This video is a gem! Not many people have shared their actual experience in such detail, especially within the last couple of years. I'd love to see a video about the renewal process, as I'm interested in doing something like this as well.
I am impressed with your visa story, since I'm also interested in getting one. But with my zero Japanese, I'd better get the expert to do all the job for me. Wish you all the best.
If that is an option for you then highly recommend you get some help. I had N1 when I started applying for it and the process felt daunting enough even then. Good luck to you!
Great video! As an entrepreneur myself (in my home country), I understand how challenging it can be to start a business. I can only imagine the immense effort and determination it must have taken to establish your company and navigate the hurdles of obtaining the Business Manager visa in Japan, all with the possibility of not succeeding in the end. Truly impressive. I’m actually very curious about your company-what you do, who your customers are, and so on. Do you have a video about that, or would you consider creating one in the future?"
Thanks so much for doing this! Your story was very entertaining as well; you should write it down as a comedy novel. It has all the makings of a character arc from challenge to defeat to victory. My spouse (economist) and I (developer) are moving to Fukuoka on student visas. We are hoping to turn them into entrepreneur visas once we get there and have picked up some Japanese since we already have the necessary aspects i.e. capital and inflow. Watching you video gives us hope that it shouldn't be impossible.
I'm happy to hear that my rambling was useful! If you can prove that your financials will be stable to the immigration bureau, you have already cleared the hardest part. Next I would recommend trying to get your Japanese to a level that you can navigate through the paperwork (or ask help from a native). If you have the cash it is also be a good idea to hire a 行政書士 (visa expert) but as in my case it's still possible to get the visa by applying on your own. I wish you good luck and prosperity with the business!
Respect for doing all of this yourself (I assume your Japanese girlfriend was of great help!). We went the "easy" route and hired companies for all of those things (we did the whole process while Japans borders were shut tight).
I had hopes of starting a company in Japan and raising children there but gosh this is so involved.. 5 million is also basically my nest egg and not something I wish to tuck away in a company :( Thanks for making this video and at least helping me realise what my chances are and that I at least tried looking into it, heh :) good luck on your entrepreneur journey!
I understand your choice. Once the capital becomes company money it's not the same as "owning" that money anymore. I hope Japan would relax these rules in the future to make it possible for more foreign entrepreneurs to start their businesses here. Could be better for the Japanese economy as a whole.
Huippuhyvii uniikkeja videjä ja vieläpä sopivasti huumoria, kiitos! Toivottavasti on tulossa lisää näistä kokemuksista ja muustakin elämästä sielläpäin.
I wanted to go there but they blocked working holiday visas because of the PANDEMIC and in 3 months I will be too old to request a working holiday visa... NOT COOL
Great video man. I'm also planning to start a business in Japan, but trying to get the startup status from Shibuya ward first (since I'm outside Japan). If you don't mind me asking, when you renewed for the 2nd year, were you sales very strong, or do they mostly just care about your balance sheet (5M capital) balance at application time?
Sales were not strong at all so I would assume they just look at my bank balance and figured I could last another year. Most important though is that you have been paying taxes, insurance and pension.
I believe its possible for multiple persons to get the business manager visa for the same company, as long as their position in the company is of "managerial" nature.
Greetings,im 21 y old Belgian who just graduated from university with a bachelor in IT, but i have no money to hire 2 or 5M yen. Ive heard there is a startup visa which doesnt require this. Can you help me with this?
Hello! Yes, I have heard of this start-up visa. Unfortunately I have yet to research this visa to the point that I would feel comfortable telling others about it. I would suggest on searching online and looking at different sources (maybe even calling the immigration bureau and asking them directly). Keywords for this visa in Japanese are: 起業家ビザ or スタートアップビザ Good luck with the research!
@@economicsinjapan8076 Actually you should apply for an IT job in Japan which is in great demand of IT people. If you get a working visa, you could live in Japan permanently after one year.
