Family Office in Japan: Rules, Costs and Tax in 2026
No family office licence or regime was found in Japan: the Financial Services Agency (FSA) registration guidebooks require registration for managing customers' assets under discretionary investment contracts and for investment advice under investment advisory contracts, and none of the exceptions they list is for family offices. Individuals face a top national income tax rate of 45% plus a 2.1% reconstruction surtax and an inhabitant tax at a standard 10% (55.945%, our calculation), and inheritance tax runs from 10% to 55%. Since 16 October 2025 the Business Manager status of residence requires at least JPY 30 million in capital and one full-time employee, and the FSA's Financial Market Entry Office handles asset manager registration in English, while the FSA's special zones work for financial and asset management businesses names Sapporo and Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
Best for: Families with a business or long-term residence in Japan who want a holding company or family office there, and who accept inheritance tax of up to 55%, a top income tax rate of about 56% and the fact that no family office exemption from FSA registration was found.
At a glance
| Licence | No family office rule found; FSA registration for discretionary management or advice |
|---|---|
| Minimum wealth | No wealth minimum in the FSA guidebook; its JPY 50m minimum capital is for registered firms |
| Who counts as family | No official figure found |
| Serving several families | FSA investment management or advisory registration; JPY 50m minimum capital; English desk |
| Law and courts | Civil Code succession; FIEA registration with the FSA; inhabitant tax at a standard 10% |
| Substance | No family office rule found; Business Manager visa needs an office and a full-time employee |
| Holding vehicles | KK and GK (JPY 1 minimum capital), gomei and goshi kaisha; partnership-type funds |
| Corporate tax | 29.74% effective, large firms (JETRO); plus 4% of corporate tax over JPY 5m from April 2026 |
| Family office tax | No family office regime found; family companies pay 10% to 20% on retained earnings (JETRO) |
| Personal income tax | Top 55.945% with 2.1% surtax and standard 10% local tax; 20.315% on listed share income |
| Inheritance tax | 10% to 55% after JPY 30m plus JPY 6m per heir; spouse tax-free to JPY 160m or legal share |
| Wills and succession | Spouse always an heir; spouse and children half each; reserved portion not checked |
| Residence | No investor visa found; Business Manager: JPY 30m capital, one full-time employee (Oct 2025) |
| Time to set up | KK about 2 months, GK about 1 month (JETRO); FSA registration 2 months after consultation |
| Official fees | No official figure found |
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Licence and who qualifies
How is a family office licensed in Japan?
No family office licence, registration or exemption was found in the FSA's registration guidebooks (Japanese, and English version 4.0 of July 2025) or other FSA pages opened. The guidebooks say registration is required to manage customers' assets or funds, including assets managed under a discretionary investment contract (investment management business), and that investment advisory and agency business covers advice under an investment advisory contract; the exceptions listed cover funds for qualified institutional investors and up to 49 other investors (Article 63 FIEA), funds where more than 50% of the money invested comes from non-residents (Article 63-8), foreign firms that serve in Japan only registered investment managers and trust banks (Article 61), certain trades for a foreign group company that manages investments abroad, and a transitional regime for foreign managers. The Japanese guidebook mentions relatives only among qualified investors (officers' and employees' relatives of a firm managing money for qualified investors) and does not mention family offices. In an answer on derivative transactions by business companies, the FSA's FIEA FAQ says an act done 'on a regular basis' (which can make it a financial instruments business) is construed to need to be repetitive and continuous and to target the general public, and that an act done merely to improve one's own portfolio is construed not to be one; no official text or law-firm briefing found says whether a company that invests only family money, or one that manages family members' money, needs registration. Withers (March 2021) describes the 2021 exemptions as aimed at fund managers with mainly offshore money and at foreign asset managers, and the FSA's Financial Market Entry Office offers pre-application consultation in English. [1, 2, 3, 9, 12, 13, 14]
What is the minimum wealth for a family office in Japan?
No minimum family wealth in the FSA's registration guidebooks, which have no family office rule. Their minimum capital of JPY 50 million for a general investment management business (JPY 10 million for investment management for qualified investors) applies to a registered firm, not to the family's wealth, and under the 2021 exemption for funds with mainly foreign investors, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune (August 2021) says individuals with addresses abroad count as eligible investors if they have at least JPY 300 million in net assets and at least JPY 300 million in investment-like financial assets and have held securities or derivatives accounts for over one year: an investor test, not a family office threshold. [1, 2, 3, 14]
Who counts as family?
Not found: no official definition of the family for a family office was found, since no family office rule was found. Anderson Mori & Tomotsune (August 2021) says that under the 2021 exemption for funds with mainly foreign investors, the directors, officers and employees of the general partner, its parent, subsidiary and sister entities and, where the general partner is an individual, certain of the general partner's relatives count as eligible investors; the FSA's guidebook likewise counts officers' and employees' relatives of a firm managing money for qualified investors among qualified investors. These are fund rules, not a family office definition. [1, 2, 14]
Can one office serve several families?
