TOSBEC: One-Stop Service for Tokyo Entrepreneurs
Are you considering starting your own business in Tokyo? If so, you'll certainly want to pay a visit to the Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center, known as TOSBEC.
Starting a business in Japan's capital and largest urban area once involved visiting several governmental organizations and offices located in different places around the sprawling Tokyo metropolis. To help streamline this cumbersome process of business establishment, the Cabinet Office and Tokyo Metropolitan Government set up TOSBEC in April 2015.
TOSBEC is the first of its kind in Japan, having been created under the National Strategic Special Zones program, and offers business establishment services for foreign companies and venture companies. True to its name, it allows would-be entrepreneurs, Japanese and non-Japanese alike, to receive free consultations on business opening matters with experts at one place.
The administration director of TOSBEC notes that, "The services we offer are not only free, but can be used as many times as necessary." Moreover, applications for necessary company establishment procedures can be also filed electronically at TOSBEC, which is convenient and cost-effective. For example, by filing the certification of the articles of incorporation electronically rather than using paper documentation, users can reduce the cost of establishing their company by 40,000 yen.
After checking in to the reception desk at TOSBEC, participants are directed to one of seven booths that handle matters relating to certification of the articles of incorporation, company registration, metropolitan tax/national tax, immigration, employment insurance, labor insurance, and health insurance/pension insurance.
Each booth is staffed by experts from relevant governmental organizations. For example, representatives of the Immigration Bureau are available to answer questions on immigration. Incidentally, under a program to increase foreign entrepreneurs in Tokyo, entrepreneurs are now able to apply for a six-month startup visa with a viable business plan to give them sufficient time to establish their enterprise.
Non-Japanese entrepreneurs and foreign startups may feel apprehensive about complicated business and legal matters, but TOSBEC has done its best to remove this hurdle by offering free multilingual interpretation and translation services, which can be provided upon request.
TOSBEC offers other useful services besides business establishment procedures. Small and medium enterprise management consultants occupy a corner of the room and provide consultation services concerning business establishment, on topics such as financial and management plans.
Also sharing the same space is the Business Development Center Tokyo, or BDCT, which is designed to provide business development services in English. Staff are fluent in English and have experience working abroad, and the center offers a range of assistance including matchmaking services, business plans, and start-up projects. The Tokyo Employment Consultation Center, or TECC, helps startups and global corporations understand employment-related rules.
A consultant at BDCT, believes that although starting a business in Tokyo requires a great deal of preparation, it is doable and the BDCT can help entrepreneurs overcome the challenges they might face. "Tokyo and Japan comprise a very large market and, especially with the Tokyo Olympics coming up, there are many business opportunities," he says.
Since its launch, in 2015, the number of non-Japanese users of TOSBEC has been increasing significantly. Kieran Hallahan founded his consulting business after utilizing the services at TOSBEC. "A bilingual guide paraphrased technical words and responded in a way that I could easily understand. I really felt [the staff's] kindness and warmth. The welcoming atmosphere at the center made me feel comfortable to ask many questions during the consultation, so I decided to complete the business launch procedures there," he says.TOSBEC's main office is located on the seventh floor of the Ark Mori Building in Akasaka, and satellite offices have been opened recently in Shibuya and Marunouchi to offer more locations for greater convenience. These satellite offices will connect participants via web camera to experts in the Akasaka office for real-time consultations.
While coming up with a successful business plan remains a challenge, budding entrepreneurs can take comfort in the fact that free support with their startup procedures is available. For more information on the Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center, please visit its website at
https://www.startup-support.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/onestop/en/
This article was written by Noam Katz.
*This article was posted on the Life in Tokyo website operated by the Tokyo International Communication Committee on April 9, 2018.