I am particularly impressed for the soho solution, having a room in your house as the office. But I am wondering if this is required by the VISA itself or by the Godo Kaisha
Jonathan, that's a good point. It was only told to me by the immigration officials but I didn't bother to ask if that requirement originated from the Godo Kaisha law or the immigration law.
I am also waiting your updated news.And thanks for your video.I learned a lot. Are you still in Japan?I think this year is your 2nd year for this visa 経営管理ビザ.I also start to apply for this 経営管理ビザ.I am a Chinese.Nice to meet you in your video.Thank you very much!
Sorry for the late reply! I'm planning on making a new documentary style video some time in the future. Currently it's my third year here in Japan. I wish you luck with the 経営管理ビザ！ 頑張ってください。
Thank you for this awesome informative video! Im also considering starting my own business but I was told multiple times that Im not able to do anything but management and need one or multiple employees to work for me. How did you manage to both working as CEO and video production? Did they asked you or checked if you had employees doing the video making?
Good question! This is one of the gray-areas (or devil's in the details) in the application process. I also heard conflicting views on the matter depending on whom I asked, but the conclusion that I ended up in is that what really matters is the type of business and how you present it. For example if you were to start a restaurant business and work as a chef yourself, there would be little chance of getting the entrepreneur-visa (allegedly). Some occupations apparently fall into this area where it's difficult to separate the management and the workers. Consulting firm would be a good example of this. In my business plan document I had made the effort to list many "managerial" activities in the "work duties" section. Instead of writing only things like: "video shooting, editing" I also wrote: "Managing customer relations" and other "business-like" activities. They did not check if I had other employees but it was clear from the application that I had none.
@@economicsinjapan8076 @Economics in Japan Thank you so much for taking the time to answer, this is definitely the type of information I was looking for, and asking the immigration I could never learn those "grey-areas" tricks.. Maybe that could be a way for me to try out as well.. Did you make use of a lawyer? If so would it be possible to ask their website if they have one? 🙏🙏🙏🙏 Btw I was also in Shanghai like you before 😂
I might do an update video later. There is no minimum profit for the company as far as I know, but having many minus years could possibly make renewing visa difficult...
Sorry you had a very hard time getting a job after graduation in Japan. I imagine COVID has only made it tougher given its affected the job market and economy. I'm glad that your entrepreneur visa worked out for you. Have you tried applying to startups in Japan? (Especially ones that are run by gaijins)? International companies (such as GE, BoA, Chase, those american companies with their branches in Japan)?
I'm pretty sure that my own personality had the bigger role in my unsuccessful job-hunting efforts. Before deciding to go for the entrepreneur visa, I had applied to companies like Goldman sachs and BlackRock but didn't manage to very far the selection ladder. I also used some recruiting sites specializing in start-ups but only applied to Japanese start-ups. (the sites I used didn't have foreign start-ups listed) When it comes to frosty job markets, the ones graduating right now probably have it the worst.
I was thinking that if you were job hunting during the COVID 19 crisis or last year, that must have made your job search hard. Especially with banks that would hesitate to hire people in such a crisis. Have you known other international/foreign graduates in your graduating class that managed to get job offers in Japan? And finally, does your business have a website?
@@phsiungus I know a handful of other foreign graduates that managed to get job offers here. Being a foreigner can be considered a weakness or an asset depending on the company you apply to. I have an (unfinished) website which doesn't properly present itself on mobile devices. I will try to finish it in a month or two. The website: kamoshika.co
congrats man , boy you said Finland I automictically think of Amorphis and Fintroll ! lol. why you didn't thought about buying a franchise? Which I'm going to do ? and another thing you mentioned several time about a girlfriend, why you're not depending on spouse visa?
Amorphis and Fintroll ( I assume you mean the Moomins?) are definitely big. Not sure what you mean by buying a franchise... Spouse visa might happen sometime in the future but for now I'm going to (try) stick with the business administration visa.
@@economicsinjapan8076 I'm currently on a student visa in Japan, and recently got a startup visa in Tokyo. But I'm thinking of starting my company in Singapore instead due to low taxes and regulations, plus because it's all English. I really love Japan, but the high taxes and bureaucracy will drain me. How has been your experience so far with that?
