A restaurant with hostess-style service (Entertainment Business Act, type 1): what premises can get the licence?

In short: to open a snack bar, lounge, club or similar place where you entertain customers and serve food, the business falls under type 1 (the "entertaining food-and-drink business") in Article 2, paragraph 1, item 1 of the Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business (the Entertainment Business Act), and under Article 3, paragraph 1 you must obtain the licence of the prefectural public safety commission with jurisdiction over the premises, for each premises (the so-called type-1 licence). This is a "licence," not a "notification," and you must satisfy all of: (1) location requirements (land-use zoning and distance from protected facilities), (2) structural requirements (guest-room floor area, sight lines and illumination), and (3) personal requirements (the grounds for disqualification in Article 4, paragraph 1). If you do not confirm before renting that the location and structure meet the requirements, you may find after signing the lease that the licence cannot be granted. This article is general information organising the type-1 licence requirements and the flow of the application; it does not judge the outcome of any individual licence.

What licence does a restaurant with hostess-style service need? (difference from a notification)

"Entertainment" (settai) is defined in Article 2, paragraph 3 of the Act as "treating customers in a way that creates a mood of pleasure and amusement." Typical examples are sitting continuously next to a particular customer to chat and pour drinks, or singing a karaoke duet with them. Serving the same dishes to everyone, or chatting across the counter, is generally treated as not amounting to entertainment, but it is judged on the actual situation.

Article 2, paragraph 1, item 1 of the Act defines "a cabaret, machiai, restaurant, café or other business that, with equipment provided, entertains customers and lets them enjoy amusement or food and drink" as type 1 of amusement business. Items 1 to 3 together are called the "entertaining food-and-drink business" (same Article, paragraph 4). If you entertain and serve food, this type-1 licence is required.

Business content	Required procedure	Basis
Entertaining and serving food (snack bar, club, etc.)	Amusement business (type 1) licence	Act Art. 2(1)(i), Art. 3(1)
Serving alcohol as the main offering after midnight (no entertainment)	Late-night alcohol-serving restaurant business notification	Act Art. 33(1)
Ordinary restaurant (no entertainment, no late-night operation)	Restaurant business permit (public health centre)	Food Sanitation Act

This is the biggest dividing line. Merely serving alcohol late at night without entertainment needs only a "notification" (see Serving alcohol after midnight: what notification do you need?), but entertaining requires a "licence." A licence is granted only after examination; the standard processing period is said to be roughly 55 days depending on the prefecture, and you cannot operate until it is granted.

How does the distance from protected facilities narrow the property?

The "location requirement" is what most affects property choice for a type-1 licence. Article 4, paragraph 2, item 2 of the Act provides that, to preserve a good public-morals environment, a licence will not be granted in areas designated by prefectural ordinance in accordance with standards set by cabinet order. That cabinet order is Article 6 of the Enforcement Order of the Act, which sets a framework allowing ordinances to designate as restricted areas: (1) areas where many dwellings are concentrated, and (2) the areas within a certain distance around "protected facilities" such as schools, libraries, child welfare facilities, hospitals and clinics. For the surroundings of protected facilities, the Enforcement Order sets a limit of roughly a 100-metre zone around the site.

The actual distances differ by prefectural ordinance. For example, Kanagawa Prefecture's ordinance divides them as follows (accessed 2026-09-10; because the figures differ by prefecture, always check the ordinance for the property's location).

Protected facility	Example distance (Kanagawa)
School (excluding universities)	100 metres
University, library, child welfare facility, hospital, clinic	70 metres (30 metres in a commercial zone)

So even if the property is in a commercial zone, a nearby school or hospital can make the licence unobtainable due to the distance restriction. Land-use zones are fixed by city planning under the Building Standards Act and change block by block even along the same street. Before deciding on a property, it is essential to check both the land-use zone and the distance from protected facilities.

How far must you meet the structural requirements of floor area, sight lines and illumination?

The structural requirement is the technical standard under Article 4, paragraph 2, item 1 of the Act, made concrete by National Public Safety Commission rules (the Enforcement Regulation) and prefectural ordinances. The typical standards often examined for a type-1 business are as follows (the figures are common to many prefectures, but details differ by ordinance).

Item	Approximate standard
Guest-room floor area	At least 16.5 m² per room (9.5 m² or more for a Japanese-style room); not applied where there is only one guest room
Sight lines in the guest room	No equipment roughly over 1 metre high that blocks the line of sight; no structure that lets the guest room be seen from outside the premises
Illumination	Illumination in the premises not below 5 lux (structure and equipment able to maintain 5 lux or more during operation)
Equipment harming public morals	No photographs or decorations that arouse sexual curiosity
Locking of exits	No locking device on the guest-room exit (except an exit leading outside)

If the drawings (the area-calculation drawing and floor plan) and the actual state differ, you will be flagged in the on-site inspection. Because the height of partitions and booth seats and the way guest rooms are counted can decide the outcome, it is safer to build these standards into the interior design stage. Preparing the area-calculation drawing and floor plan and the interior design are the field of architects, surveyors and interior contractors, with whom you contract separately as an independent business from our office.

What personal grounds for disqualification prevent a licence?

Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Act provides that a licence will not be granted where the applicant (including, for a company, its officers) falls under certain grounds. The main ones are as follows.

• A person who has received a decision commencing bankruptcy proceedings and has not been restored to rights (item 1)
• A person sentenced to imprisonment of one year or more for certain crimes, or to imprisonment of less than one year or a fine for prescribed crimes, and for whom five years have not passed from the day the sentence was completed, etc. (item 2)
• A person for whom there is reasonable ground to find a risk of committing violent unlawful acts collectively or habitually (item 3)
• A person addicted to alcohol, narcotics, cannabis, opium or stimulants (item 4)
• A person unable to perform the business properly due to mental or physical disorder, or a person within a certain period after revocation of a licence, etc.

(Imprisonment without work distinctions came into force on 1 June 2025 through amendment of the Penal Code, unifying the former imprisonment with and without work.) The check on personal disqualification is made through the applicant's own declaration and a police investigation; confirming facts about a criminal record or history is within the jurisdiction of the applicant and the police. Our office cannot certify on the applicant's behalf whether there is a criminal record.

Who handles the property, the drawings and the application?

Opening a restaurant with hostess-style service spans several specialist fields. The roles are as follows.

• Confirming requirements, preparing the application documents, and acting as agent for the amusement business (type 1) licence application → Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office (administrative scrivener)
• The lease of the shop property, advance checking of the location (land-use zone and distance from protected facilities), and adjusting the terms of use → Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate broker)
• Preparing the area-calculation drawing and floor plan, and the interior design and work → architects, surveyors and interior contractors
• The restaurant business permit (Food Sanitation Act) → the public health centre

Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business from Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office, handles the property search, the lease, and the advance check of the land-use zone and distance from protected facilities under a separate contract as an independent business. The area-calculation drawing and floor plan are for architects and surveyors, the restaurant business permit is for the public health centre, and confirming the applicant's own grounds for disqualification is within the jurisdiction of the applicant and the police; each is contracted or handled separately as an independent business or jurisdiction. Each field is on the premise that you contract separately with each counter or qualified professional, and our office receives no referral fee. For the flow of engagement, see Engagement Flow; for fees, see Fee Schedule; and for the whole picture of our services, see Permits and Applications. On the restaurant permit, Restaurant business permit and the public health centre's facility standards is also helpful.

FAQ

Q. Exactly where does "entertainment" begin?
A. Article 2, paragraph 3 of the Act defines entertainment as "treating customers in a way that creates a mood of pleasure and amusement." Typical examples are sitting continuously next to a particular customer to chat and pour drinks, or singing a karaoke duet with them. Serving the same dishes to everyone or chatting across the counter is generally treated as not amounting to entertainment, but it is judged on the actual situation. The individual judgement is made by the police station with jurisdiction.

Q. Why is the burden different for a licence rather than a notification?
A. Serving alcohol late at night (without entertainment) needs only the "notification" under Article 33, paragraph 1 of the Act, but a type-1 business with entertainment needs the "licence" under Article 3, paragraph 1. A licence is granted only after examining the location, structural and personal requirements; the standard processing period is said to be roughly 55 days depending on the prefecture, and you cannot start operating until it is granted.

Q. If the property is in a commercial zone, is the distance restriction irrelevant?
A. No. Even in a commercial zone, a nearby protected facility such as a school, library, child welfare facility, hospital or clinic can make the licence unobtainable under the prefectural ordinance's distance restriction. The distance differs by ordinance, and Article 6 of the Enforcement Order sets a limit of roughly 100 metres around a protected facility. Check the ordinance before signing the lease.

Q. My guest room is small; can I still get a licence?
A. The guest room of a type-1 business is, as a guide, at least 16.5 m² per room (9.5 m² or more for a Japanese-style room), and the area standard does not apply where there is only one guest room. Equipment over 1 metre high that blocks the line of sight, or a structure that cannot be seen from outside, is not allowed. Because the figures and treatment differ by prefectural ordinance, we recommend checking the ordinance for the location before the interior design.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search, "Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business" (Act No. 122 of 1948), Article 2, paragraph 1, item 1, paragraphs 3 and 4; Article 3, paragraph 1; Article 4, paragraph 1 and paragraph 2, items 1 and 2 (accessed 2026-09-10)
• e-Gov Law Search, "Enforcement Order of the Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business" (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1984), Article 6 (standards for restricted areas; limit of roughly 100 metres around a protected facility) (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Enforcement Regulation of the Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business (National Public Safety Commission Rule No. 1 of 1985) (technical standards for guest-room floor area, sight lines and illumination) (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Kanagawa Prefectural Police, "Overview of amusement-business regulation and the application (notification) procedure" (examples of distance from protected facilities and structure/equipment) (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Each prefecture's ordinance under the Entertainment Business Act (restricted areas; technical standards for structure and equipment) (accessed 2026-09-10)
• e-Gov Law Search, "Building Standards Act" (land-use zones) (accessed 2026-09-10)

This article is general information and does not guarantee the outcome of any individual licence, whether a location falls within a restricted area, compliance with the structural standards, the required documents, the examination period, or the applicability of grounds for disqualification. Because figures such as distance, area and illumination and the forms differ by prefecture, always check the ordinance for the premises' location and the official guidance of the police station with jurisdiction. The outcome and examination of the type-1 licence are decided by the prefectural public safety commission (police station with jurisdiction). The lease and location check are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate broker), the area-calculation drawing and floor plan by architects and surveyors, the restaurant permit by the public health centre, and confirmation of the applicant's grounds for disqualification by the applicant and the police, each as an independent business or jurisdiction, under separate contracts and procedures. Our office receives no referral fee. Individual judgements are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu, administrative scrivener and licensed real estate broker.