Does anyone have any experience or advice regarding setting up a business in (Tokyo) Japan?
It depends on what kind of business you want. I would offer the following general advice: (1) Get tax advice from a good firm before starting up. This will affect whether you want to use a branch, subsidiary or joint venture. Once you have tax advice, you should get a lawyer involved. Most lawyers in Japan do not deal with tax issues at all and will not know how to tax-optimize a business. (2) Make yourself or a highly trusted advisor the representative director / Japan representative of your company, even if you do not plan to be there full-time. Do not give this title to your local-hire business manager; they do not need it. Your company’s seal is like the ignition key to a car; once you have the seal in your hand you can essentially do whatever you want with the company. (3) Startup costs are very high here. Opening an office will cost a ton of money in deposits, moving costs and equipment. Be prepared. You might want to use a monthly serviced office or even an apartment until you h
