Some people want to work in Japan as freelancers (sole proprietors) instead of being employed by a company. Translation, design, programming, language lessons, and many other fields let you take on work as an individual.
If you’re not a Japanese national, though, the first step is to check whether your current residence status allows that way of working. After that, you’ll need to handle procedures that your company used to take care of when you were an employee: registering your business, filing tax returns, consumption tax (invoices), and National Pension and National Health Insurance.
In this guide, we cover the following, based on official sources:
- Why there’s no “freelance visa,” and whether you can freelance on each residence status
- The opening notice and blue tax returns
- Freelance taxes (income tax, resident tax, and individual business tax)
- Consumption tax and the invoice system (the end of the 20% special rule and the new 30% special rule)
- National Pension and National Health Insurance
- How unpaid taxes and premiums can affect your visa
- The Freelance Act, and a yearly schedule
This article is based on official information as of October 2026. It’s general information, not a decision on your residence status or taxes. For your own situation, check with the Immigration Services Agency, the tax office, your city office, or a professional such as an immigration lawyer (gyoseishoshi) or tax accountant.
1. There’s No Freelance Visa: Can You Freelance on Your Status?
Japan has no freelance or self-sponsored visa. Whether you can work as a freelancer depends on the residence status you have now.
| Your residence status | Can you freelance? |
|---|---|
| Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of a Japanese National, Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident, Long Term Resident | Yes (there are no limits on the type of work) |
| Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (gijinkoku) | It depends (you may be able to if you work under ongoing contracts with specific clients and the work is allowed under gijinkoku; check before you start) |
| Business Manager | Yes, with permission (you need Business Manager permission, but conditions such as 30 million yen in capital are very strict) |
| Student, Dependent | Yes, with permission (when you take on work as an individual, you need permission for each job, called “individual permission”) |
| Working Holiday | It depends (the activities you can do are set for each person; check before you start) |
| Digital nomad (Designated Activities) | It depends (you can work for clients outside Japan, but you can’t work under an employment contract or similar arrangement with a company or other organization in Japan) |
Residence statuses fall into two broad groups:
- Statuses with no limits on work: Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of a Japanese National, Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident, and Long Term Resident
- Statuses that allow only specific activities: Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Business Manager, and others (Student and Dependent are statuses that basically don’t allow work)
Below, we look at each status in more detail.
Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of a Japanese National, Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident, Long Term Resident
Yes. There are no limits on the type of work.
The Immigration Services Agency says people with statuses such as Permanent Resident and Long Term Resident have “no restrictions on work activities.” In terms of residence status, working as a freelancer isn’t restricted either.
(Reference: Immigration Services Agency "Permission to Engage in Other Activities" (Japanese) / Immigration Services Agency "List of Residence Statuses" (Japanese))
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (gijinkoku)
It depends. You may be able to freelance if you work under ongoing contracts with specific clients and the work is allowed under gijinkoku.
Gijinkoku activities are described as work requiring specialized knowledge and similar work “carried out based on a contract with a public or private organization in Japan.”
According to the Immigration Services Agency’s Q&A, this “contract” includes not only being employed by a company but also contracts where you’re entrusted with work (such as mandates and outsourcing). However, it must be an ongoing contract with specific clients (more than one is fine). Taking one-off jobs from many different clients may not qualify, so check with the agency or an immigration lawyer before you start.
Also, if a gijinkoku holder does side work of a type that isn’t allowed under gijinkoku, they need permission to engage in activities other than those permitted (shikakugai katsudo kyoka).
For gijinkoku requirements, see What Is the Gijinkoku Visa? Requirements, Eligible Jobs, and 2026 Rule Changes Explained. For notifications when changing jobs, see Changing Jobs on a Gijinkoku Visa: Notifications, the 90-Day Rule, and the N2 Requirement.
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(Reference: Immigration Services Agency "List of Residence Statuses" (Japanese) / Immigration Services Agency "Q&A on work status applications" (Japanese, PDF) / Immigration Services Agency "Permission to Engage in Other Activities" (Japanese))
What Immigration Checks When You Freelance on a Gijinkoku Visa
Even as a freelancer, you need to meet the gijinkoku conditions. These are the main points you can confirm on official pages:
- Your work is connected to what you studied at university or a similar school, or to your past work experience
- You’re paid the same as, or more than, a Japanese person would be paid for the same work
- You work under ongoing contracts with specific clients (explained in the gijinkoku section above)
- You notify the Immigration Services Agency within 14 days when a client contract changes or ends
These decisions can be difficult, so check with immigration or an immigration lawyer before you start.