@@strauss7151 Congratz on your startup visa. I have been able to put up with the Japanese bureaucracy because I speak the language but I would assume it to be a nightmare for somebody trying to get by with english as people and systems here really don't understand english. High taxes was already a thing in my home country Finland so I didn't think about it too much, although Singapore would probably be way better in that aspect.
Hey man I have a question you studied in a Japanese university for 4 years.how did you pay for your apartment,university and all your expenses because with a student visa with a work permit it only allows you to work 28 hours. How did you work?
It was a combination of getting student allowance support from the Finnish government (partially being a loan), a scholarship from my university, bank account savings and working part-time here and there.
Hi, I also build a company here and apply for a change of status with a 行政書士 Student visa to business manager visa. So the company is set up, I have the office and I transferred 5 000 000 JPY from France to my Japanese bank account. The 行政書士 told me since I was studying Japanese before they will also check my attendance and result . On 2 years I have 80 % of attendance but the last year wasn’t really good... so she told me they can denied because of this, I wrote an apologize/ explanation letter ( corona etc... ) I also asked for a recommandation letter from my previous job in France which I worked as production manager for 4 years. I applied 2 weeks ago, it’s stressful. It’s took 3 weeks for you ? By the way, are you still in Japan? Thank you for your video
I studied in a Japanese university for 4 years but was never asked to provide any attendance reports or grade diplomas during the entrepreneur visa application. But then again I didnt hire a 行政書士 but did everything pretty much alone. I wonder if this is just an idea from the 行政書士 or is it really necessary to submit this attendance document (or maybe it can help you get the visa easier). Hope the 行政書士 knows the best. For me it took about 3 weeks to hear the results after submitting the application. Still here!
@@economicsinjapan8076 thank you, yeah apparently it’s requested when you studied from a Japanese language school but not for university etc.. in Japan Anyway, I just need to wait a bit more. Thank you guy
Thank you for a comprehensive and fascinating exploration into the world of entrepreneurial visas in japan. This is something I have been looking into since 2015 as I wish to be able to enjoy my retirement in a country where I can be free from harassment. The cost of living in my country is too high and it is a banana republic. So I was looking at moving my amplifier repair business to japan. I visited in 2017 and spent some time with a prominent Japanese loudspeaker Restoration company in Nagahara japan. After 4 hours of discussing the business climate in Japan we both agreed that I should manufacture custom vacuum tube amplifiers and sell them. Now the problem is a lack of capital for me. I do have a house in the United States but I also am in a situation of owing a lot of back property tax. So my equity in the house may be reduced considerably. And then there's all the stress and uncertainty and being elderly this may be difficult to handle at my advanced age. But the stress of not leaving my country May soon become too great.
I think that you made a good approach, and I hope that you company had new contracts... but... Why you didn't apply for a Master's degree?... If you have 4 years on a university degree as a student, 2 years of Master's degree as a student, and 4 years as a Ph.D. degree as a student you will live in Japan for 10 years and you can apply for a resident visa without marrying your girlfriend. I think that is very that different approach is too straight and starting a new company is a good opportunity for you. I will talk about my experience. When I was in Spain I made a very good friend, we study Japanese together, and we obtained our scholarship at the same moment...but I was in Osaka and he went to Aomori, we meet few times... Both of us already have university degrees, I was studying for part of my Ph.D. degree, and he was enrolled as a Master's student of economics ( as a part job he was an English conversation teacher in the university)... after that, he worked for a year as a commercial auxiliary in the embassy, so the next year he applies to several companies... With a master's degree (in economics), and experience working in Japan, he obtained two offers to work in Tokyo, in companies with a lot of relationships working with Europe and the USA. He told me later, that he was one of the few "gaikokujin" that obtain a Job in Japan (he check the number and only found around 5%). I think that the best for you is to make a Master's degree showing that you know both worlds, Japan and Finland, and continue working on your company to obtain the experience. And also, in private universities, you could find a job as an "English conversational teacher".
