日本語

Your neighborhood Indian curry restaurant. A ¥900 lunch, freshly baked naan, and a shop owner who always greets you with a smile.

That restaurant may disappear within three years.

Not because business is bad. Not because customers stopped coming. Because the visa rules changed.

【What changed】

On October 16, 2025, the criteria for the "Business Manager" (経営・管理) residence status — the visa that allows foreign nationals to operate businesses in Japan — were drastically altered.

〈Business scale requirements〉 Before the amendment: Either "2 or more full-time employees" or "capital of ¥5 million or more" — meeting one was sufficient After the amendment: Both "1 or more full-time employees" and "total business assets of ¥30 million or more" — both must be met simultaneously

〈Capital amount〉 Before: ¥5 million or more After: ¥30 million or more (6 times the previous amount)

〈Full-time employees〉 Before: 2 or more (as an alternative to the capital requirement) After: 1 or more (must be met alongside the asset requirement)

Under the old system, meeting the ¥5 million capital threshold alone was sufficient, even without full-time employees. Under the new system, both ¥30 million in assets and full-time employment must be satisfied simultaneously. Moreover, official Q&A documents clarify that capital reserves and retained earnings are not counted toward "total business assets," effectively requiring ¥30 million in paid-in capital.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, in its official Startup Visa guide, states that under the amended requirements, "it is extremely difficult for a foreign national to start a business alone without a domestic partner."

【What is happening in your city】

What this amendment takes away lies beyond the numbers.

◆ The livelihoods of shop owners and their families are being cut short

Khandel Ragu, who runs the Indian restaurant "Rajan" in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, has said: "If they demand ¥30 million in capital when I renew my visa, I can't come up with it. I may have no choice but to close the business." "Suddenly demanding six times the capital is not reasonable." (AERA dot., February 2026)

Business is good. Customers keep coming. He has diligently paid taxes and social insurance. Yet simply because the visa rules changed, he may have to shut down his restaurant. His children attend Japanese schools and are growing up speaking Japanese. There is no "home to return to" anymore.

This is not just Khandel's story. Across Japan, owners of Indian, Nepali, Thai, Vietnamese, and Turkish restaurants face the same situation — their number is countless.

◆ Japanese jobs are lost too

It is not only foreign nationals who work at ethnic restaurants. Japanese part-time and full-time workers serve in the dining hall, assist in the kitchen, and handle deliveries. When a shop closes, it is not just the owner but also Japanese staff who lose their jobs. This is not "a foreign nationals' issue" — it is an employment issue.

◆ Your dining options disappear

Your weekly curry lunch. The Vietnamese restaurant you visit with family. The kebab stand you stop by after work. The Thai takeout on your way home. Many of these shops operate under Business Manager visas.

Imagine how many restaurants will have vanished from your neighborhood three years from now.

◆ The streetscape changes

Journalist Hirokazu Murohashi has warned: "The amendment has almost no effect on closing the loophole originally targeted — Chinese immigration through shell companies — and instead directly hits Nepali, Thai, Vietnamese, and other nationals who have been honestly running restaurants in Japan." "If foreign shop owners withdraw, Shin-Okubo will become 'ruins.'" (AERA dot., February 2026)

Shin-Okubo, Ikebukuro, Nishi-Kasai, Kobe — ethnic dining districts across Japan are tourism assets and the lifeblood of their communities. When shops close, vacant storefronts multiply, shopping streets decline, and local tax revenue is lost.

◆ Japan's culinary diversity retreats

Indian curry, pho, tom yum kung, kebab, tacos — these are no longer "foreign food" but part of everyday dining in Japan. If the people who bring these dishes all disappear at once, Japan's food culture itself becomes poorer.

Grocery stores, spice importers, halal food shops — the supply chains that support these restaurants will collapse in a chain reaction. What is lost is not just individual shops but an entire food-culture ecosystem.

【This policy does little to stop visa fraud】

We do not oppose appropriate screening to prevent abuse of the system.