(Reference: Immigration Services Agency "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" (Japanese) / Immigration Services Agency "Activities and landing criteria" (Japanese, PDF) / Immigration Services Agency "Notification of the contracting organization" (Japanese))
Business Manager
Yes, with permission. But the conditions are very strict.
“Business Manager” is the residence status for people who run their own business. The approval criteria changed significantly on October 16, 2025.
| Main conditions (from October 16, 2025) | Details |
|---|---|
| Full-time staff | Hire at least one full-time employee (limited to Japanese nationals, Special Permanent Residents, and people with Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of a Japanese National, Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident, or Long Term Resident status) |
| Capital | 30 million yen or more (for sole proprietors, the total amount put into the business) |
| Japanese | Either the applicant or a full-time employee has Japanese ability at B2 level or higher (JLPT N2 or above, for example) |
| Background | A doctoral, master’s, or professional degree in business management or in a field needed for the business you’re starting, or at least 3 years of business management experience |
| Business plan | Must be reviewed by a certified SME consultant, a certified public accountant, or a tax accountant |
| Office | An office suited to the scale of the business (basically, it can’t be shared with your home) |
For a freelancer taking on small jobs alone, these are strict conditions. For the changes and the transition measures (special rules for the period before the new rules fully apply), see Major Changes to Japan’s Business Manager Visa: A Plain-English Guide to the New ¥30M Capital, JLPT N2, and Full-Time Staff Requirements, Plus the 2028 Grace Period. For the residence status used to prepare to start a business in Japan, also see Japan Startup Visa Guide (2026): How to Switch Status of Residence and Transition to a Business Manager Visa.
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(Reference: Immigration Services Agency "Revisions to the Business Manager landing criteria" (Japanese))
Student, Dependent, and others (permission to engage in other activities)
Yes, with permission. When you take on work as an individual, you need permission for each job, called “individual permission.”
People with Student or Dependent status need permission to engage in other activities to earn income. “Comprehensive permission” (permission that covers part-time jobs and similar work as a whole) allows up to 28 hours a week.
However, the Immigration Services Agency lists “activities as a sole proprietor or activities in which working hours are difficult to verify objectively” as examples that require individual permission (permission given for each job). In other words, if you take on work as an individual, or your working hours are hard to count clearly, you need individual permission.
Even if you have comprehensive permission for a part-time job, check whether you need individual permission before starting sole proprietor or outsourced work.
(Reference: Immigration Services Agency "Permission to Engage in Other Activities" (Japanese))
Working Holiday
It depends. The activities you can do are set for each person, so check before you start.
People in Japan on a working holiday have the “Designated Activities” status. Designated Activities is a status for activities that the Minister of Justice designates for each person. If you want to take on freelance work, check with the Immigration Services Agency whether that way of working falls within your designated activities.
(Reference: Immigration Services Agency "List of Residence Statuses" (Japanese))
Digital Nomad Visa
It depends. You can work for clients outside Japan, but you can’t work under a contract with a company or other organization in Japan.
The digital nomad visa is one type of “Designated Activities” status. It covers working online for an office outside Japan of a foreign company that employs you, or providing services or selling goods online to people and companies outside Japan. You can’t work under an employment contract or similar contract with a company or other organization in Japan.
Conditions include an annual income of 10 million yen or more at the time you apply, nationality of an eligible country or region, and medical insurance. The period of stay is 6 months and can’t be extended.
(Reference: Immigration Services Agency "Designated Activities (Digital Nomad)" (Japanese))
However you find work, check that the work is allowed under your current residence status.
2. Registering as a Sole Proprietor
Opening notice (Kojin jigyo no kaihaigyo-to todokedesho)
When you start a business as an individual, you submit a “notification of opening or closing a sole proprietorship” to the tax office. According to the National Tax Agency, the deadline is “the tax return deadline for the year in which the business started.”
Application for approval of blue tax returns
Tax returns come in two types, “white” and “blue.” Blue returns come with benefits such as a special deduction. To file a blue return, you submit an “application for approval of blue tax returns for income tax.”
| Situation | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Basic rule | By March 15 of the year you want to file a blue return |
| If you start a new business between January 16 and December 31 of that year | Within 2 months of starting the business |
Special deduction for blue returns
With a blue return, you can subtract the following “special deduction for blue returns” from your income. Through 2026, the amounts are as follows.
| Deduction (through 2026) | Main conditions |
|---|---|
| 650,000 yen | The 550,000-yen conditions, plus keeping your books as qualifying electronic books (notification required) or filing via e-Tax |
| 550,000 yen | Keep books using double-entry bookkeeping, attach a balance sheet and income statement to your tax return, and file on time |
| 100,000 yen | Blue return filers who don’t meet the conditions above |
From 2027, the deduction is 650,000 yen if you keep double-entry books and file via e-Tax, and up to 750,000 yen if you also keep electronic books that meet set conditions (qualifying electronic books). Also, people using simplified bookkeeping whose business revenue two years earlier was over 10 million yen will no longer get the 100,000-yen deduction.
