Japan tightens business visas, forcing foreign owners out

Japan is trying to attract investment and revive local economies, but a new business visa regime is doing the opposite for some immigrant entrepreneurs who built real livelihoods in Japanese neighborhoods. The hardest hit are Indian and Nepalese curry shops, the low-margin restaurants that have become one of the most visible examples of foreign-owned small business in Japan.

The revised Business Manager visa rules took effect on October 16, 2025, under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. They raised the minimum capital requirement from 5 million yen to 30 million yen, required employers to hire at least one full-time Japanese citizen, special permanent resident, or other qualifying long-term resident, and added a Japanese-language standard equivalent to JLPT N2 or B2-level proficiency for the applicant or a full-time employee. Authorities also tightened checks on office legitimacy, tax records and business plans, saying the changes were meant to curb fraudulent use of the category, especially shell companies. Existing visa holders were given a three-year grace period, but renewals are already becoming a fault line.

The pressure lands in a sector that runs on thin margins. Japanese media estimate there are about 4,000 to 5,000 Indian-Nepalese curry restaurants in Japan, many of them serving set lunches for several hundred yen to around 1,000 yen. By the end of 2024, about 40,000 foreign nationals held Business Manager visas. For restaurant owners trying to keep prices low while facing higher food, rent and labor costs, the 30 million yen threshold is a major barrier.

The fragility of the business climate showed up in a Tokyo Shoko Research survey of 299 foreign-run companies conducted in March and April 2026. Forty-five percent said they expected to be affected by the new rules. Among those, 5 percent were considering closing, 27 percent planned to raise capital, 12 percent were considering selling or merging, and 6 percent were weighing a transfer of management control. At the same time, fiscal 2025 bankruptcies among other specialty restaurants hit a 30-year high of 91 cases, underscoring how exposed small eateries already were to rising costs and labor shortages.

One case has crystallized the backlash. Manish Kumar, an Indian restaurateur in Saitama Prefecture, said his visa renewal was denied after about 30 years in Japan and 18 years running an Indian curry restaurant. He said immigration authorities told him to “go back to India.” Kumar’s children were born and raised in Japan and speak only Japanese, making the decision especially devastating for his family.

Supporters mounted a petition that drew more than 53,000 signatures, which were delivered to the Immigration Services Agency on May 13, 2026. The fight has become bigger than one restaurant owner. It now asks whether Japan can claim to welcome investment and demographic renewal while making it harder for long-settled entrepreneurs to stay, pay taxes and keep neighborhood businesses alive.