The purpose of this amendment is to prevent fraudulent visa acquisition through "paper companies" with no actual business operations. A Tokyo Immigration Bureau investigation found that 90% of the 300 suspected cases of abuse involved paper companies. We understand the need for countermeasures.

However, this policy misses the mark.

Of the 103,611 Business Manager visa holders, 54,647 are Chinese nationals — more than half. Meanwhile, Nepali nationals, who make up the majority of Indian and Nepali restaurant owners, number only 1,378 (1.3% of the total).

According to journalist Masato Nakamura, the majority of Chinese restaurant owners already hold permanent resident visas, and the impact of this amendment on them is "limited." Furthermore, ¥30 million is no barrier for those with substantial financial resources.

In other words, those with the financial power to run paper companies can easily clear this requirement, while only small-scale entrepreneurs who have been honestly running restaurants in Japan are excluded — that is the structure of this policy.

Khandel has stated: "I wish they had verified business operations earlier — not just through paperwork, but by calling companies directly to confirm they are real."

What could be resolved by individually verifying actual business operations is instead being cut off by a blanket ¥30 million threshold. That is far too blunt.

【Timeline of the amendment】

August 26, 2025: Public comment period begins for the proposed ministerial order amendment September 25, 2025: Public comment period closes (702 comments submitted) October 10, 2025: Ministerial order promulgated (Ministry of Justice Ordinances No. 50 and No. 51). Described as "amended," but no fundamental revision of the requirements was made October 16, 2025: Enforcement

This amendment was implemented as a ministerial order (secondary legislation) without Diet deliberation.

A three-year transition period (until October 16, 2028) has been established for those already residing in Japan under the "Business Manager" status. During this period, a comprehensive assessment will be applied even if the new criteria are not met. However, after October 16, 2028, compliance with the new criteria will in principle be required. The countdown has already begun.

【Our demands】

We demand the following of the Minister of Justice, the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency, and the Minister for Regulatory Reform:

〈Primary demand〉 Do not exclude existing business operators with real operations using a blanket capital threshold.

Combating paper companies and protecting honest entrepreneurs are not mutually exclusive. We demand a shift to screening criteria based on actual business performance — operational track record, tax payment history, and employment record — rather than capital amount. At a minimum, the blanket application of the ¥30 million requirement should be eased through the introduction of graduated criteria based on business scale and industry.

We also demand the following:

・Extension of the transition period: The three-year grace period for existing residents (until October 16, 2028) is too short. Please extend the grace period so that existing business operators with proven track records can continue their businesses.

・Public disclosure of the basis for the amendment and implementation of an impact assessment: Please conduct and publicly disclose a quantitative impact assessment of how this amendment affects foreign-owned restaurants, employment, and local economies.

【Closing】

What we are asking for is not the abandonment of anti-fraud measures. We support cracking down on paper companies.

However, using that as justification to tell restaurant owners who have operated for more than ten years, paid taxes, and put down roots in their communities — "Come up with ¥30 million or get out" — is not justice.

To protect that restaurant you can still visit tomorrow. Your signature makes a difference.

【Sources (major public sources)】

Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "Regarding the Amendment of Landing Permission Criteria for the 'Business Manager' Residence Status" https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/resources/10_00237.html

Immigration Services Agency of Japan, "[Business Manager] Notice" (PDF) https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001448070.pdf

e-Gov Public Comment (Case No. 315000115) — Results of Public Comment Solicitation https://public-comment.e-gov.go.jp/pcm/1040?CLASSNAME=PCM1040&id=315000115&Mode=1

Startup Visa (Foreign Entrepreneur Activity Promotion Program) / Tokyo Metropolitan Government https://www.investtokyo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/jp/oursupports/bdc-tokyo/startupvisa.html

AERA dot., "Indian Curry Shops Will Drastically Decline Within 3 Years — Will Shin-Okubo Become 'Ruins'?" (February 2026) https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/275628

Addressed to: Minister of Justice Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency Minister for Regulatory Reform, Cabinet Office

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