Foreign Executives and Business Managers, Japan Aims to Double Number by 2030

Foreign executives and business managers: 200,000 business management visa holders targeted by 2030

Japan hopes to remake itself as a nation full of foreign executives that overseas businesses are eager to pour money into. 

To that end, the government aims to roughly double the number of senior foreign executives in the country by 2030. The number of foreigners working in Japan under a business manager visa will be raised to about 200,000 from around 95,000 in 2019. 

By bringing in more foreigners with managerial and technical knowhow, Japan also seeks to double foreign direct investment to 80 trillion yen ($726 billion) by 2030 from 2020 levels.

Hoping to revitalize local economies, overseas companies will be encouraged to set up shop in cities outside major metropolitan areas. 

Roughly 3,200, or 43%, of foreign companies based their Japanese operations in the capital in 2016. The government wants to more than double the number of those outside Tokyo to 10,000 by 2026, and will support research partnerships and joint ventures between Japan’s regional companies and overseas players.

It will also consider setting up online visa applications for newly established businesses to lower the hurdle for foreign companies to set up shop in Japan.