No dedicated multi-family office licence was found. Under the FSA's guidebooks, an office that manages several families' assets under discretionary investment contracts needs investment management registration, and one that advises them under investment advisory contracts needs investment advisory and agency registration; minimum capital is JPY 50 million for a general investment management business (JPY 10 million for investment management for qualified investors), and fund structures can use the Article 63 or Article 63-8 notifications instead. The FSA's Financial Market Entry Office handles pre-application consultation, registration and post-registration supervision in English, with local branches in Sapporo and Osaka since 1 April 2025. [1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 15]
Law, substance and vehicles
Which law and courts apply?
Succession follows the Civil Code, which the National Tax Agency (NTA) cites for statutory heirs and shares. Asset managers are registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), and the FSA's Financial Market Entry Office, launched in January 2021 with the Local Finance Bureaus, handles their registration and supervision in English. The NTA administers income, inheritance and gift tax, and individuals also pay an income-based inhabitant tax whose standard rate is 10% (4% prefectural and 6% municipal); the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications says prefectures and municipalities set their own rates on the basis of these standards. [1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 15, 16, 17]
What substance is required?
No office, staff or spending rule for a single family office was found. Anderson Mori & Tomotsune (August 2021) says both 2021 exemptions, for funds with mainly foreign investors and for foreign managers in transition, require a physical office in Japan with sufficient staff and an appropriate organisation. A founder holding the Business Manager status needs an office suited to the business (a home office is generally not accepted) and at least one full-time employee who is a Japanese national, a special permanent resident or the holder of a status such as permanent resident or spouse of a Japanese national. [8, 14, 18]
Which holding vehicles are available?
JETRO lists the kabushiki kaisha (KK, joint-stock company) and the godo kaisha (GK, limited liability company), both with minimum capital of JPY 1 and liability limited to contributions, and the gomei kaisha and goshi kaisha partnership companies, which JETRO says are rarely chosen because equity participants bear unlimited liability. The FSA's guidebook covers partnership-type funds and trust beneficiary interests as investment structures. Trusts, private trust companies and general incorporated foundations were not checked in official sources. [1, 19]
Tax
What is the corporate tax rate?
JETRO's guide gives an effective tax rate (standard rates, business years from 1 April 2025) of 29.74% for companies with paid-in capital over JPY 100 million and offices in at least three prefectures, combining national corporate tax, local corporate tax, corporate inhabitant tax and enterprise tax, and shows national corporate tax of 23.2% on SME income above JPY 8 million. For business years beginning on or after 1 April 2026 a defense special corporate tax of 4% is charged on the base corporate tax minus JPY 5 million (J-Net21, Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, 5 August 2026); no official updated effective rate was found. A family holding company pays these ordinary taxes; the deduction for dividends received was not checked. [19, 20]
Are there tax incentives for family offices?
No tax regime for family offices or family investment companies was found in the official sources opened. JETRO's US office page (undated) says a qualifying family corporation pays a tax on retained earnings on top of corporate tax: 10% up to JPY 30 million, 15% above JPY 30 million up to JPY 100 million and 20% above JPY 100 million; the current conditions for this tax were not checked. [21]
Is there personal income tax?
Residents pay income tax: national rates run from 5% to 45%, with 45% on taxable income of JPY 40 million or more, plus a special income tax for reconstruction of 2.1% of the income tax (2013 to 2037), and an income-based inhabitant tax at a standard rate of 10% (4% prefectural, 6% municipal; local governments set their own rates on this basis), a top rate of 55.945% at the standard rate (our calculation). Gains on shares are taxed separately at 15% income tax plus the reconstruction surtax and 5% inhabitant tax (20.315% in total, our calculation), and dividends on listed shares at 20.315% (15.315% income tax and reconstruction surtax, 5% local tax) if separate self-assessment is chosen, except for large shareholders (holding 3% or more, counting for dividends paid from 1 October 2023 shares held with certain family companies), who are taxed together with other income at progressive rates. Under the rule introduced in the FY2023 reform, extra tax is due when total income (including separately taxed share and land gains) minus JPY 330 million, times 22.5%, exceeds ordinary income tax; the FY2026 tax reform law, enacted on 31 March 2026, lowers the deduction to JPY 165 million and raises the rate to 30% from 2027 income, and adds a 1% defense special income tax from January 2027 while cutting the reconstruction tax rate by one point and extending it to 2047. Non-permanent residents (non-Japanese residents with a domicile or residence in Japan for five years or less in the past ten) are taxed on foreign-source income only when it is paid in Japan or remitted to Japan. [4, 5, 6, 22, 23, 24, 25]
Is there inheritance or estate tax?