To get the 650,000-yen or 550,000-yen deduction, you need double-entry bookkeeping. You can use accounting software or consult a tax accountant.
(Reference: National Tax Agency No.2090 (Japanese) / National Tax Agency No.2072 (Japanese) / National Tax Agency "For users of the 100,000-yen deduction with simplified bookkeeping" (Japanese, PDF))
3. Freelance Taxes: Income Tax, Resident Tax, Business Tax
Income tax
Income tax is charged on your income for the year (January 1 to December 31). The rate is divided into 7 brackets from 5% to 45%, depending on your taxable income.
| Taxable income | Rate | Deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1.95 million yen | 5% | 0 yen |
| 1.95 million to less than 3.3 million yen | 10% | 97,500 yen |
| 3.3 million to less than 6.95 million yen | 20% | 427,500 yen |
| 6.95 million to less than 9 million yen | 23% | 636,000 yen |
| 9 million to less than 18 million yen | 33% | 1,536,000 yen |
| 18 million to less than 40 million yen | 40% | 2,796,000 yen |
| 40 million yen or more | 45% | 4,796,000 yen |
For 2026, you also pay a special reconstruction income tax of 2.1% of your base income tax. According to the National Tax Agency, for income arising from January 1, 2027, the special reconstruction income tax rate drops to 1.1%, and a new special defense income tax (1%) is added.
For example, for 2026, if your taxable income is 3 million yen, it falls in the “1.95 million to less than 3.3 million yen” bracket, so income tax is calculated as follows.
- Income tax: 3,000,000 yen × 10% − 97,500 yen = 202,500 yen
- Special reconstruction income tax: 202,500 yen × 2.1% = 4,252 yen
- Income tax plus special reconstruction income tax: 206,752 yen (this changes if you have tax credits)
The amount you actually pay is rounded down to the nearest 100 yen: 206,700 yen.
“Taxable income” is your income (sales minus expenses) minus income deductions such as the special deduction for blue returns and the basic deduction. Note that it’s not the same as your sales.
Basic deduction amounts for 2026
Income tax has a “basic deduction” you can subtract from your income. For 2026 (Reiwa 8), it’s 1.04 million yen if your total income is 4.89 million yen or less, 670,000 yen if it’s over 4.89 million yen and up to 6.55 million yen, and 620,000 yen if it’s over 6.55 million yen and up to 23.5 million yen. The amount depends on your income, so check the National Tax Agency’s table for your bracket.
Tax returns
Every year, freelancers calculate their income for the previous year and file a tax return themselves. The filing period is basically February 16 to March 15.
When you were an employee, your company settled your taxes through year-end adjustment. As a freelancer, you file and pay yourself.
Resident tax
Resident tax is paid to the city and prefecture where you live. It’s calculated based on the previous year’s income, and the standard rate for the income-based portion is 10% (6% municipal, 4% prefectural).
Individual business tax
Individuals running certain types of business are charged the prefectural “individual business tax.” For example, Tokyo gives the following information.
| Item | Tokyo’s information |
|---|---|
| Rate | 3% to 5%, depending on the type of business |
| When you start | Submit a “business start (closure) declaration” to the metropolitan tax office within 15 days of starting the business |
| Business owner deduction | 2.9 million yen a year (prorated by month if less than a year) |
| Filing | Not needed separately if you’ve filed an income tax return or resident tax return |
| Payment deadlines | Twice, on August 31 and November 30 |
Which businesses are covered and the rates may differ by prefecture. Check your prefecture’s information.
(Reference: National Tax Agency No.2260 (Japanese) / National Tax Agency No.1199 (Japanese) / National Tax Agency No.2020 (Japanese) / Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications "Individual Resident Tax" (Japanese) / Tokyo Bureau of Taxation "Individual Business Tax" (Japanese))
4. Consumption Tax and the Invoice System
When you don’t have to pay consumption tax
If your taxable sales (sales that consumption tax applies to) in the base period (two years earlier) were 10 million yen or less, you’re basically a “tax-exempt business,” which means you don’t have to pay consumption tax. However, if both taxable sales and salary payments in the specified period (January 1 to June 30 of the previous year) were over 10 million yen, among other cases, you become a “taxable business” that pays consumption tax. Also, if you register as a qualified invoice issuer, you pay consumption tax no matter how much you sell.
