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Japan eyes startup visa program

asia.nikkei.com

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Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#61

Post by staunch »

GuiA wrote: post #45
rayiner wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a grain of truth to the statement though. I’m just leaving Tokyo to come back to the US. I was pretty amazed at many things. People leave their purses on the table as they go to restroom. They leave their bikes parked with no lock. I didn’t see anybody jay walk, even across narrow streets where the crosswalks were spaced several blocks apart. That is not to say there aren’t lots of problems along other dimen…

Yes, there are absolutely cultural differences at play. I wouldn’t leave my laptop on a table in a coffee shop in NYC for even one second, whereas I’ve done it in Tokyo. But with all that said, I have friends who’ve had shit stolen in Tokyo, or been assaulted by a drunk guy, etc. So I stand by my original point - saying that Japanese people are “the most honest and courteous in the world” is naïveté at best, and exot…

In which major European city could you leave your laptop or purse on a table while you use the bathroom?

Japan is incredibly different from Europe and America in thousands of important ways. The idea that it's even similar is absurd. There's very few comparisons you can even make, beyond the very superficial. Everything is different, from childbirth, children, school, dating, food, holidays, marriage, death, etc.

Your only frame of reference seems to be a 30 year old book (about culture, hah!) and a few discussions with friends...

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#62

Post by rtpg »

jacquesm wrote: post #23

Same story as always: you take the risk, invest your time and break up your life. If it works you are welcome to stay. If it doesn't work you get cut loose and you likely will take years to recover whereas the other side hasn't risked a thing. These kind of propositions only make sense if you have nothing to lose.

If your passport isn't from the right country you might have nothing to lose.

If you have decided to move to some other country, and are looking for the place with the least legal headaches for immigration, _and have a college degree_, then Japan is probably the best on that metric.

You don't have the uncertainty of the green card lottery (the permanent residency requirements are pretty well defined), no employer-based indentured servitude (you can change jobs easily on any visa), and if you are not doing unconventional jobs there's not much issue.

There's of course the cultural difficulties, and the initial difficulty finding an employer for initial sponsorship (though these sorts of visas are trying to make this easier). But the country has a high quality of life and you can carve out your own bubble without having the fear of getting your life uprooted due to legal issues.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#63

Post by [deleted] »

GuiA wrote: post #43
sasas wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any references for the above claims?

For homicide/fertility/etc rates, a simple google search will give you numbers. For sexual assault/corruption/etc, it’s honestly common knowledge at this point. Googling “Japan underreported crime” will give you plenty of results from a variety of sources. Additional insight comes from having a few close Japanese female friends who have opened up to me over the years. If you’re trying to cure yourself of the “Japan i…

[deleted]

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#64

Post by whatyoucantsay »

fermuch wrote: post #52
benguild wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For personal accounts Shinsei is fine. For business, not so much. They only do Japanese speaking, they require IE for certificate pinning I believe, and a lot of banks charge extra for online banking even. Rakuten Bank is the best for startups I think, but you still need a Japanese speaking person in the company.

Please excuse my ignorance, but why would you start a business in a country you don't understand its language? Doesn't sound logical to me, except if there's a big part of the country that doesn't speak that language or something bizarre like that. (this is a serious question, but I'm unable to phrase it this late in a way that doesn't sound like I'm trying to provoke you)

The British Empire did it successfully for centuries.

These days, it doesn't even take an army. Anglophone chauvinism is actually growing in many ways. In another generation or so even Japan will have a sizable expat class that stops bothering to learn the local language.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#65

Post by greggman »

paulsutter wrote: post #38
nihonde wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try opening a business bank account in Japan. Or any bank account for that matter. Be prepared to start every handwritten form over if you make even the slightest error, and I hope you’ve been practicing your kanji. No credit cards or foreign transfers until you’ve got a few years in your business. Capital requirements. It’s a whole different ballgame, for better or worse.

Shinsei was easy to work with (for a business account), have English language online banking and telephone support. Never had an issue with foreign transfers. Does help to have a Japanese friend who can help when opening the account, etc, and it’s important to find accounting and legal help that speak English.

Shinsei bank is no better for business accounts. No help given. Just has hard to open. Only one branch for business accounts in all of Tokyo

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#67

Post by nihonde »

sasas wrote: post #34
nihonde wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try opening a business bank account in Japan. Or any bank account for that matter. Be prepared to start every handwritten form over if you make even the slightest error, and I hope you’ve been practicing your kanji. No credit cards or foreign transfers until you’ve got a few years in your business. Capital requirements. It’s a whole different ballgame, for better or worse.

> and I hope you’ve been practicing your kanji Shinsei bank offer applications in English > or foreign transfers until you’ve got a few years in your business Fortunately there are options to transfer JPY funds overseas using companies like Transferwise.

I’ve never heard of Shinsei bank. My accounts are at UFJ, and obtaining them was my second proudest achievement in Japan after my driver’s license.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#68

Post by Larrikin »

whatyoucantsay wrote: post #64
fermuch wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please excuse my ignorance, but why would you start a business in a country you don't understand its language? Doesn't sound logical to me, except if there's a big part of the country that doesn't speak that language or something bizarre like that. (this is a serious question, but I'm unable to phrase it this late in a way that doesn't sound like I'm trying to provoke you)

The British Empire did it successfully for centuries. These days, it doesn't even take an army. Anglophone chauvinism is actually growing in many ways. In another generation or so even Japan will have a sizable expat class that stops bothering to learn the local language.

Anecdotally from living there for a few years, it was way more common to meet older expats living there with little to no Japanese than it was to meet younger expats, so long as they weren't totally brand new. There's quite a few people who went there during the bubble period that seem proud of the fact that ordering a beer is the extent of their Japanese despite living there for years.

Its much easier to learn the language now with the internet, and Tokyo offers near free lessons all over the city that are staffed by volunteers. Had one friend who came in with absolutely zero Japanese and by the end of his first year was understanding conversations. I see the opposite happening.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#69

Post by whatyoucantsay »

Keyframe wrote: post #22

Wait, what are the benefits apart from 'we let you stay here and do your business and here are some lawyers and maybe a good word here and there'? This is absurd.

It's safe. There are fewer homicides in the entire country of 125 million than just the city of Chicago each year.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#70

Post by delhanty »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #53

As an "entrepreneur" (closer to a freelancer/independent contractor, self employed through a company I created) that's currently living in Japan, a few notes: - Things get a lot easier when a Japanese person is involved. - Paperwork pain will be real, hire someone else to do it. Japan is almost completely about the appearance of propriety -- getting everything filled out properly is 90% of the difficulty. - Hire a ch…

> or you've got some cool projects for me to undertake, feel free to get in touch (see my profile or the gaisma page) vados@gaisma.co.jp

Are you on the Hacker News Tokyo Slack forum? [1]

@jason_tko (Jay Winder Make Leaps CEO who runs the Hacker News Tokyo community meetup that you mentioned - also on Meetup [2]) just launched it.

You could join and introduce your self perhaps ...

It's mainly an expat community but there is going to be a bilingual forum soon too, which is in waitlist right now - some Japanese language skills required for signup. [3]

[1] https://hackernewstokyo.slack.com

[2] https://www.meetup.com/Hacker-News-Tokyo-Japan/

[3] https://www.kinmate.io

Edit: sorry Victor - re-read your post more carefully and realized that you already attend the community meetup.

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