We receive many inquiries about starting business to sell Japanese used cars overseas.
Since many Japanese people treat their cars as carefully as possible (for example, the bumpers of Japanese cars are often scratch-free), it seems that the price of used cars does not drop much when they are sold overseas.
To purchase and sell used cars in Japan, you must obtain a “secondhand dealer’s permit” from a regional police office. The condition is that there must be at least one sales office and one sales manager in Japan.
If you hire a Japanese person or a foreigner who is already resident in Japan, you can register that person as a sales manager.
If you are planning to come to Japan yourself and get ready to start a business, you will first have to obtain a visa (Business Manager visa).
You can start your business by:
- Register your company
- Obtain a business manager visa
- