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Useful information on subsidies, visas, company formation, and other legal topics.
Delivered in an easy-to-understand manner from the perspective of an administrative scrivener.
Opening a beauty salon: when and where to file the opening notification, the facility standards and the procedure
Before you start operating a beauty salon you file an opening notification with the public health centre and receive confirmation of the structural facilities on inspection. This article organises the timing and destination of the notification under the Beauty Practitioners Act (Articles 11 and 12), the facility and hygiene standards, dual operation with a barbershop, the required documents and the inspection flow—and who to ask for each.
A Taiwanese or Chinese company setting up in Japan: branch or subsidiary?
To do business continuously in Japan, a Taiwanese or Chinese company chooses broadly between a 'Japan branch (foreign company)' and a 'local subsidiary (kabushiki-kaisha or godo-kaisha)'. This article organises the difference in registration, the 'Business Manager' residence status tightened from 16 October 2025 (capital of 30 million yen, one full-time employee, Japanese ability, etc.), who to ask for each, and the exit.
A public-bathhouse (sauna / sentō) business permit: the flow and required documents
To run a sauna, sentō or spa as a business you need a public-bathhouse permit under the Public Bathhouse Act (Article 2, paragraph 1). This article organises the difference between a general public bathhouse and 'other public bathhouses', the required drawings and documents, and how the public health centre, fire and building reviews run in parallel—and who to ask for each.
Is a non-heir relative's caregiving rewarded? Negotiating a special contribution fee (Civil Code Article 1050)
A relative who is not an heir and who nursed the deceased without pay, maintaining or increasing the estate, can claim a special contribution fee from the heirs (Civil Code, Article 1050, paragraph 1). This article organises how it differs from a contribution share, the requirement of 'unpaid nursing', the amount and the deadline, and who to ask for negotiation, court and tax.
First-Class Registration vs. Second-Class Licensing for Freight Forwarding: Which Do You Need?
If you arrange other carriers' transport without owning trucks, the Freight Forwarding Business Act applies. Truck-only forwarding and forwarding without pickup/delivery need a first-class registration (Art. 3(1)); combining sea/air/rail transport with door-to-door pickup and delivery needs a second-class license (Art. 20). We explain the split, the net-asset base of 3 million yen, offices and warehouses, and how this differs from general trucking (green plates).
How Can Entrepreneurs from China and Taiwan Obtain a Business Manager Visa in Japan?
Entrepreneurs from China, Taiwan, and elsewhere who set up a company in Japan and run it aim for the 'Business Manager' status of residence. The October 16, 2025 amendment raised the required capital to 30 million yen or more and added requirements for at least one full-time employee, Japanese-language ability, three years of management experience or a degree, expert review of the business plan, and an independent office. We explain the requirements and the role of an administrative scrivener who files on the applicant's behalf.
Requirements and flow of development permission (Article 29 of the City Planning Act): before you build in an urbanization control area
When you carry out 'development activity' that changes the shape or character of land to build a building of a certain scale or larger, in principle you need development permission from the prefectural governor and others (Article 29 of the City Planning Act). This article organises the requirements and flow of development permission, the technical standards (Article 33), the location standards for urbanization control areas (Article 34), and who to refer registration, surveying, tax and disputes to.
How does a 'give by inheritance' will (specific-property succession will) differ from a testamentary gift?
A will that says 'give a particular piece of real estate to the eldest son by inheritance' is legally called a 'specific-property succession will' and, as a designation of the method of division, has an heir succeed to a specific piece of property (Article 1014, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code). A 'testamentary gift' is a disposition that gives property gratuitously by will and can be made to persons other than heirs (Article 964). This article organises the differences in registration, perfection requirements, remaining portion (iryubun) and secondary inheritance, and who to refer will drafting, inheritance registration and tax to.
Are graves and Buddhist altars subject to division of the estate? How the ritual successor is decided and how to write the agreement
Ritual property such as graves, Buddhist altars and memorial tablets is treated differently from ordinary inherited property and is not subject to division of the estate. This article organises that ritual property is separate from inherited property, how the ritual successor is decided, how to write it into a division-of-estate agreement, the treatment of costs and reburial, and where to consult.
