Visa Renewal Support

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A nationally certified Administrative Scrivener, authorized to handle visa application procedures, offers comprehensive support tailored to foreign clients. Our services cover not only business visa renewals for foreign entrepreneurs, but also the application and renewal of various visas for foreign employees, ensuring smooth and reliable immigration procedures.

Business Support by SME Management Consultants × Legal Support by Administrative Scriveners

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For foreigners conducting business in Japan, robust legal support—including visa procedures—is essential. In addition, foreign entrepreneurs can take advantage of various government subsidies, including those specifically for employing foreign staff.

Our Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultants provide guidance on business strategy, human resource utilization, and subsidy optimization, while certified Administrative Scriveners offer comprehensive support for visa applications and other legal procedures.

By combining expertise in both business management and legal matters, we deliver integrated solutions tailored to your company’s needs. With this reliable framework, we empower your mid- to long-term growth with confidence and clarity.

Comprehensive Support for Foreign Business Owners

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We provide comprehensive support for foreign entrepreneurs conducting business in Japan, with a one-stop service provided by nationally certified Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultants and Administrative Scriveners.

Our SME Management Consultants offer strategic business advice, while Administrative Scriveners provide end-to-end support for visa procedures as well as subsidy and grant applications. We simplify complex systems and work closely with your company to ensure you achieve the maximum benefits. In particular, we handle not only visa applications and renewals for business owners and their staff, but also identify suitable subsidies and grants, and support the entire process from application to approval.

Major Subsidies and Grants for Employing Foreign Staff

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For small and medium-sized enterprises employing foreign staff, national and local governments offer a variety of subsidies and grant programs.
In addition, programs that are not specifically targeted at foreign workers can also be utilized, as long as the participants meet the eligibility criteria regardless of nationality.

Nationwide Subsidy Programs (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

• Subsidy for Supporting Human Resource Development and Retention
  (Foreign Worker Employment Environment Improvement Course)
  • Target: Employers who hire foreign workers. Applicable to both SMEs and large enterprises. No industry restrictions.
  • Purpose: To create a workplace environment that takes into account the cultural and language differences unique to foreign workers, aiming to prevent turnover and promote retention.
    (Examples include multilingual support and the establishment of leave systems.)
  • Main Requirements: Employment of foreign workers covered by employment insurance (no restrictions on residence status or employment type).
    
    A dedicated plan (Foreign Worker Employment Environment Improvement Plan) must be developed and pre-approved by the competent Labour Bureau.
    
    After implementation, the turnover rate for a specified period must be 15% or less.
    
    Subsidies are provided for part of the expenses incurred in newly implementing or executing the following measures.
    
    However, eligible expenses are limited to outsourcing costs to external specialized organizations (e.g., interpretation/translation costs, labor and social security attorney fees, costs for installing signage).
    
    Examples of Measures: Appointment of a labor management officer, multilingualization of work regulations, establishment of consultation systems, implementation of temporary home leave systems, multilingual internal manuals and signage, etc.
    
  • Subsidy Amount: ¥200,000 per measure.
    Up to four measures can be subsidized, with a maximum of ¥800,000.
    
• Employment Adjustment Subsidy
  • Target: Employers who must reduce business activities for economic reasons. Applications are accepted from any business covered by employment insurance, regardless of company size.
  • Purpose: To maintain employment when business performance declines due to economic downturns or reduced demand, by subsidizing a portion of leave allowances and training costs, thereby protecting the employment of all staff, including foreign workers.
  • Main Requirements: Prior consultation is required. There are economic conditions, such as a decrease of 10% or more in sales or production over the past three months compared to the same period in the previous year.
  • Subsidy Amount: A certain percentage of the costs paid for leave allowances, training, or temporary transfers is subsidized.
    Typically, this ranges from approximately 30% to 50%, depending on business size and other conditions.
    
• Human Resource Development Subsidy (Specified Training Course, etc.)
  • Target: Businesses covered by employment insurance. No restrictions on company size or industry.
    Eligible employers are those who plan and implement systematic vocational training and education for their employees.
  • Purpose: To enhance employees’ job skills, thereby improving workforce capability and promoting retention.
    Training provided to foreign employees through OJT (On-the-Job Training) or Off-JT (Off-the-Job Training) is eligible.
    (Examples include Japanese language education, skills training, etc.)
  • Main Requirements: All employment insurance holders are included regardless of nationality.
    A training plan must be created and submitted in advance, and the training must be conducted accordingly. Records of training implementation and contractual documents must be kept and submitted as required.
  • Subsidy Amount: A portion of training expenses (45% for SMEs) and wages during the training period (¥760/hour for SMEs) are subsidized.
    
    
• Business Improvement Subsidy
  • Target: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-enterprises (not deemed large enterprises). No industry restrictions.
    All employees at the business site are eligible, regardless of nationality.
  • Purpose: To encourage wage increases slightly above the statutory minimum wage.
    The subsidy supports wage increase plans involving external investment, aiming to improve employee treatment and enhance productivity.
  • Main Requirements: The difference between the in-house minimum wage and the regional minimum wage must be within ¥50.
    
    Wage increases must target employees with at least six months of continuous service.
    
    The in-house minimum wage (lowest hourly wage) must be increased by at least ¥30.
    
    Other related requirements may apply.
  • Subsidy Amount: A portion of the investment costs related to wage increases (e.g., machinery introduction, employee training) is subsidized.
    
    The subsidy rate is 4/5 or 3/4. The subsidy ceiling depends on the wage increase range (¥30–¥90) and the number of employees receiving the increase. Maximum subsidy: ¥6,000,000.
    

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Subsidy Programs

• Subsidy for Training Support for Foreign Employees at SMEs
  (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs)
  • Target: Small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies located in Tokyo.
  • Purpose: To subsidize costs for Japanese language education, business etiquette training, and other programs for foreign employees.
  • Main Requirements: Employ foreign staff with Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) level N2 or below.
    
    Business operations must be based in Tokyo at the time of application.
    
    Other requirements may apply.
  • Subsidy Amount: 50% of the actual expenses incurred, up to a maximum of ¥250,000 (General Course).
    

Kanagawa Prefecture Subsidy

• Kanagawa Prefecture Subsidy for Supporting the Employment of Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals
  (Kanagawa Prefectural Government Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs)
  • Target: Small and medium-sized enterprises located in Kanagawa Prefecture.
  • Purpose: To support initial costs incurred when hiring foreign professionals under the “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” visa or the “Highly Skilled Professional” visa categories.
  • Main Requirements: The foreign employee must hold one of the eligible visa types. Certain detailed requirements apply, such as completion of payment for outsourcing fees before submitting the subsidy application.
  • Subsidy Amount: Up to one-third of the eligible expenses, with a maximum of ¥500,000 per person.
    

There are various subsidy programs available, but their purposes and application requirements can be complex, and applications are not always approved.
Moreover, creating plans solely to fit a subsidy can sometimes hinder your company’s core growth strategy.

First, we carefully assess your business situation and explore the most suitable subsidies together. Our experts provide end-to-end support from application to approval and utilization, and, if needed, also offer consulting on business challenges.

Initial consultations are free, so you can contact us with confidence.

Please also refer to the following information pages.