Which Residence Status Should You Choose for Your Future? — Considering Your Career in Japan and the Path to “Starting a New Business” When Obtaining “Business Manager” Status Becomes Difficult

In October 2025, the requirements for the “Business Manager” residence status changed significantly.

This change affects more than just foreign nationals planning to start a business in Japan.

For foreign nationals already living in Japan under the “Business Manager” residence status and running a company, questions arise such as:

“Will I be able to renew my Business Manager status in the future?”

“What happens if I can’t meet the new requirements?”

“If it becomes difficult to keep my company running, will I have to leave Japan?”

“If I give up on starting a business this time, will I never be able to run a company in Japan again?”

These are the kinds of concerns they face.

However, just because the Business Manager status has become more difficult to maintain, it doesn’t mean you have to give up on your career in Japan or on starting a business in the future.

First, get a job at a Japanese company.

Build a career by leveraging your expertise.

If you meet the requirements, consider applying for the Highly Skilled Professional (1-b) visa.

Then, after obtaining permanent residency in the future, start a business again.

This kind of career path is also a possibility.

In this article, let’s consider your future options from three perspectives: “continuing to run your current company,” “joining a Japanese company,” and “aiming for permanent residency via the Highly Skilled Professional (I-b) visa, followed by starting a new business.”

Option 1: Continue as a Business Manager

First, you need to ask yourself: Do you really need to give up your current business, or is it truly impossible to continue as a business manager?

Even if you feel it will be difficult to meet the new requirements, depending on your company’s current situation, it may be possible to continue the business by making the necessary adjustments.

• What is lacking?
• Can those shortcomings be addressed in the future?
• Does the company have sufficient funds and a solid business foundation?
• Do you truly want to continue this business?

It’s important to assess these points objectively.

If the business itself has a promising future and you want to continue managing it, you should consider restructuring the company to comply with the new system.

If you can continue managing the business, then continue managing it.

This is the first option.

Option 2: Find Employment with a Japanese Company

If continuing your current business is not realistic, the next option to consider is finding employment with a Japanese company or similar organization.

One of the most common residence statuses for this is “Engineer, Specialist in Humanities, or International Business”.

If your educational and employment history, along with the specialized duties you’ll perform at your new employer, meet the requirements for this status, you may be able to switch from a “Business Manager” status to a work-based residence status.

The key point here is not to view getting a job as a “failure as an entrepreneur.”

By working in Japan as a company employee, you can:

• Learn about Japanese business culture
• Gain industry experience
• Improve your Japanese language skills
• Build a professional network
• Understand the Japanese market
• Prepare funds for a future startup

In other words, Entrepreneurship → Employment is not the only path;

Entrepreneurship → Career Rebuilding → Future Re-entrepreneurship is another way to look at it.

Option 3: Aiming for Permanent Residency via the Highly Skilled Professional (1-b) Status

If you decide to seek employment, another option worth considering is the “Highly Skilled Professional (1-b) (Highly Specialized and Technical Activities)” status.

The Highly Skilled Professional (1-b) is a status of residence intended for highly skilled foreign professionals engaged in specialized or technical work at Japanese companies and other organizations.

Educational background, work experience, annual income, age, and Japanese language proficiency are all assigned points, and as a general rule, scoring 70 points or more is a key criterion.

For example, even among those eligible to work under the Technical, Humanities Knowledge, or International Business categories, some may be able to consider the Highly Skilled Professional iB depending on their educational background or qualifications.

In other words, this is the route:

It is difficult to continue as a business manager

↓

Get a job at a Japanese company

↓

Work utilizing your expertise

↓

Consider the Highly Skilled Professional (i-b) status if you meet the conditions.

Beyond the Highly Skilled Professional (i-b) status lies the option of “permanent residency”

This route is particularly important for people who want to live in Japan long-term and start a business again in the future.

Under the Highly Skilled Professional Points System, there are special provisions regarding the required period of residence for applying for permanent residency if certain conditions are met.

As explained in the previous article, if your Highly Skilled Professional points total 70 or more, you may be eligible for a special provision requiring a 3-year residency period; if your score is 80 or more, a 1-year period may be considered.

