Asia
SME founders with capital under JPY 100M, Japan
Companies with capital below JPY 100M qualify for the SME rate of 15% on the first JPY 8M of taxable income, dropping to the standard 23.2% above. KK (Kabushiki Kaisha) is the default vehicle; GK (Godo Kaisha) is cheaper and faster to incorporate for solo operators.
SME 15% rateJPY 8M thresholdKK or GK
Start setup {placement} 4 min · no card required
Corp tax
23.2%
Fastest setup
4 weeks
Tax treaties
86
Region
Asia
What you'll need
- No resident director required
- Local registered office required
- Economic-substance test applies
- Minimum capital: JPY 1
- Administrative language: Japanese
- Legal system: Civil law
Tax and treaty profile
- Corporate tax 23.2%
- Effective rate ~30.62%
- Tax treaties 86
- VAT rate 10%
- Withholding on dividends 20.42%
Key treaty partners
United StatesUnited KingdomGermanyFranceSingaporeAustralia
Banking and payments
- Banking takes 2 to 4 weeks with KYC
- Stripe supported
- Wise supported
- EMI license framework available
Considerations
If you want English only administration
Japanese filings, tax returns, and bank onboarding are conducted in Japanese, and most banks require a Japanese speaking representative. For English language APAC bases:
Japanese language filingsBank Japanese requirementHanko seal culture