Registering as a qualified invoice issuer
Under the invoice system, your clients need an invoice (qualified invoice) to claim a purchase tax credit (subtracting the consumption tax they paid on purchases from the consumption tax they owe). To issue invoices, you register with the tax office and become a qualified invoice issuer.
The end of the 20% special rule and the new 30% special rule
People who moved from tax-exempt status to being qualified invoice issuers could use the “20% special rule,” which let them pay 20% of the consumption tax on their sales. This rule applies up to the taxable period that includes September 30, 2026, so for sole proprietors, 2026 is the last year.
The 2026 tax reform created a new “30% special rule.” Sole proprietors can pay 30% of the consumption tax on their sales in their consumption tax returns for 2027 and 2028. Conditions include having taxable sales of 10 million yen or less in the base period and being registered as a qualified invoice issuer.
| Period | Rule |
|---|---|
| Through 2026 | 20% special rule |
| 2027 and 2028 | 30% special rule (sole proprietors) |
If you stay tax-exempt
If you don’t register as a qualified invoice issuer, your clients can only claim a set share of the purchase tax credit on what they buy from you. This share goes down in stages.
| Period | Share your client can deduct |
|---|---|
| October 2026 to September 2028 | 70% |
| October 2028 to September 2030 | 50% |
| October 2030 to September 2031 | 30% |
| From October 2031 | None |
Decide whether to register based on whether your clients ask for it, your sales, and the paperwork involved. If you’re unsure, you can consult the tax office or a tax accountant.
(Reference: National Tax Agency No.6501 (Japanese) / National Tax Agency "2026 Tax Reform" (Japanese))
5. National Pension and National Health Insurance
If you were on your company’s health insurance and employees’ pension, in many cases you’ll switch to National Health Insurance and National Pension when you leave your company to go freelance (you can also keep your company health insurance through “voluntary continuation,” or join a family member’s health insurance).
For the documents you receive when you leave a company, also see Full-Time Job Documents in Japan: New Graduates, Job Changers, Overseas Hires.
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National Pension
According to the Japan Pension Service, all people aged 20 to 59 living in Japan, regardless of nationality, must join Japan’s public pension system (either Employees’ Pension Insurance or the National Pension). The National Pension premium for fiscal 2026 (Reiwa 8) is 17,920 yen a month. Payment is due by the end of the month after the month it covers.
National Health Insurance
People with an address in Japan are covered by National Health Insurance, except those enrolled in other health insurance such as a company plan (short-term stayers and some others are excluded). When you join or leave, notify your city office within 14 days. Check with your city office for how premiums are set and what documents you need.
(Reference: Japan Pension Service "Guide to the National Pension" (Japanese) / Japan Pension Service "National Pension Premiums" (Japanese) / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare "Eligibility for National Health Insurance" (Japanese))
6. Unpaid Taxes and Premiums Can Affect Visa Renewal and Permanent Residency
When you were an employee, your company took much of your taxes and social insurance premiums out of your salary and paid them for you. As a freelancer, you pay them yourself. If you forget to pay, that stays on your record.
When you renew your period of stay
Some residence statuses ask you to submit a resident tax certificate and a tax payment certificate (showing your income for a year and whether you paid your taxes) when you renew your period of stay. For gijinkoku, for example, you submit these certificates at renewal depending on the category of your contracting organization.
When you apply for permanent residency
The Immigration Services Agency’s “Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence” require you to have properly paid your taxes and your public pension and public medical insurance premiums. Even if everything is paid by the time you apply, payments not made by the original deadline are basically viewed negatively.
After you get permanent residency
The 2024 amendment to the Immigration Control Act added a rule that “Permanent Resident” status can be revoked in cases such as deliberately not paying taxes or premiums. The Immigration Services Agency explains that it doesn’t plan to revoke status when someone truly can’t pay because of illness, losing their job, or similar reasons. The guidelines on this revocation will be used from April 1, 2027.
If it’s hard to pay taxes or premiums by the deadline, don’t leave it; talk to your city office or pension office early.
