Nagoya office rent subsidy: first office for a foreign-owned company

Eligible cost is up to twelve months of rent for the new office. The subsidy rate is within fifty percent, capped at JPY 10,000,000. Moving the head-office registration into Nagoya adds JPY 1,000,000. Security deposits, guarantee deposits, consumption tax, and other stated excluded costs are not covered. Consult the Industrial Location and Exchange Division first, then file the recognition application no later than the day before the lease. The filing, not a recognition decision, must precede the lease. Lease signing, office opening, and the later grant application each have a separate deadline. Before contracting, ask Nagoya City about the remaining budget and whether intake is still open.

Who it is for

• An ICT company must have been established for at least three years and principally operate in ICT, robotics, digital content, or creative business. At opening, its office must have at least thirty square metres and at least two regularly employed engineer-type staff members stationed there.
• A foreign-owned company must have been established for at least three years and satisfy either branch: it is a company or other entity specified in Article 26(1)(ii) or (iii) of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act; OR such an entity owns more than one-third of the applicant corporation's total issued shares or capital contribution after excluding the applicant's own shares or contribution. The branches are alternatives, not cumulative requirements. At opening, at least two regular employees must be stationed in an office of at least twenty square metres.
• A startup company must be less than ten years old and aim either to create a new market or achieve high growth through new technology or a new business model in green, digital, or a similar field. At least one regular employee must be stationed at the office when it opens. The verified program information supplies no minimum floor-area threshold for this category.
• A growth company must have been established for at least three years, have capital of at least JPY 10,000,000, and have either latest sales of at least JPY 100,000,000 OR ordinary profit of at least JPY 10,000,000, as well as an expectation of future growth. At opening, at least five regular employees must be stationed in an office of at least thirty square metres.
• A qualifying regular employee is directly employed by the applicant and insured under at least one of employment insurance, health insurance, or employees' pension insurance. Category headcounts concern people stationed in the new office when it opens, not the applicant's total workforce.

Points to note

• A newly formed Nagoya corporation opening the office is generally excluded, but the foreign-owned company category is an exception to that exclusion. A founder's foreign nationality alone does not make an individual or company eligible.
• Dispatched workers, contractors, group-company employees, and visitors do not become the applicant's directly employed regular employees. The relevant staff must be stationed in the new office at opening.
• A store, warehouse, factory, service establishment, public facility, or another stated excluded establishment is not an eligible office. Filing does not guarantee recognition, a grant, available budget, payment, or the maximum amount.

Up to twelve months of new-office rent is eligible, within a fifty-percent rate and a JPY 10,000,000 cap. The JPY 1,000,000 addition applies only when the head-office registration moves into Nagoya. Security deposits, guarantee deposits, consumption tax, and other stated exclusions are outside the eligible cost. Keep the order clear: advance consultation, recognition application, lease, office opening, grant application, then the City's grant decision and payment administration. File by the day before the lease; sign by March 31 of the filing fiscal year; and open within one year of filing. The grant-application window from April 1 through April 30 is normally in the next fiscal year, or the fiscal year after next when recognition filing occurs after December's final City business day. Neither eligibility nor filing guarantees recognition, budget, payment, or the maximum subsidy.

How it works

1. Before contracting for premises, consult the Industrial Location and Exchange Division. Confirm the applicable company category, floor area, staff stationed at opening, and eligible costs. Using the guidance updated on April 1, 2026, also confirm the current budget balance and intake status directly with Nagoya City.
2. File the recognition application no later than the day before signing the lease. Sign the lease by March 31 of the fiscal year in which the recognition application is filed, and open the office within one year from the filing date. The pre-lease recognition application is a filing deadline; do not turn it into a requirement to receive a recognition decision before leasing.
3. Ordinarily file the grant application from April 1 through April 30 of the fiscal year after the recognition application. If the recognition application was filed after the final City business day in December, use April 1 through April 30 of the fiscal year after next. The City's grant decision and payment administration follow. Suspension or closure within three years after opening results in cancellation of the grant decision and requires repayment.