a Japanese SME is the kind of evidence the municipal review committee finds difficult to ignore. It is also the only way for most international applicants to surface as something other than another business plan.
- A potential first customer or co-founder. APRO host companies are deliberately matched with interns whose AI deployment work fills a real gap. If the deployment is good, the host has a budget reason to keep working with the intern — as customer, advisor, contractor, or co-founder.
- Time to choose. The two-year Designated Activities window does not need to be entered cold. An intern who finishes APRO and converts to the Startup Visa already has eight months of in-country signal, an existing host relationship, and a position from which the venture is plausible.
The internship is not a detour from the founder pathway. It is the de-risking mechanism the post-October 2025 environment makes essential.
Frequently asked questions
The questions APRO applicants ask most about the Startup Visa appear in the article frontmatter, and are surfaced as FAQ schema for AI search engines. The full set, in plain text:
Can I apply for the Startup Visa while still on a student visa? Yes. Student-visa holders frequently switch directly to Designated Activities for startup preparation, provided the host municipality approves the business plan.
Do I need ¥30 million in the bank to apply for the Startup Visa itself? No. The Startup Visa preparation phase has no upfront capital requirement. The threshold applies to the Business Manager visa that follows it. Applicants do need to prove living funds — typically around ¥200,000 — and a credible plan to reach the Business Manager threshold within two years.
What if I cannot reach the Business Manager threshold within two years? The Designated Activities status cannot be extended indefinitely. Applicants typically pivot to a different residence category — Engineer/Specialist/Humanities/International Services if they take employment, or J-Find if they remain eligible by age and graduation date. APRO's role is partly to make sure that pivot is planned, not panicked.
Is the Startup Visa available outside Tokyo? Yes. The programme rolled out nationwide from January 2025. As of mid-2026, more than two dozen prefectures and cities operate Startup Visa programmes.
Can my APRO host company sponsor the Startup Visa application? The host company is not the formal sponsor — that role belongs to the host municipality — but the host can be a strong supporting reference, an early customer, an advisor, and in some cases a co-founding partner. APRO designs placements with that downstream optionality in mind.
The Startup Visa is administrative, not magic. The October 2025 changes to the Business Manager threshold raise the bar on the second step but do not change the first one. What they do change is the cost of attempting the founder pathway from cold. A host-company internship — with the network, the track record, and the optionality it builds — is the most efficient way to lower that cost.
If a Tokyo founder pathway is the goal, the path runs through a host placement first.
→ See APRO Academy for the twelve-week placement structure that builds the Startup Visa runway, or read the three paths out of an APRO internship — hire, freelance, or founder.