That is definitely a good road to take for many people wanting to start a career in Japan. Personally I wasn't interested in continuing for Master's as I felt I had spend my fair share in schools and it was time to do something different. Private universities are pretty expensive so the advice to work as English conversation teacher is very good, although I'm not sure if you can earn enough to sustain yourself without other help such as scholarships or having money saved up.
after seeing this video about starting a buisness in japan, i have decided, not to start a buisness in japan. I think it is easier to start a buisness in The U.S and then open up a branch office in Japan and get an intra company transferee visa. Or simply save up 300k and coast indefenitely getting renewals for designated activities long stay. with the occasional going back home to make some money.
this video is so incredible helpful. Its difficult navigating the bureaucracy in Japan but you've made it a lot easier.
Yeah, I'm slowly getting better navigating the bureaucracy networks here so hopefully this can help others
This video is a gem! Not many people have shared their actual experience in such detail, especially within the last couple of years. I'd love to see a video about the renewal process, as I'm interested in doing something like this as well.
I am impressed with your visa story, since I'm also interested in getting one. But with my zero Japanese, I'd better get the expert to do all the job for me. Wish you all the best.
If that is an option for you then highly recommend you get some help.
I had N1 when I started applying for it and the process felt daunting enough even then.
Good luck to you!
Glad to find a fellow keynesian denier.
Great video! As an entrepreneur myself (in my home country), I understand how challenging it can be to start a business. I can only imagine the immense effort and determination it must have taken to establish your company and navigate the hurdles of obtaining the Business Manager visa in Japan, all with the possibility of not succeeding in the end. Truly impressive.
I’m actually very curious about your company-what you do, who your customers are, and so on. Do you have a video about that, or would you consider creating one in the future?"
Damn, really nice and insightful video. I was really enjoying the way you were telling the story and pacing was really nice. Good job, man!
Thanks for the comment!
Thanks so much for doing this! Your story was very entertaining as well; you should write it down as a comedy novel. It has all the makings of a character arc from challenge to defeat to victory.
My spouse (economist) and I (developer) are moving to Fukuoka on student visas. We are hoping to turn them into entrepreneur visas once we get there and have picked up some Japanese since we already have the necessary aspects i.e. capital and inflow. Watching you video gives us hope that it shouldn't be impossible.
I'm happy to hear that my rambling was useful!
If you can prove that your financials will be stable to the immigration bureau, you have already cleared the hardest part. Next I would recommend trying to get your Japanese to a level that you can navigate through the paperwork (or ask help from a native).
If you have the cash it is also be a good idea to hire a 行政書士 (visa expert) but as in my case it's still possible to get the visa by applying on your own.
I wish you good luck and prosperity with the business!
Great video, thank you for sharing your journey and the details.
Respect for doing all of this yourself (I assume your Japanese girlfriend was of great help!).
We went the "easy" route and hired companies for all of those things (we did the whole process while Japans borders were shut tight).
I had hopes of starting a company in Japan and raising children there but gosh this is so involved.. 5 million is also basically my nest egg and not something I wish to tuck away in a company :(
Thanks for making this video and at least helping me realise what my chances are and that I at least tried looking into it, heh :) good luck on your entrepreneur journey!
I understand your choice.
Once the capital becomes company money it's not the same as "owning" that money anymore.
I hope Japan would relax these rules in the future to make it possible for more foreign entrepreneurs to start their businesses here.
Could be better for the Japanese economy as a whole.
Huippuhyvii uniikkeja videjä ja vieläpä sopivasti huumoria, kiitos! Toivottavasti on tulossa lisää näistä kokemuksista ja muustakin elämästä sielläpäin.
Kiitos paljon!
Yritän saada videota ulos kun työkiireet helpottaa.
Love your videos, keep it up
Thanks a lot!
Great video my dude. Extremely informational and well done.
I hope your business is doing well.
Thanks a lot.
It is getting there!
