Ten years after Fukuoka became Japan’s first city to offer a Startup Visa, the experiment is still alive—and evolving. Over the years, dozens of founders from around the world have landed here, tested their ideas, and tried to turn them into companies. Some have graduated to Japan’s Business Manager visa, others are still mid-journey, and many say the real win has been the community that’s formed around them.
You can meet many of these founders yourself on Friday, November 14 (18:00–20:00) at CIC Fukuoka during the event “Fukuoka City Startup Visas – 2025 Update!”. It’s an evening of short introductions, open discussion, and networking with the city’s international entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Admission is free and English-friendly. Think of it as a live version of this story—scroll down to read about some of the people you’ll meet there. Register now to attend.
From Experiment to Ecosystem
When Fukuoka first introduced the Startup Visa in 2015, the idea was bold but simple: give foreign founders time to set up before they had to meet Japan’s full Business Manager requirements. That meant up to one year in Fukuoka to register a company, open a bank account, find an office, and hire staff—with hands-on help from the city’s Global Business Support (GBS) desk.
It worked. The combination of a livable city, accessible officials, and practical incentives—like rent support and introductions to specialists—helped turn a policy pilot into a small but steady pipeline of real companies. The city’s young population, compact layout, and startup-friendly spaces such as Fukuoka Growth Next and most recently CIC Fukuoka added momentum. For many newcomers, it was the easiest landing spot in Japan to try entrepreneurship in earnest.
2025 — What’s Changing
In October 2025 the national government raised the bar for the Business Manager visa—the status most Startup Visa holders aim for once their business takes shape. The revisions are significant: minimum capital increased from five million yen to thirty million; founders now need either at least three years of management experience or a master’s degree in a related field; at least one full-time employee must be hired; and Japanese language ability equivalent to JLPT N2 is required from either the founder or one employee. Business plans must also be reviewed by a certified expert such as a consultant, tax accountant, or CPA.
There are other tightening points too. Home offices are generally no longer accepted, and immigration officers will check that taxes and social insurance payments are in order when renewals come up. Current Business Manager visa holders have a three-year grace period—until October 2028—to adjust.
For entrepreneurs already in Fukuoka, this doesn’t make the dream impossible, but it does make planning more important. Anyone on a Startup Visa now needs to think ahead: build toward that thirty-million-yen capital target, hire at least one qualifying employee, line up Japanese-language capacity, and have a professional vet the business plan. It’s more paperwork—but also clearer expectations.
Why Fukuoka Still Makes Sense
Even with higher national standards, Fukuoka keeps its edge. The city’s livability, affordability, and openness remain powerful draws. Commutes are short, offices are walkable, and help is easy to find. GBS staff can literally sit beside you to work through visa forms or introductions, something rare in larger cities. Add in the local universities, R&D centers, and the friendly scale of the startup scene, and the combination still works.
As one founder put it recently, “If you’re serious, Fukuoka meets you halfway.”
The Founders — People Building Here
These eleven entrepreneurs are building in Fukuoka through the Startup Visa pathway (with several now on Business Manager). Different sectors, same spirit: make something useful here—and show that international startups can thrive outside Tokyo.
Siyun Park — Korea
Some founders came for Fukuoka’s startup-friendly support; others simply felt it was the right-sized city to build something real.
Project: MenuMenu — menumenu.life
A smart, QR-based multilingual menu for local restaurants. Unlike auto-translate tools, MenuMenu uses native-speaker review for cultural and linguistic accuracy. No app downloads and no POS integration are required; it can sit on top of existing systems. AI adds insights using inventory data and travel signals. Biggest lessons in Fukuoka: paperwork takes time and hiring—especially sales—is hard, so Siyun has been walking the streets and talking to owners directly.
Georgii Plotnikov — Russia
Several are tackling deeply technical challenges—AI, blockchain, automation—but what draws them here isn’t just code; it’s the quality of life around it.
Project: Inferara — inferara.com
Security tools for Web3. Inferara’s “Inference” helps developers find bugs before code ships, working with major blockchain companies in Japan and overseas. Came to Fukuoka in summer 2024 via the Startup Visa and has since moved to Business Manager. Key takeaway: you need Japanese ability to operate effectively with local partners and customers.
Ruslan Kostenko — Crimea
A new wave is still arriving, proof that Fukuoka’s Startup Visa pipeline continues to attract fresh builders.
Project: Lobster Lab — lobsterlab.io
A self-managing AI platform that handles the full development support cycle—tickets, development, QA, delivery, deployment—aimed at companies stuck with costly legacy codebases. The pitch: replace the traditional “developers on support” model with automation. Arrived March 2025; biggest challenge so far is the language barrier.
Aizen Vest — Israel
Not everyone here is chasing deep tech. Some are building cultural bridges—education, language, and the softer infrastructure of understanding.
Project: Kompjuut — kompjuut.com
A multilingual voice search engine for retail and HoReCa, targeting labor shortages and slow, manual product research. Early-stage and newly arrived (Oct 13, 2025) to tap Fukuoka’s welcoming startup culture. Currently pre-traction and focused on building.
