At present, six cities, including Sendai, Yokohama, Kobe and Fukuoka have a special programs approved by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to help foreign entrepreneurs obtain a visa for their startup period; seven prefectures such as Hokkaido, Aichi and Kyoto also have support for the program under METI. An application for a business manager visa can be filed with an investment of at least 5 million yen, registration of a company and securing an office space, provided the municipality office confirms with the business plan. The Tokyo metropolitan government also offers the same type of services. (You can find more details at the following link: https://www.meti.go.jp/english/policy/economy/startup_nbp/startup_visa.html and https://www.investtokyo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/support/). Without the entrepreneur’s presence in Japan, a local lawyer may be able to file an application to the municipality and the regional immigration services bureau.