Very nice video, thanks for the information
ty for this video
I wanted to go there but they blocked working holiday visas because of the PANDEMIC and in 3 months I will be too old to request a working holiday visa...
NOT COOL
That sucks to be honest...
I hope you find some other way to come here!
Helpful 🙏
thank you for sharing❤️
Very helpful. I thinking to starting my own company also
Good luck!
Gl in your future endeavours bro.
Great video man. I'm also planning to start a business in Japan, but trying to get the startup status from Shibuya ward first (since I'm outside Japan). If you don't mind me asking, when you renewed for the 2nd year, were you sales very strong, or do they mostly just care about your balance sheet (5M capital) balance at application time?
Sales were not strong at all so I would assume they just look at my bank balance and figured I could last another year.
Most important though is that you have been paying taxes, insurance and pension.
congratulation... and thanks for the helpful video.
めっちゃ作り込んでるね！笑 very insightful video! keep it up!!
Thanks for the comment! 最後に日本語字幕も作成します
bro you scared me. That all sound very stressful. Good luck 🍀
Hold on. Can only one person get a business manager visa for one company?
I believe its possible for multiple persons to get the business manager visa for the same company, as long as their position in the company is of "managerial" nature.
Awesome video brother I really love it or you still in Japan now or have any connections in Japan?
Thanks for the comment!
Still hanging on.
This kind of video are very good✨
Thanks! More are on the way
Greetings,im 21 y old Belgian who just graduated from university with a bachelor in IT, but i have no money to hire 2 or 5M yen. Ive heard there is a startup visa which doesnt require this. Can you help me with this?
Hello!
Yes, I have heard of this start-up visa.
Unfortunately I have yet to research this visa to the point that I would feel comfortable telling others about it.
I would suggest on searching online and looking at different sources (maybe even calling the immigration bureau and asking them directly).
Keywords for this visa in Japanese are: 起業家ビザ or スタートアップビザ
Good luck with the research!
@@economicsinjapan8076 Actually you should apply for an IT job in Japan which is in great demand of IT people. If you get a working visa, you could live in Japan permanently after one year.
@@chm8804 Yeah this Korean friend of mine is doing this right now actually.
Thanks for the video, very informative! hows ur business going btw?
Still going at it!
I have a business manager visa also for 4 months. Do you want to connect?
I am particularly impressed for the soho solution, having a room in your house as the office. But I am wondering if this is required by the VISA itself or by the Godo Kaisha
Jonathan, that's a good point.
It was only told to me by the immigration officials but I didn't bother to ask if that requirement originated from the Godo Kaisha law or the immigration law.
Do you have any official way to get in touch for business enquiries?
Getting permanent residency must be difficult as hell in Japan 👀🤔
It certainly takes some time...
hello there. I assume you're busy but, i really like your videos. So when are you gonna upload, im curious
It's been a while but the next video is in the making!
I am also waiting your updated news.And thanks for your video.I learned a lot.
Are you still in Japan?I think this year is your 2nd year for this visa 経営管理ビザ.I also start to apply for this 経営管理ビザ.I am a Chinese.Nice to meet you in your video.Thank you very much!
Sorry for the late reply!
I'm planning on making a new documentary style video some time in the future.
Currently it's my third year here in Japan.
I wish you luck with the 経営管理ビザ！
頑張ってください。
Thank you for this awesome informative video! Im also considering starting my own business but I was told multiple times that Im not able to do anything but management and need one or multiple employees to work for me. How did you manage to both working as CEO and video production? Did they asked you or checked if you had employees doing the video making?
Good question!
This is one of the gray-areas (or devil's in the details) in the application process.
I also heard conflicting views on the matter depending on whom I asked, but the conclusion that I ended up in is that what really matters is the type of business and how you present it.
For example if you were to start a restaurant business and work as a chef yourself, there would be little chance of getting the entrepreneur-visa (allegedly). Some occupations apparently fall into this area where it's difficult to separate the management and the workers.
Consulting firm would be a good example of this.
In my business plan document I had made the effort to list many "managerial" activities in the "work duties" section.
