Company Formation & Corporate Bank Account Guide for Foreigners in Japan【Practical Edition, 2026】
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📋 Contents
For foreign residents in Japan setting up a company and getting the business off the ground, the registration process and opening a corporate bank account are essential steps. Whether you "should" incorporate (a tax-side decision) is covered in our Incorporation & Tax Guide; this article instead organizes the practical procedures of forming a company — articles of incorporation and registration, choosing a registered address, company-formation tools, and the step that's often hardest for foreigners: opening a corporate bank account.
- Establishing and registering a company itself can often be done regardless of residence status, but to personally run and manage that company as your main occupation, you generally need the "Business Manager" residence status.
- As a cost guide, an LLC (godo kaisha) runs roughly ¥60,000–100,000 in actual costs, and a stock company roughly ¥200,000–250,000 including articles certification (this varies with e-articles, etc.).
- Registered-address options include your home, a rental office, or a virtual office, but the place-of-business requirement for statuses like "Business Manager" may be judged as not met when only a virtual office is used.
- Opening a corporate bank account is reviewed by each financial institution, which checks residence status, business substance, and whether the place of business genuinely exists. Whether an account can be opened depends on that institution's judgment.
① What you'll learn in this article
- The flow of company-formation procedures (5 steps)
- Types of companies (LLC vs. stock company) and cost guides
- How to choose a registered address (virtual-office cautions)
- Tools that streamline company formation
- Opening a corporate bank account — the hard part for foreigners (documents, approach)
- How the Business Manager visa relates to forming a company
- Main procedures after formation (tax, social insurance)
- Basics of business/corporate cards
② The big picture of company formation (LLC vs. stock company, cost guide)
When forming a company in Japan, most people choose either a godo kaisha (LLC) or a kabushiki kaisha (stock company). An LLC is cheaper to set up and needs no settlement-of-accounts public notice; a stock company is considered more advantageous for credibility and fundraising.
| Comparison | LLC (godo kaisha) | Stock company |
|---|---|---|
| Setup cost guide | About ¥60,000–100,000 in actual costs | About ¥200,000–250,000 in actual costs |
| Articles certification | Not required | Required (at a notary office) |
| Public notice of accounts | Not required | Required |
| Credibility / fundraising | Sometimes seen as slightly weaker | Often seen as more advantageous |
Setup costs change with e-articles and similar factors; confirm the latest with the Legal Affairs Bureau or a professional. For whether you should incorporate at all (the tax-side decision), see →Incorporation & Tax Guide.
③ The formation flow (5 steps)
④ Choosing a registered address (home, rental office, or virtual office)
Company registration requires a head-office address. There are three main options.
- Your home: No cost, but if you rent, confirm your lease allows business use. Privacy is also a consideration.
- Rental or shared office: Gives you real working space you can also use as your registered address.
- Virtual office: An address-lease and mail-receiving service. Lets you use a central, prestigious address at low cost for registration and mail.
⑤ Tools that streamline company formation (drafting articles and registration paperwork online)
Preparing the articles and documents needed for registration can be streamlined with an online company-formation service. Some link with the accounting software you'll use after setup. Filing the registration on your behalf is the domain of a judicial scrivener. The tools only help prepare the paperwork; for complex cases or if you're unsure, consult a judicial scrivener or professional.
If you'd rather set up alongside accounting software as a package, see →Incorporation & Tax Guide (accounting software).
⑥ Opening a corporate bank account (the hurdle for foreigners, and how to approach it)
In the practical process of forming a company, the step foreigners often find hardest is opening a corporate bank account. Anti-money-laundering measures have generally tightened corporate-account screening in recent years, and when the representative is a foreign national, banks check residence status, period of stay, business substance, and whether the place of business genuinely exists.
Example documents needed
- Certificate of all registered matters
- Articles of incorporation
- Corporate seal certificate
- The representative's identity documents (residence card, etc.)
- Materials showing the business content (website, contracts, licenses, etc.)
- Lease agreement for the place of business, and so on
Where to open an account
| Type of institution | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Megabanks | High credibility, but screening tends to be stricter, often with in-person checks |
| Regional banks / credit unions | Community-rooted; tend to confirm business substance in person |
| Online banks | GMO Aozora Net Bank, Sumishin SBI Net Bank, PayPay Bank, etc. — mostly online procedures, though substance is still checked |
| Japan Post Bank | Branches nationwide and familiar to use, but check in advance how practical it is as a corporate account |
Tips for the process: prepare materials that demonstrate business substance (website, contracts, materials from business partners, etc.); relying only on a virtual office can make opening an account harder from a place-of-business standpoint (see §④); it can help to approach multiple institutions; and having Japanese-language documents ready is useful.
For the individual account-opening process, see →Bank Account Opening Guide; for bank comparisons, see →6 Recommended Banks for Foreigners.
⑦ The Business Manager visa and company formation (residence-status notes)
Forming and registering a company itself can often be done regardless of residence status, but personally running and managing that company as your main occupation is treated differently depending on your status.
- Permanent Resident, Long-Term Resident, Spouse of Japanese National, Spouse of Permanent Resident: No work restrictions; in principle you may freely focus on running a company.
- Work visas such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Skilled Labor, or Specified Skilled Worker: Limited to the permitted scope of activity. To handle the "management/administration" of your own company as your main occupation, you generally need the "Business Manager" status.
- Starting a new business on a Business Manager visa: There are requirements for capital, a place of business, and a business plan. Capital is often cited around ¥5 million as a rough guide, but this is only a guide — the actual requirements are decided case by case by immigration.
For details on company-formation and Business Manager visa requirements, see →Zainichi Life Navi "Company Formation & Startup Guide for Foreigners (Business Manager Visa)" ↗.
⑧ Main procedures after formation (tax, social insurance, accounting)
Once registration is complete, you need to file notifications with the tax office and others, and complete social-insurance procedures.
- Notification of corporation establishment: Submitted to the tax office, prefecture, and municipality.
- Application for blue-return approval: For loss carry-forward and so on, submitted within the deadline (generally within 3 months of setup).
- New social-insurance enrollment: A company must enroll in social insurance (health insurance and employees' pension) even with a single officer. Handled at the pension office.
⑨ Business / corporate cards
Using a business or corporate credit card makes it easier to separate business spending from personal spending, simplifying bookkeeping and expense management. Corporate cards have different screening criteria from personal cards, and right after setup or for foreigners, the screening bar can be higher.
For credit-card basics and how foreigners can choose one, see →Credit Card Guide for Foreigners.
⑩ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Sources / References
- Legal Affairs Bureau "Commercial & corporate registration ↗"
- National Tax Agency "Tax Answer (Corporate tax) ↗"
- Japan Pension Service "New-application procedures (employees' pension / health insurance) ↗"
- Immigration Services Agency "Official site ↗"
- Small and Medium Enterprise Agency "Official site ↗"