Of course, meeting the required number of years does not automatically grant permanent residency; other requirements are also reviewed for the permanent residency permit.

However, for those considering a long-term career in Japan,

Employment → Building a Career as a Highly Skilled Professional → Permanent Residency

it is very meaningful to be aware of this path.

Once you obtain permanent residency, the path to starting a business again widens

And this is the key point I particularly want to convey in this series.

Once you become a permanent resident, there are no longer any restrictions on employment activities based on your status of residence.

Therefore, after obtaining permanent residency, you can consider a career path where youstart a business in Japan again.

For example,

running a business as a business manager

↓

finding it difficult to adapt to new regulations, so you take a job at a Japanese company

↓

building a specialized career under a status such as “Highly Skilled Professional I-b”

↓

applying for permanent residency once you meet the conditions and becoming a permanent resident.

↓

Use your experience, network, and capital to start a business again.

That is the path.

This is not the story of someone who “gave up on starting a business.”

It is the story of someone who changed the timing of their entrepreneurship.

Considering the three options in terms of “now” and “the future”

The three options discussed here can be organized as follows.

Current Situation	Goal Possible Directions
Want to continue current business Can meet new requirements	Continue business management
It is difficult to continue running a company right now	Find employment at a Japanese company and change your status to Work visa
Want to work in Japan long-term by leveraging expertise and experience	Explore the possibility of the Highly Skilled Professional (ib)
Want to establish a life in Japan in the future	Plan a career path that includes permanent residency
Starting a business is difficult right now, but want to try it in the future	Employment → Career development → Permanent residency → Consider starting a business again

The important thing is not to make decisions based solely on your current status of residence.

When considering the next 5 or 10 years, a job that may seem like a “detour” now could lead to starting your own business in the future.

It’s not an either/or choice between “starting a business or getting a job”

When looking at the new requirements for Business Managers,

you don’t have to think in terms of a binary choice like,

“Do I meet the conditions to start a business, or if not, do I give up?”

In reality, there is the option to start a business now, as well as the option to get a job now and start a business later.

And for those who meet certain conditions, this kind of long-term career planning is also possible.

Employment → Highly Skilled Professional (i-b) → Permanent Residency → Starting a Business

Having this “timeline” in mind greatly expands your options.

Summary

Due to the revisions to the Business Manager requirements in October 2025, some foreign nationals may need to reconsider starting a business in Japan.

However, the fact that becoming a Business Manager is difficult does not mean your future as an entrepreneur is over.

If you can continue your current business, maintain your Business Manager status.

If that’s difficult right now, find employment with a Japanese company.

If you can leverage your expertise and experience, consider the Highly Skilled Professional (i-b) visa.

Then, after building your career and establishing a foundation for life in Japan—and eventually obtaining permanent residency—start a business again.

That’s another path you can take.

Your future in Japan isn’t defined by a single visa. It’s defined by the choices you make.

This is exactly what we want to convey in this series.

Just because one type of residence status has become difficult to obtain doesn’t mean you have to give up on the future you envisioned in Japan.

Choose a path that suits your current situation, and in the future, return to where you wanted to be.

That, too, is one option for building a future in Japan.

Professionai Tips

Due to changes in the requirements for Business Managers, some of you may be worried, thinking;

“Maybe I can’t start a business in Japan anymore.”

However, I believe it’s important to distinguish between “I can’t do it now” and “I won’t be able to do it in the future.”

You don’t have enough capital right now.

You can’t establish the company structure right now.

You can’t meet the new requirements right now.

In that case, one option is to work for a Japanese company first.

During that time, you can enhance your expertise, build a professional network, gain an understanding of the Japanese market, and secure funding.

If you qualify as a “Highly Skilled Professional,” you should also consider applying for permanent residency using the Highly Skilled Professional points system.

Then, once the conditions are right, you can start your own business again.

Your career path doesn’t have to be a straight line.

In fact, now that the system has changed significantly, it’s more important than ever to plan your career—not just in terms of your residency status, but also with a view toward the next few years.