Inheritance and gift tax applies. Rates of 10% to 55% apply to each statutory share of the taxable estate (55% above JPY 600 million) after a basic deduction of JPY 30 million plus JPY 6 million per statutory heir, and a spouse pays no tax up to JPY 160 million or the spouse's statutory share, whichever is larger, if a return is filed. Heirs with an address in Japan are taxed on all property inherited, but a temporary resident (holding a status in Table 1 of the Immigration Act, with an address in Japan for ten years or less in the last 15) is taxed only on property in Japan if the decedent was a 'foreigner' (also holding a Table 1 status, with an address in Japan) or a 'non-resident' as the NTA defines them, while non-Japanese heirs living abroad are taxed on all property unless the decedent was such a foreigner or non-resident. Gifts have a JPY 1.1 million basic exemption under calendar-year taxation, or, under the system of settlement at inheritance for gifts from donors aged 60 or over to descendants aged 18 or over, a JPY 25 million special credit and a flat 20% rate; for the special business succession deferral on company shares, Yamada & Partners, commenting on the FY2026 tax reform outline, says the plan deadline moves from 31 March 2026 to 30 September 2027 and the 31 December 2027 end date stays unchanged. [7, 17, 26, 27, 28]
Succession and residence
How do wills and succession work?
The NTA, citing Civil Code Articles 887, 889, 890 and 900 among others, says the spouse is always an heir, with children (or their descendants) first, then parents or other lineal ascendants, then siblings; statutory shares are one half each for the spouse and the children, two-thirds and one-third with ascendants, and three-quarters and one-quarter with siblings. The legally reserved portion (iryubun) that protects some heirs against a will could not be read in an official text in this research, so its fractions and the 2019 change to money claims are not stated here. [16]
Can the family get residence?
No investor visa was found in the official sources checked. The main route for a founder is the Business Manager status of residence: since 16 October 2025 it requires at least JPY 30 million in capital (for a sole proprietor, the total invested), at least one full-time employee who is a Japanese national, special permanent resident or holder of a status such as permanent resident, Japanese at B2 level by the applicant or that employee, a relevant doctorate, master's or professional degree or three years of management experience, a business plan checked by an SME consultant, certified public accountant or tax accountant, and an office. Stays are granted for 5, 3 or 1 years or 6, 4 or 3 months, and existing holders who renew before 16 October 2028 without yet meeting the new criteria are assessed on their business condition and the likelihood that they will meet them; family members, permanent residence and other routes for wealthy people were not checked. [8, 18, 29, 30]
Time and fees
How long does set-up take?
Indicative, from JETRO's guide on setting up a business: about two months for a kabushiki kaisha and about one month for a godo kaisha, counted from deciding the company's profile; under the fast-track system registrations are generally completed within three business days, and fully online applications meeting certain conditions within 24 hours (since 17 March 2020). For an asset manager, the FSA's English guidebook (July 2025) gives a standard processing period of two months from application for a new registration, not counting time to correct documents, after prior consultation that takes three to four months on average. [3, 19]
What are the official fees?
Not found in official sources: JETRO says a registration and license tax is levied on company registration, but the pages opened gave no amount, and no family office licence fee exists because no family office licence was found. The FSA's guidebooks set minimum capital, not fees: JPY 50 million for a general investment management business and JPY 10 million for investment management for qualified investors. [2, 3, 31]
Pros and cons
Pros
- Asset managers can deal with the regulator in English: the FSA's Financial Market Entry Office handles pre-application consultation, registration and supervision in English, with branches in Sapporo and Osaka since 1 April 2025.
- A spouse pays no inheritance tax on up to JPY 160 million or the spouse's statutory share, whichever is larger, if a return is filed.
- Non-permanent residents (non-Japanese residents with five years or less in Japan in the past ten) are taxed on foreign-source income only when it is paid in or remitted to Japan, and temporary residents inheriting from a decedent who was a 'foreigner' or 'non-resident' as the NTA defines them are taxed only on property in Japan.
Cons
- A top income tax rate of 45% plus a 2.1% reconstruction surtax and an inhabitant tax at a standard 10% (55.945%, our calculation), and a minimum tax on very high incomes that tightens from 2027 income (deduction cut from JPY 330 million to JPY 165 million, rate raised from 22.5% to 30%).
- Inheritance tax of 10% to 55% applies to children above a basic deduction of JPY 30 million plus JPY 6 million per statutory heir, and non-Japanese heirs living abroad can be taxed on all property they inherit.
- No family office exemption was found: managing clients' assets under discretionary contracts needs FSA registration (minimum capital JPY 50 million for an ordinary investment management business), and since 16 October 2025 the Business Manager visa needs JPY 30 million in capital, a full-time employee and Japanese at B2 level by the applicant or that employee.