Instead of writing only things like: "video shooting, editing" I also wrote: "Managing customer relations" and other "business-like" activities.
They did not check if I had other employees but it was clear from the application that I had none.
@@economicsinjapan8076 @Economics in Japan Thank you so much for taking the time to answer, this is definitely the type of information I was looking for, and asking the immigration I could never learn those "grey-areas" tricks..
Maybe that could be a way for me to try out as well..
Did you make use of a lawyer? If so would it be possible to ask their website if they have one?
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Btw I was also in Shanghai like you before 😂
is there a way to DM you? social media?
Hi your story is very inspiring! may I ask update after a year of doing business? is there a minimum profit that a company needs to reach per year?
I might do an update video later.
There is no minimum profit for the company as far as I know, but having many minus years could possibly make renewing visa difficult...
Sorry you had a very hard time getting a job after graduation in Japan. I imagine COVID has only made it tougher given its affected the job market and economy. I'm glad that your entrepreneur visa worked out for you.
Have you tried applying to startups in Japan? (Especially ones that are run by gaijins)? International companies (such as GE, BoA, Chase, those american companies with their branches in Japan)?
I'm pretty sure that my own personality had the bigger role in my unsuccessful job-hunting efforts.
Before deciding to go for the entrepreneur visa, I had applied to companies like Goldman sachs and BlackRock but didn't manage to very far the selection ladder.
I also used some recruiting sites specializing in start-ups but only applied to Japanese start-ups. (the sites I used didn't have foreign start-ups listed)
When it comes to frosty job markets, the ones graduating right now probably have it the worst.
I was thinking that if you were job hunting during the COVID 19 crisis or last year, that must have made your job search hard. Especially with banks that would hesitate to hire people in such a crisis.
Have you known other international/foreign graduates in your graduating class that managed to get job offers in Japan? And finally, does your business have a website?
@@phsiungus I know a handful of other foreign graduates that managed to get job offers here. Being a foreigner can be considered a weakness or an asset depending on the company you apply to.
I have an (unfinished) website which doesn't properly present itself on mobile devices. I will try to finish it in a month or two.
The website: kamoshika.co
congrats man , boy you said Finland I automictically think of Amorphis and Fintroll ! lol. why you didn't thought about buying a franchise? Which I'm going to do ? and another thing you mentioned several time about a girlfriend, why you're not depending on spouse visa?
Amorphis and Fintroll ( I assume you mean the Moomins?) are definitely big.
Not sure what you mean by buying a franchise...
Spouse visa might happen sometime in the future but for now I'm going to (try) stick with the business administration visa.
How's your business going? Did you renew your visa?
Yeah, I have been given one year visas each time I renew.
Getting a three or five year would probably require having more revenue and employees.
@@economicsinjapan8076 I'm currently on a student visa in Japan, and recently got a startup visa in Tokyo.
But I'm thinking of starting my company in Singapore instead due to low taxes and regulations, plus because it's all English.
I really love Japan, but the high taxes and bureaucracy will drain me. How has been your experience so far with that?
@@strauss7151
Congratz on your startup visa.
I have been able to put up with the Japanese bureaucracy because I speak the language but I would assume it to be a nightmare for somebody trying to get by with english as people and systems here really don't understand english.
High taxes was already a thing in my home country Finland so I didn't think about it too much, although Singapore would probably be way better in that aspect.
Hey man I have a question you studied in a Japanese university for 4 years.how did you pay for your apartment,university and all your expenses because with a student visa with a work permit it only allows you to work 28 hours. How did you work?
It was a combination of getting student allowance support from the Finnish government (partially being a loan), a scholarship from my university, bank account savings and working part-time here and there.
Hi, I also build a company here and apply for a change of status with a 行政書士
Student visa to business manager visa.
So the company is set up, I have the office and I transferred 5 000 000 JPY from France to my Japanese bank account. The 行政書士 told me since I was studying Japanese before they will also check my attendance and result .