Registered support organisations and support plans: what an administrative scrivener handles in Specified Skilled Worker hosting
A registered support organisation is a body, registered by the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency, that is entrusted with implementing the whole of a Type 1 Specified Skilled Worker support plan. This article organises the registration requirements, grounds for disqualification, the mandatory items of a support plan, the conditions for in-house support, and the notification duties.
Inheritance procedures for digital assets: online banks, securities, crypto-assets and subscriptions
Online banks, online securities, crypto-assets and paid subscriptions are, in principle, subject to inheritance. This article organises how to identify digital assets, the procedures with each provider, the valuation and tax of crypto-assets, the cancellation of subscriptions and the division of roles.
Permit for industrial waste disposal (intermediate treatment): facility installation, zoning and the environmental impact survey
To dispose of industrial waste as a business — by incineration, crushing, dewatering and the like — you need a disposal-business permit under Article 14(6) of the Waste Management Act, and, for certain facilities, a separate facility installation permit under Article 15 with a living-environment impact survey attached. This article organises the permits, zoning, disqualifications and the division of roles.
A restaurant with hostess-style service (Entertainment Business Act, type 1): what premises can get the licence?
To run a snack bar, lounge or club where you entertain customers and serve food, you need the type-1 licence from the public safety commission under the Entertainment Business Act. This article organises the location, structural and personal requirements, and how the property, drawings and application divide by role.
Assignment of an inherited share and the certificate of special benefit (proof of no inherited share): when do you use each?
When one heir wants to pass their share to another, or to record that they take nothing this time because they were given enough during the deceased's life, two documents come up. This article organises the roles of the assignment of an inherited share and the certificate of special benefit, and how registration, tax and disputes divide by professional.
Has broad-area issuance made collecting family registers for inheritance easier? Where can't you use it?
Broad-area issuance of family registers, in force since 1 March 2024 (Family Register Act, Article 120-2), lets you request registers from multiple domiciles together at a nearby municipal counter. This article organises who can request, the registers you cannot get, postal and agent limits, and to whom you hand the collected registers for registration and tax.
To sell local (destination) tours, do you need travel-agency registration? Sorting out the types and requirements
If you plan, arrange or sell travel for others repeatedly for reward, you generally need registration under the Travel Agency Act, Article 3. This article organises the first-class to region-limited types, the registration authority, the base asset amount, the business deposit and the travel-service manager, and who to ask for terms, tax and disputes.
The notification and supervision standards for unlicensed childcare facilities: how they differ from licensed and company-led daycare
If you open an unlicensed childcare facility — including baby hotels, workplace daycare and company-led daycare — you must notify the prefectural governor within one month of starting (Article 59-2, paragraph 1 of the Child Welfare Act). This article organises the notification and the supervision standards from an administrative scrivener's view.
When there are no heirs: appointing an estate liquidator and distribution to a person with a special connection
Where there are no heirs (it is not clear that heirs exist), the estate becomes a juridical person (Civil Code Article 951) and the family court appoints an estate liquidator on the request of an interested party or a public prosecutor (Article 952, paragraph 1). This article organises the whole picture from an administrative scrivener's view.
When an heir lives in Hong Kong or Singapore: how is the signature on the estate division agreement certified?
When an heir lives in Hong Kong or Singapore, they often have no Japanese residence record and cannot provide a seal certificate. This article organises signature certification, choosing between the mission and a local notary, exchanging the agreement, and the split among the judicial scrivener, the tax accountant and the lawyer.
Demolishing a vacant house: how does demolition-work registration differ from a construction business permit (demolition)?
The system for those who take on demolition splits by contract price into demolition-work registration and a construction business permit (demolition). This article organises the split, the technical manager, the pre-notification, the building deregistration, industrial waste, and who to ask for what.
Let's start by sorting out your situation.
Yotsuba Gyoseishoshi Office (Kohinata, Bunkyo-ku; a 5-minute walk from Myogadani Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line) supports you from organizing the requirements through document preparation and application.
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