Does Japan really want foreign entrepreneurs? It's always been very conservative and while they may be polite to foreigners, that's very different from allowing non-Japanese to expand a business there. I think it's ingrained in the culture, and some of these bridges Tokyo is building might be too little to catch up to SK or Germany.
> Does Japan really want foreign entrepreneurs? It's always been very conservative
My understanding is they're also very financially conservative, I think it was pinboard who was talking about his experience as an independent entrepreneur?
I think it's a valid choice for a country to decide that the economic boon from foreign entrepreneurs isn't worth it if those people can't speak your language. I'd certainly be irritated if someone opened a business in my town and couldn't speak English, and the US is a lot less homogeneous than Japan.
How is Japan a cautionary tale? They're one of the most (the most?) developed countries on earth, enjoy one of the highest standards of living and economically punch well above their weight (based on population and access to resources).
I don't see where the problem is... The vast majority of countries, even many western countries only wish they had Japan's 'problems'.
Japan has virtually identical GDP/capita to the UK, the numbers are a little out of date as GBP has fallen in last few years. Maybe UK could try to emulate Japan to try to catch up with it.
The global superpower fears were wild exaggerations. They didn’t have the pop (workers and also consumers) to support those claims.
Of course contributing to those fears was vast underinvestment in modernization by US firms which were still relying on very old and inefficient technologies, so of course to some stateside companies (and “pundits”) they looked like worldbeaters.
In their immigration policy there is no path to permanent residency or citizenship. With so many other options around the world, why would immigrants move to non English speaking country with not so friendly immigration policies?
It's easy to get Japanese citizenship if you can qualify for a visa in the first place. I'm not sure why this falsehood is constantly repeated. Citizenship = 5 years, PR = 10 years
You need to know Japanese, streamlined beauty standards, you need to work crazy hours and it looks bad if you have switched companies in the past.
Get past these problems and non-japanese start to love it. They are not as racist as many people make them out to be, most are just extremely frustrated that english and being chubby isn't enough to be accepted.
It's been a dream of mine to go spend time in Japan since I was quite young. The dream has morphed; I have a serious relationship now, a good career and a place to call home that I don't want to leave permanently. But the dream lives on and we're planning to go there for six months in a couple of years to learn the language intensively.
However, the idea of trying to get someone to move to Japan to start a startup is kind of odd. Ideally, you should be near your customers.
Japan is a wonderful place to live, but there is much more they can do to make things attractive to Japanese entrepreneurs, which will, in turn, make it attractive to everyone, including foreign entrepreneurs.
I've been dealing with setting up a corporation over the past few months and have some quick (5am) comments on a few of these points from the article. Hopefully this is helpful to anyone considering doing business in Japan.
> Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center (TOSBEC)
This resource is great and underutilized in Tokyo in the international business scene from my experience. I've been doing my part to recommend it far and wide, as it is very helpful with solid English support.
> Corporate bank account
I finished setting up my corporation in Japan in April, and it is now essentially December and I do not have a corporate bank account yet. Getting denied many times from various banks, always being told that they cannot tell us the reason why due to "policy". also, it can take anywhere from three to five weeks to process your application. My accountant, lawyer, etc cannot quite figure it out for certain. It recently came down to a few potential factors around me not being on the business manager visa (on another work visa), even though we've seen success doing it as that before. Banking has been my biggest holdup thus far.
> Private office
to secure a visa from your own business, you need a private office. You must have a private door, with your company name listed on it. there are multiple businesses which support this around the city, but you will pay at least 600 USD per month for a shoebox office with no windows or AC control, if you want to be in a reasonable neighborhood. There is also a semi-requirement that your bank must be within 5 km of your headquarters, AKA your office. So if you will be going there frequently, which you probably will be since online banking here is practically useless, you will not want to be traveling far.
So, you will be spending 600 USD per month on an office. You will also be spending 2,000 to 3,000 USD per year on an accountant to handle your corporate taxes. the standard rate for setting up a corporation, is around 4,500 USD to 5,500 USD. If you can't read Japanese kanji forms, which is all you are going to find that many banks and most government offices offer, you're going to need to pay a translator. If you are sponsoring your own visa, you need to deposit at least 50,000 USD into your bank account to support your visa. This money can be used elsewhere after it has been deposited, but is still a hurdle for some.
You are looking at a minimum of 15,000 to 20,000 USD for setting up a corporation over your first year, assuming you follow the standard path (excluding the 50k deposit)
I've been doing my best to document everything along the way during this process, and it is not over yet. Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have more questions or a curious about more details.
