A weekly letter, every Tuesday
Every Tuesday: real Japanese businesses for sale under ~¥20M — translated, scored, and sanity-checked for foreign buyers.
Japanese business owners aged 70+ have no successor — about a third of all companies in the country.
of the small businesses that close each year are still profitable when they shut their doors.
The listings exist — on Japanese-only marketplaces. If you can’t read them, you’ll never see them.
¥12,000,000≈ $73,000
Founded 52 years ago in Ōmachi and listed under the owner's real name, with strong customer-review scores cited in the listing. The price includes the land and building; the owner is selling for age and stamina reasons, with no successor in the family.
Brokerage fee applies · No employees to inherit · Profit band ¥0–5M
¥4,200,000≈ $26,000
A rare ryokan-license lodging operation inside Tokyo, reporting 85% occupancy, 11 minutes from Shinjuku. The seller says running it alongside other commitments became unsustainable.
No real estate included · Brokerage fee applies · No staff
¥18,000,000≈ $110,000
A high-end tonkatsu specialist reporting ¥2.8M monthly revenue and ¥500k monthly profit, with the real estate included. The seller is moving to another business and offers a technique-succession program to the buyer.
Seller-reported figures · Small team (1–4 staff) · Food business license required
Sample format — every listing links to the original Japanese source. USD figures are approximate, at the latest ECB reference rate. Browse all listings →
Two to four sentences, written by a person, not a model.
One listing in full: summary, red flags, visa note, and price history when we’ve seen it drop.
Industry, price, prefecture, a two-sentence summary, a flags line, and a link to the original listing.
~150 words, rotating: Business Manager visa basics, how succession centers work, what 居抜き means, financing, due diligence 101.
Serious about a listing? Reply, or request an intro to a bilingual advisor.
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