Hoonseok Lee — South Korea
Creative founders are finding room, too—indie studios and culture-driven ventures see Fukuoka as a place where experimentation still feels possible.
Project: EVERYDAY Co., Ltd. — instagram.com/hoonsensei_
Reinventing Korean-language education with edtech built for the global K-culture wave. Chose Fukuoka for its visible support ecosystem (GBS, Startup Café, etc.). Biggest lesson: patience—understanding the different pace of banks and government here led to deeper know-how on how systems move.
Jose Maria Leon Azpiroz — Mexico
For some, Fukuoka serves as a launch base for global operations—built here, reaching well beyond Japan.
Project: Rewind Games / Rewind Japan — rewindgames.ca
An indie studio focused on feel-good, flow-driven games. The first title, Tanuki Sunset, earned global attention for art direction and relaxing gameplay. Incorporated Rewind Japan in July 2025 and transitioned to Business Manager in October. Challenge: language and a more risk-averse business culture; upside: craft, responsibility, and collaboration with local developers.
Ara Ko — South Korea
For some, Fukuoka serves as a launch base for global operations—built here, reaching far beyond Japan.
Project: ARAHOME (AI Property Management Platform) — site in development
PropTech to automate building operations—contracts, utility payments, and communication—in one multilingual mobile app. Founded in Fukuoka after years of hands-on building management and seeing how language, guarantors, and fees make housing hard for foreigners. Long-term vision: a global platform that reduces conflict, shares responsibility fairly, and supports sustainable building care.
Sunny Lau — Canada
The longer you stay, the more the same lesson emerges: progress takes patience, but relationships built here tend to last.
Project: Bai Hai LLC — baihai.jp
AI-powered valve and pump matching for industrial projects. A proprietary database returns spec-accurate matches to reduce rework and delays. In Fukuoka, Sunny is bridging communication between global suppliers and Japanese clients, building a hybrid team of local industry experts and remote AI specialists.
Sharon Cheung — Hong Kong
Even founders from the same city approach Fukuoka differently—some build tech, others build bridges between markets.
Project: BIXLUX / BIXLUXCARD — bixlux.biz
BIXLUX creates AI-powered marketing and branding tools to help small businesses stand out and grow intelligently. Its flagship product, the digital BIXICARD, reimagines how professionals connect—exchanging contacts seamlessly and turning networking into real opportunity. Founded in Fukuoka, BIXLUX works with clients in Japan and abroad, combining automation, design, and data to make marketing simpler, smarter, and more human.
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Gary Yeung — Hong Kong
Increasingly, these founders see Fukuoka itself as a platform—a human-scale place to test global ideas and grow beyond Japan.
Project: Commvia Inc. — website coming soon
A digital-marketing company helping Japanese entrepreneurs reach overseas markets. Commvia supports clients with cross-border strategy, creative campaigns, and digital tools to expand beyond Japan. Gary moved to Fukuoka in July 2025, drawn by the city’s friendly policies for foreign founders and its growing international outlook. Still in the early stages, he’s setting up operations under the Startup Visa while monitoring how the new national visa policies will shape opportunities ahead.
Veda Sadhak — Canada
Some founders are building deep tech for the next web—tools that quietly power the shift from Web2 to Web3.
Project: Block Dance — blockdance.jp
Block Dance builds a next-generation platform that lets developers easily create, deploy, and manage tokenized games. While game development is relatively simple, blockchain integration adds complexity in security, scalability, and user experience. Block Dance replaces multiple blockchain tools with one unified engine serving both developers and players. Veda moved to Fukuoka in mid-2024 for its startup support, affordability, and quick access to Asia. The language barrier remains a challenge, though translation tools help bridge the gap.
Viko Gara — Indonesia
Together, they show a simple truth: Fukuoka’s startup scene isn’t about scale first—it’s about proving what’s possible from here, one idea at a time.
Project: Nosuta — nosuta.co.jp
Nosuta aims to finance, train, and place the next million global workers—“student loans for cross-border job preparation.” By offering financial and skills-development support for blue-collar talent, Nosuta helps workers access overseas opportunities responsibly while serving employers who need reliable staff. Viko chose Fukuoka in May 2024, noting that Kyushu’s economy rivals Thailand’s, offering scale without Tokyo-level costs. He admits that B2B in Japan moves slower than expected, but credits Fukuoka Growth Next for strong introductions and an ecosystem that helps turn ideas into partnerships.
Looking Ahead
Whether the Startup Visa eventually merges into the stricter Business Manager framework or remains as a separate entry route, the community it created is now part of Fukuoka’s DNA. These founders are not just visa holders, they’re part of the city’s future economy.
If you want to see that community in action, come to CIC Fukuoka on November 14. You’ll hear directly from the people shaping the next phase of Fukuoka’s international startup story—and maybe walk away inspired to start your own. Register now to attend.
Text by Nick Szasz, Fukuoka Now.
