Hey there! I’m in the process of planing my move to Japan with my Japanese resident partner. Currently no timeline, and we are both employed and jobs that we generally love at the moment however, this has been a long term dream for us, and we’re nearing pulling the trigger on it. We are not married mainly because Japan does not recognize gay marriage on a national level.
Here’s my background: I have decades of experience in the service industry, and then started my professional life with two degrees in international relations, US military stationed in Japan, and currently work in global security at the New York Times. I realize that this has not much to do with opening an LGBTQ bar in Tokyo, but it has helped me build the capital needed for the business manager visa.
I am currently in the process of building a business plan, have my Japanese partner for help navigating the Japanese bureaucratic business system, and once those are complete, I plan on applying for the business manager visa.
For our first year or so in Japan, my Japanese boyfriend will continue his high paying tech job to ensure that we will have a successful first couple years with our new bar. I also have a passive income of around 2K a month US dollars.
My goal, after the bar is up and running and successful for a few years is to get back to adjunct faculty at the university level teaching either international relations or global security. I realize this would be a small change in my business manager visa but not at all impossible.
Summary: me, an American citizen and my Japanese national partner who live in New York City are in the very nascent phases of building out our business plan for me to get a business manager visa. We will have a buttoned up business plan, the capital needed to open the business, and will begin the visa application process after that. I know there’s a lot of steps and bureaucracy in between the aforementioned, but I feel those three main points are the big hitters.
Curious anyone’s thoughts who have done something similar and successes or failures of others.
Thanks y’all!
by chucky6537