After 'working' with Canadian immigration for a couple of years to get my status secured I gave up. Any country that doesn't value what its immigrants bring to the table deserves to be ignored.
Given that your route seems to be full of friction why do you persist? Is there some unique element to your business that requires you to be in Japan?
Consider me impressed. Canada was easier than what you describe and yet, I couldn't stomach it after a couple of years of being given the run-around.
Wow. When I did this in the 1980s, it was $250K (minimum), in 1980 dollars. Things have gotten easier! :-)
There was the situation where if you didn't become a citizen (which was hard, but not impossible, at the time), you could visa-work your way throughout 40-or-so years of employment, but if you weren't a citizen, you were booted at 65, even if you had paid in your whole life.
After having done this myself, I figure that even for a Japanese native this must be tedious without having done it at least twice before.
When we closed down our company... a native helped us submit the paperwork to close out our local bank account with an online bank. It took SIX MONTHS of sending the same form back and forth with corrections to finish it, haha.
I think I remember writing about this before, but it's also unclear what comparative advantages a startup in Japan offers you outside of two things: easy access to the Japanese market if you think their consumers/businesses will be the largest market for your product, and world-leading expertise in robotics (and some other things). I guess you can also live in some huge, nice cities without absurd cost of living too. Not sure if those are worth all the operational and cultural difficulties for most people, relative to other places.
This is a fair point. Carlos seemed like he did some really questionable things as head of Nissan, but it all seemed to be things that should have only been pursued in a civil case, not criminal. Instead, it seems like Nissan has used Japan's criminal justice system to punish him, and in quite a harsh way too. The guy is most likely guilty of some things, but the punishment he's experienced has been really out of proportion, and that's not going to be attractive to others who might look at Japan as a place to start a business or get involved in corporate politics.
Like others have stated, the Japanese are very much xenophobic to outsiders. The idea of bringing a business to Japan seems unique but you aren't going to get any community support like you would in western countries.
Personally I view Japan has a oddity. A first world country that short of some tech and Toyota/Honda produce little to nothing for trade. Everything is imported which could land you into the red if the powers at be stop playing nice in trading with Japan.
> A first world country that short of some tech and Toyota/Honda produce little to nothing for trade. Everything is imported
Japan does not export "some tech and Toyota/Honda". It exports a LOTS of vehicles, vehicle parts, integrated circuits, machines, etc. Japan is the 4th largest exporter in the world.
Also, a country that doesn't export much cannot import much, or else how could the country afford it?
[+] [-] blackearl|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rootsudo|6 years ago|reply
They've opened up the gates.
Funding minimum is 5 million JPY.
The issue is language barrier and price.
You can go to China, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia to get much cheaper labor.
But not the infrastructure or trust and safety.
[+] [-] masklinn|6 years ago|reply
My understanding is they're also very financially conservative, I think it was pinboard who was talking about his experience as an independent entrepreneur?
[+] [-] Causality1|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kristianc|6 years ago|reply
Japan was expected to become the next global superpower in the 1980s, and instead has seen closing in on three lost decades.
It’s only now trying to catch up, politically, culturally and economically.
[+] [-] Mikeb85|6 years ago|reply
I don't see where the problem is... The vast majority of countries, even many western countries only wish they had Japan's 'problems'.
[+] [-] rb808|6 years ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)...
[+] [-] mc32|6 years ago|reply
Of course contributing to those fears was vast underinvestment in modernization by US firms which were still relying on very old and inefficient technologies, so of course to some stateside companies (and “pundits”) they looked like worldbeaters.
[+] [-] bluedino|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wil421|6 years ago|reply
The US has the most immigrants than any other country by almost 5x at 48 million.
[+] [-] seiko988|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lggdn|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] YinLuck-|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] golemiprague|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] cryptozeus|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] reustle|6 years ago|reply
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/zairyuu/eizyuu.ht...
> or citizenship
https://www.justlanded.com/english/Japan/Japan-Guide/Visas-P...
[+] [-] brobinson|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] noja|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] burtonator|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kbumsik|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hindsightbias|6 years ago|reply
Death of a Dream: Vietnamese Workers in Japan https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/4001336/
[+] [-] danielscrubs|6 years ago|reply
Get past these problems and non-japanese start to love it. They are not as racist as many people make them out to be, most are just extremely frustrated that english and being chubby isn't enough to be accepted.