(Reference: Immigration Services Agency "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" (Japanese) / Immigration Services Agency "Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence" (Japanese) / Immigration Services Agency "Q&A on the permanent residence system changes" (Japanese) / Immigration Services Agency "Guidelines on revoking Permanent Resident status" (Japanese))
7. The Freelance Act
Since November 1, 2024, the “Act on Ensuring Proper Transactions Involving Specified Entrusted Business Operators” (the Freelance Act) has been in force. Businesses that hire freelancers have obligations such as:
- Clearly stating the terms when commissioning work (all businesses that commission work)
- Paying, basically, within 60 days of receiving the deliverable (businesses that have employees)
- Setting up systems to prevent harassment (businesses that have employees)
When you take on work, check that the fee, payment date, and work details are stated by email, in writing, or similar. If you run into problems with a client, you can consult your prefectural labour bureau and similar offices.
(Reference: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare "For freelancers" (Japanese))
8. A Freelancer’s Yearly Schedule
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| When you start your business | Opening notice (by that year’s tax return deadline), application for blue returns (basically by March 15; within 2 months if you started between January 16 and December 31), business start declaration (within 15 days in Tokyo) |
| When you leave your company | Join National Health Insurance (within 14 days) and handle National Pension. Gijinkoku holders: notification of contracting organization (within 14 days) |
| Every month | Pay National Pension premiums (by the end of the following month) |
| February 16 to March 15 | File and pay income tax for the previous year |
| When your city sends a notice | Pay resident tax (check the deadline in the notice) |
| August and November | Pay individual business tax (in Tokyo) |
You can check each deadline on the official pages introduced in each section of this article.
FAQ
Q: Is there a freelance or self-sponsored visa in Japan?
A: No. Whether you can work as a freelancer depends on whether your current residence status allows that type of work and way of working. Permanent Residents, Spouses or Children of Japanese Nationals, Spouses or Children of Permanent Residents, and Long Term Residents have no limits on the type of work.
Q: Can I take on outsourced work on a gijinkoku visa?
A: According to the Immigration Services Agency’s Q&A, a gijinkoku “contract” includes not only being employed by a company but also contracts where you’re entrusted with work (such as mandates and outsourcing). However, it must be an ongoing contract with specific clients (more than one is fine). Taking one-off jobs from many different clients may not qualify, so check with immigration or an immigration lawyer before you start.
Q: Can I take on freelance work as an international student?
A: You need permission to engage in other activities. Activities as a sole proprietor, or work where hours are hard to count clearly, are listed as examples requiring individual permission rather than comprehensive permission.
Q: Do I need 30 million yen in capital to become a sole proprietor?
A: The 30 million yen is one of the conditions for getting “Business Manager” status. It isn’t a condition for people with statuses such as Permanent Resident, or for gijinkoku holders taking on work as individuals.
Q: Can I do freelance work on a digital nomad visa?
A: You can provide services online to clients outside Japan. You can’t work under an employment contract or similar contract with a company or other organization in Japan. The period of stay is 6 months and can’t be extended.
Q: When do I need to submit the opening notice?
A: According to the National Tax Agency, by the tax return deadline for the year you started your business. If you want to file blue returns, submit the application for approval basically by March 15 of that year (within 2 months if you started between January 16 and December 31).
Q: Until when can I use the 20% invoice special rule?
A: For sole proprietors, 2026 is the last year. For 2027 and 2028, you can use the “30% special rule” if you meet the conditions.
Q: How much will I pay for National Pension as a freelancer?
A: The National Pension premium for fiscal 2026 is 17,920 yen a month. Everyone aged 20 to 59 living in Japan must join the public pension system, regardless of nationality.
Key Takeaways
- ✅ There’s no “freelance visa”. Check whether your current residence status allows that way of working
- ✅ Permanent Residents, spouse statuses, and Long Term Residents have no limits on the type of work. On gijinkoku, you may be able to freelance under ongoing contracts with specific clients; check with immigration or a professional first
- ✅ Since October 2025, Business Manager requires 30 million yen in capital, at least one full-time employee, and more
- ✅ Submit the opening notice by the tax return deadline, and the blue return application basically by March 15. The special deduction for blue returns is up to 650,000 yen through 2026 (up to 750,000 yen from 2027)
- ✅ The 20% invoice special rule runs through 2026. 2027 and 2028 use the 30% special rule
- ✅ National Pension is 17,920 yen a month for fiscal 2026. Join National Health Insurance at your city office within 14 days
- ✅ Unpaid taxes, pension, or health insurance can affect visa renewal and permanent residency. Pay by the deadline
Before you start freelancing, check your residence status, taxes, and social insurance together to avoid problems later. If anything is unclear, consult the Immigration Services Agency, the tax office, your city office, or an immigration lawyer or tax accountant early.
