Is it actually possible for foreigners to start a business in Japan now?

Comments · 85

• TW

  @tw106 · 2 weeks ago

  I think his entrepreneurial style of just “winging it” is a problem with trying to establish himself in Japan. You cannot just go with what you see and like, and throw money at it to make it work out. He doesn’t speak the local language of Japanese, he doesn’t have experience or networks in the hotelier industry in Japan, and to navigate the culture and customs, especially in business, will be extremely challenging. I hope his funding can survive all this to get to the point of making it work out, even in face of stricter business visa requirements.

  19

• DU

  @dunebuggy1292 · 2 weeks ago

  It's good that he's aware a business visa is not a startup visa. It's not a learner's permit.

  6

• YU

  @yuuichi-dragon · 2 weeks ago

  The tightening of regulations for Japan's Business Manager visas was prompted by the fact that many Chinese nationals were establishing companies with no actual business operations, solely to enroll in Japanese schools or access Japan's healthcare system in order to relocate to Japan and obtain resident status.

  7

• QU

  @QuantumConundrum · 2 weeks ago

  Not done the video yet, but I feel like my biggest takeaway is that a lawyer, or anyone really, with outdated advice can put you in a very difficult position. This is where second opinions or networking would come in... but it's never so simple or easy in the end.

  3

• TH

  @TheDennisgrass · 2 weeks ago

  Was Ray&apos;s immigration legal representative licensed as a bengoshi (court lawyer) or a gyosei-shoshi (administrative scrivener)?<br>&quot;immigration lawyer&quot; is really unclear, as some are actually just scriveners.

  5

• LI

  @LittleKingKong8731 · 7 days ago

  Ray 友達として応援しています❤

• RO

  @roamiblu1833 · 2 days ago

  Reading some of these comments, a lot of them seem black-and-white, but it&apos;s not so. &nbsp; But here&apos;s a question: &nbsp;With Japan changing the Business Manager Visa requirement for non-citizens, how does this affect their economy and places that want foreigners to move to &quot;dying&quot; communities? &nbsp;Or you don&apos;t think the economy would be affected.

• C_

  @c_____saw-r4t · 2 weeks ago

  Honestly, it’s the media campaign that puts me off.<br><br>I’m also a foreigner who built a life in Japan and dealt with immigration here, so I understand how much paperwork, uncertainty and frustration are involved. But campaigns like this make life more difficult for foreigners like us and increasingly lead to misunderstandings about our intentions, responsibilities and experiences.<br><br>Investment and sacrifice are not the same as compliance, and they do not by themselves establish that an immigration decision was wrong. In Japan, putting money into a business does not replace the need to follow the relevant rules or provide evidence that the approved business plan was actually carried out.<br><br>Your earlier post said immigration questioned whether you had carried out the business behind your original approval. Yet the coverage you promote focuses heavily on rule changes while leaving the central questions unanswered:<br><br>What happened to the original apparel plan? What business activities did you actually carry out? What evidence did you submit to explain any changes?<br><br>You also said you hired accountants, consultants and lawyers. Were they aware that the business had moved away from the original plan? If so, what advice did they give you? If not, why not? Those are reasonable questions, especially when the dispute appears to concern what was done and what can be documented.<br><br>What also comes across as contradictory is that, in the comments, you said the goal is not to secure a visa. Yet your campaign centres on the disruption and hardship caused by losing that same visa or status. It is entirely understandable to be upset, but publicly minimising the visa while making it the central issue of the campaign can reasonably be seen as inconsistent.<br><br>I sympathise with the disruption to your family. I also understand how difficult it is for foreigners to build a life here, comply with complicated requirements and avoid being misunderstood. That is precisely why campaigns like this concern me: they can make the public and authorities increasingly suspicious of other foreigners who are trying to follow the rules in good faith.<br><br>Money invested, sacrifices made and media attention do not prove that immigration got it wrong. A sympathetic headline is not evidence, and publicity does not replace compliance.<br><br>There may have been a genuine dispute or misunderstanding here, but based on what has been publicly presented, it is not possible to conclude that this was simply an unfair rule change. With a transition period in place, the important questions are which requirements applied to your renewal and what evidence you submitted to meet them. If the problem concerned the business activities carried out or how they were documented, that may reflect planning or execution problems rather than bad luck alone.<br><br>If the plan changed, explain why. If it was not carried out as originally approved, acknowledge that clearly. If you have supporting evidence, present it.<br><br>Until then, this looks less like a demonstrated immigration injustice and more like a media campaign trying to win a legal argument through publicity while leaving the basic questions unanswered: what was actually done, what can be proved, and why is the visa supposedly not your goal when it is clearly the centre of the campaign?

  17

• TR

  @trafferz · 2 weeks ago

  Renewal. That&apos;s extremely important. Not what he wants to hear but these are exactly the businesses they want to weed out. Expecting to see a mass exodus for those not attempting to renew or rejected renewals.

  1

• MI

  @mizuwater222 · 2 weeks ago

  first

  2

• RA

  @Rafe-x9g · 7 days ago (edited)

  What if a guy who&apos;s a tailor from Iraq and doesn&apos;t speak any English, goes to New York and wants to start an AI company? How do you think that would go? Ray kinda&apos; did the same thing.

• DA

  @darrenmarshall7161 · 2 weeks ago (edited)

  Great insightful video and good to hear the story from Ray himself as I had heard this story on other social channels.<br>It would seem that his issue is that he applied directly for the BMV without having the company and hotel license in place and hence, time passed and no revenue to show at the renewal point.<br>What is curious to me, is why he didn’t apply for the Business Startup Visa which Toyama supports. &nbsp;That would have given him all the breathing space to get everything in order - including bank accounts - and then move to the BMV?<br>Obviously doesn’t matter now and his hotel is up and running. &nbsp;Looks a great place to stay too. &nbsp;I’m over in Nagano and have yet to visit Toyama - so you never know ..

  5