On 2 years I have 80 % of attendance but the last year wasn’t really good... so she told me they can denied because of this, I wrote an apologize/ explanation letter ( corona etc... ) I also asked for a recommandation letter from my previous job in France which I worked as production manager for 4 years.
I applied 2 weeks ago, it’s stressful. It’s took 3 weeks for you ?
By the way, are you still in Japan?
Thank you for your video
I studied in a Japanese university for 4 years but was never asked to provide any attendance reports or grade diplomas during the entrepreneur visa application. But then again I didnt hire a 行政書士 but did everything pretty much alone.
I wonder if this is just an idea from the 行政書士 or is it really necessary to submit this attendance document (or maybe it can help you get the visa easier).
Hope the 行政書士 knows the best.
For me it took about 3 weeks to hear the results after submitting the application.
Still here!
@@economicsinjapan8076 thank you, yeah apparently it’s requested when you studied from a Japanese language school but not for university etc.. in Japan
Anyway, I just need to wait a bit more.
Thank you guy
Thank you for a comprehensive and fascinating exploration into the world of entrepreneurial visas in japan. This is something I have been looking into since 2015 as I wish to be able to enjoy my retirement in a country where I can be free from harassment. The cost of living in my country is too high and it is a banana republic. So I was looking at moving my amplifier repair business to japan. I visited in 2017 and spent some time with a prominent Japanese loudspeaker Restoration company in Nagahara japan. After 4 hours of discussing the business climate in Japan we both agreed that I should manufacture custom vacuum tube amplifiers and sell them. Now the problem is a lack of capital for me. I do have a house in the United States but I also am in a situation of owing a lot of back property tax. So my equity in the house may be reduced considerably. And then there's all the stress and uncertainty and being elderly this may be difficult to handle at my advanced age. But the stress of not leaving my country May soon become too great.
I think that you made a good approach, and I hope that you company had new contracts... but... Why you didn't apply for a Master's degree?...
If you have 4 years on a university degree as a student, 2 years of Master's degree as a student, and 4 years as a Ph.D. degree as a student you will live in Japan for 10 years and you can apply for a resident visa without marrying your girlfriend. I think that is very that different approach is too straight and starting a new company is a good opportunity for you.
I will talk about my experience. When I was in Spain I made a very good friend, we study Japanese together, and we obtained our scholarship at the same moment...but I was in Osaka and he went to Aomori, we meet few times... Both of us already have university degrees, I was studying for part of my Ph.D. degree, and he was enrolled as a Master's student of economics ( as a part job he was an English conversation teacher in the university)... after that, he worked for a year as a commercial auxiliary in the embassy, so the next year he applies to several companies... With a master's degree (in economics), and experience working in Japan, he obtained two offers to work in Tokyo, in companies with a lot of relationships working with Europe and the USA. He told me later, that he was one of the few "gaikokujin" that obtain a Job in Japan (he check the number and only found around 5%).
I think that the best for you is to make a Master's degree showing that you know both worlds, Japan and Finland, and continue working on your company to obtain the experience. And also, in private universities, you could find a job as an "English conversational teacher".
That is definitely a good road to take for many people wanting to start a career in Japan.
Personally I wasn't interested in continuing for Master's as I felt I had spend my fair share in schools and it was time to do something different.
Private universities are pretty expensive so the advice to work as English conversation teacher is very good, although I'm not sure if you can earn enough to sustain yourself without other help such as scholarships or having money saved up.
This was looking doable until he said he sold his crypto investments 😂 😂 how many people have that sort of capitol at hand? 😢 😢 oh well, fun video.
I was lucky to have that option.
I wish you good fortune nevertheless!
This could have been a 5 minute vid. You think youre a blogger while we're here for info.
after seeing this video about starting a buisness in japan, i have decided, not to start a buisness in japan. I think it is easier to start a buisness in The U.S and then open up a branch office in Japan and get an intra company transferee visa. Or simply save up 300k and coast indefenitely getting renewals for designated activities long stay. with the occasional going back home to make some money.
Can you get a Japanese visa by setting up a branch office