[+] [-] echelon|6 years ago|reply
I've been studying Japanese for years (taking the JLPT again in December).
I want to start a computational filmmaking startup, and Japan has some of the best writers and media exports the world has to offer.
I really need to stop worrying and pursue this...
[+] [-] magnusdeus123|6 years ago|reply
It's been a dream of mine to go spend time in Japan since I was quite young. The dream has morphed; I have a serious relationship now, a good career and a place to call home that I don't want to leave permanently. But the dream lives on and we're planning to go there for six months in a couple of years to learn the language intensively.
Don't let your dreams stay dreams.
[+] [-] timoth3y|6 years ago|reply
BTW, shameless plug for my podcast: https://www.disruptingjapan.com/
However, the idea of trying to get someone to move to Japan to start a startup is kind of odd. Ideally, you should be near your customers.
Japan is a wonderful place to live, but there is much more they can do to make things attractive to Japanese entrepreneurs, which will, in turn, make it attractive to everyone, including foreign entrepreneurs.
[+] [-] reustle|6 years ago|reply
> Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center (TOSBEC)
This resource is great and underutilized in Tokyo in the international business scene from my experience. I've been doing my part to recommend it far and wide, as it is very helpful with solid English support.
> Corporate bank account
I finished setting up my corporation in Japan in April, and it is now essentially December and I do not have a corporate bank account yet. Getting denied many times from various banks, always being told that they cannot tell us the reason why due to "policy". also, it can take anywhere from three to five weeks to process your application. My accountant, lawyer, etc cannot quite figure it out for certain. It recently came down to a few potential factors around me not being on the business manager visa (on another work visa), even though we've seen success doing it as that before. Banking has been my biggest holdup thus far.
> Private office
to secure a visa from your own business, you need a private office. You must have a private door, with your company name listed on it. there are multiple businesses which support this around the city, but you will pay at least 600 USD per month for a shoebox office with no windows or AC control, if you want to be in a reasonable neighborhood. There is also a semi-requirement that your bank must be within 5 km of your headquarters, AKA your office. So if you will be going there frequently, which you probably will be since online banking here is practically useless, you will not want to be traveling far.
So, you will be spending 600 USD per month on an office. You will also be spending 2,000 to 3,000 USD per year on an accountant to handle your corporate taxes. the standard rate for setting up a corporation, is around 4,500 USD to 5,500 USD. If you can't read Japanese kanji forms, which is all you are going to find that many banks and most government offices offer, you're going to need to pay a translator. If you are sponsoring your own visa, you need to deposit at least 50,000 USD into your bank account to support your visa. This money can be used elsewhere after it has been deposited, but is still a hurdle for some.
You are looking at a minimum of 15,000 to 20,000 USD for setting up a corporation over your first year, assuming you follow the standard path (excluding the 50k deposit)
I've been doing my best to document everything along the way during this process, and it is not over yet. Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have more questions or a curious about more details.
[+] [-] jacquesm|6 years ago|reply
Given that your route seems to be full of friction why do you persist? Is there some unique element to your business that requires you to be in Japan?
Consider me impressed. Canada was easier than what you describe and yet, I couldn't stomach it after a couple of years of being given the run-around.
[+] [-] ci5er|6 years ago|reply
There was the situation where if you didn't become a citizen (which was hard, but not impossible, at the time), you could visa-work your way throughout 40-or-so years of employment, but if you weren't a citizen, you were booted at 65, even if you had paid in your whole life.
Fun times.
[+] [-] benguild|6 years ago|reply
When we closed down our company... a native helped us submit the paperwork to close out our local bank account with an online bank. It took SIX MONTHS of sending the same form back and forth with corrections to finish it, haha.
[+] [-] opportune|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] akvashi|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] jhanschoo|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ctocoder|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] golemiprague|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] charliebrownau|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] notrealpersonq|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] magduf|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] anon73044|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] incahoots|6 years ago|reply
Personally I view Japan has a oddity. A first world country that short of some tech and Toyota/Honda produce little to nothing for trade. Everything is imported which could land you into the red if the powers at be stop playing nice in trading with Japan.
[+] [-] hikarudo|6 years ago|reply
Japan does not export "some tech and Toyota/Honda". It exports a LOTS of vehicles, vehicle parts, integrated circuits, machines, etc. Japan is the 4th largest exporter in the world.
Also, a country that doesn't export much cannot import much, or else how could the country afford it?
edit: typo
[+] [-] unknown|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]