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Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

japantimes.co.jp

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Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#11

Post by mrkstu »

reflectiv wrote: post #5
kbumsik wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you been there lately? They are actually quite many non-local workers these days. Not sure they are treated well though.

My father works for a japanese oil exploration company, and has been for about 25 years. He just got back from a trip to give a presentation in Japan...first thing I hear when he gets back is how badly racist the Japanese are. I know it's just an anecdote...but it's been his experience in general over the years.

That is probably enough info to ID him- you may want to edit that in case of unintended negative repercussions for him...

Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#12

Post by blackearl »

reflectiv wrote: post #5
kbumsik wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you been there lately? They are actually quite many non-local workers these days. Not sure they are treated well though.

My father works for a japanese oil exploration company, and has been for about 25 years. He just got back from a trip to give a presentation in Japan...first thing I hear when he gets back is how badly racist the Japanese are. I know it's just an anecdote...but it's been his experience in general over the years.

I've been reading Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld recently (fascinating read about the yakuza's history in Japan) and it mentions that a large percentage of Chinese and Korean immigrants turned to gang life because they were considered a lower caste, like the burakumin (Japan's untouchables). Maybe things have changed since the 80s-90s?

Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#13

Post by reflectiv »

mrkstu wrote: post #11
reflectiv wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father works for a japanese oil exploration company, and has been for about 25 years. He just got back from a trip to give a presentation in Japan...first thing I hear when he gets back is how badly racist the Japanese are. I know it's just an anecdote...but it's been his experience in general over the years.

That is probably enough info to ID him- you may want to edit that in case of unintended negative repercussions for him...

Fair point, I've updated it.

Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#14

Post by Causality1 »

blackearl wrote: post #6

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.

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.

Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#15

Post by carti »

blackearl wrote: post #12
reflectiv wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father works for a japanese oil exploration company, and has been for about 25 years. He just got back from a trip to give a presentation in Japan...first thing I hear when he gets back is how badly racist the Japanese are. I know it's just an anecdote...but it's been his experience in general over the years.

I've been reading Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld recently (fascinating read about the yakuza's history in Japan) and it mentions that a large percentage of Chinese and Korean immigrants turned to gang life because they were considered a lower caste, like the burakumin (Japan's untouchables). Maybe things have changed since the 80s-90s?

Not drastically, it seems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_issues_in_Japan

Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#16

Post by mariuolo »

masklinn wrote: post #10
blackearl wrote: post #6

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 also remember this guy's perspective: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2014/11/07/doing-business-in-japan

Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#18

Post by incahoots »

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.

Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#19

Post by debatem1 »

Causality1 wrote: post #14
blackearl wrote: post #6

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.

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.

So, I don't understand this perspective at all. Help me get it.

It seems to me that speaking a language is a skill. I know from my own experience trying to learn a second language that it isn't an easy skill for many people to acquire. Why should I be more irritated that someone doesn't speak English than that they, say, can't make a cabinet or can't write Java, or any other mildly demanding skill?

I get the argument that someone who doesn't speak your language doesn't participate fully in your culture either, but I guess I'm still not sure why I should be upset about that. Seems like something for them to be worried about.

Sorry if I'm making an argument here, but I hear this quite a bit and it doesn't make sense to me.

Re: Japan wants foreign entrepreneurs, but what's missing?

#20

Post by reustle »

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.

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