Japan

Japan has two routes on this site for remote workers and founders. The digital nomad status suits high earners working for employers or clients abroad who want up to half a year in Japan. The Startup Visa suits founders who want to build a company in Japan and grow into the Business Manager status.

Choosing between them

• Remote workers with foreign income: the nomad status needs ¥10,000,000 a year and private medical cover of at least ¥10,000,000. It lasts 6 months, can't be extended and comes with no residence card, so it never builds toward residence.
• Founders: the startup route begins with a business plan accepted by a METI-approved organization and allows up to 2 years of preparation. The business then has to meet the Business Manager rules, including ¥30,000,000 in capital since Oct. 16, 2025.
• Families: both routes let a spouse and children join. Family members of a digital nomad need their own insurance and may not work.
• People planning to settle: the six-month nomad stay is a dead end for residence, while the startup route leads on to Business Manager status.

Japan also has statuses not covered on this site, including Business Manager, Highly Skilled Professional, a long stay for sightseeing and recreation and Future Creation Individual (J-Find) for recent graduates of top-ranked universities.

Visits without a visa

Japan has visa exemption arrangements with 74 countries and regions. Their nationals receive 90 days on landing in most cases; Indonesian and Thai nationals receive 15 days and nationals of Brunei and Qatar 30 days, according to MOFA.

Fee changes

Japan's immigration fees change for applications received from Oct. 1, 2026. Under the new schedule a one-year extension of stay costs ¥33,000 at the counter or ¥27,000 online, and permanent residence costs ¥200,000. The nomad status can't be extended, so the change matters most to founders and anyone moving on to a longer status.

Rent sets the budget in Japan, and Tokyo sits well above the other big cities. The figures below are Numbeo's crowd-sourced averages for a one-bedroom apartment, plus Numbeo's estimate of a single person's other monthly costs without rent.

• Tokyo (Numbeo, August 2026): about ¥109,000 a month for a one-bedroom outside the center and ¥199,000 in the center, plus about ¥151,000 in other costs. That puts a single budget near ¥259,000 to ¥350,000 a month.
• Osaka (August 2026): ¥84,000 to ¥112,000 in rent plus about ¥120,000, or roughly ¥204,000 to ¥232,000.
• Yokohama (April 2026): ¥70,000 to ¥199,000 in rent plus about ¥128,000, or roughly ¥198,000 to ¥327,000.
• Fukuoka (June 2026): one-bedroom rents of about ¥52,000 outside the center and ¥77,000 in it, the lowest of the four. Numbeo has no full monthly estimate for the city.

A single remote worker renting outside central Tokyo or in central Osaka can plan on about ¥245,000 a month, near $1,550 at the Sept. 24, 2026 exchange rate. Digital nomads also pay for the private medical insurance the status requires.

Tokyo has the most coworking spaces, the largest international community and the highest rents. It suits people who want networking and events and can budget near the top of the national range.

Osaka costs less: Numbeo's August 2026 one-bedroom rents run about ¥84,000 to ¥112,000, against Tokyo's ¥109,000 to ¥199,000. It suits a big-city base with lower costs and quick rail links to Kyoto and Kobe.

Fukuoka has the lowest rents of the four large cities in Numbeo's data. It suits a smaller, relaxed base on the southern island of Kyushu.

Kyoto suits a quieter base for focused work, with fewer coworking spaces than Tokyo or Osaka and crowded tourist seasons.

Sapporo suits people who want cooler summers and winter sports, with a smaller coworking scene.

Fixed broadband in Japan is fast. The Speedtest Global Index for August 2026 puts Japan's median fixed download speed at 401.69 Mbps and its median mobile speed at 119.31 Mbps.

Tokyo has the widest choice of coworking spaces, from international chains to independent spaces in districts such as Shibuya and Roppongi. Osaka, Yokohama, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Kyoto also have coworking spaces that sell day passes and monthly desks, with fewer options in smaller cities.

For mobile data, data-only eSIM plans sold to visitors work without a Japanese phone contract and are the simplest start.

Japan's tax residence test isn't a day count. The National Tax Agency (NTA) treats a person as a non-resident unless they have a domicile in Japan or have lived there continuously for 1 year or more.

Non-residents pay Japanese tax only on Japan-source income, but the NTA counts salaries and other pay for work carried out in Japan as Japan-source income. So a short stay doesn't by itself keep remote pay out of Japanese tax.

For a non-resident with no permanent establishment in Japan, the NTA applies a flat 20.42% withholding tax to that pay. When the pay comes from abroad and nothing is withheld, the non-resident must file a quasi-final tax return and pay the tax.

Treaties can override these rules. The digital nomad status is open only to nationals of countries with a tax convention with Japan, and those treaties set when pay for work done in Japan is taxed there.

Neither the NTA nor the immigration pages describe a special tax regime for digital nomads or startup founders. Points to check before arriving:

• The tax treaty between Japan and the home country, especially its articles on employment and business income
• Whether the stay creates a domicile in Japan or runs past one continuous year
• Home-country rules on income earned while abroad

• Emergencies: dial 110 for police and 119 for fire or an ambulance. The Japan Visitor Hotline, run by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), answers around the clock in English, Chinese and Korean on 050-3816-2787 (+81-50-3816-2787 from abroad).
• Health insurance: JNTO notes that treatment in Japan can be expensive and that foreigners with unpaid medical bills in Japan may be refused entry later. Digital nomad applicants must hold private cover of at least ¥10,000,000 in any case.
• Earthquakes: JNTO's Safety tips site explains what to do in an earthquake, a tsunami warning or a weather warning, in English, Korean and Chinese, and JNTO offers a Safety tips app.
• Getting around: rechargeable IC transit cards cover trains and buses in the big cities, and phone wallet versions work too.
• Mobile data: a data-only eSIM bought before arrival avoids hunting for a SIM at the airport.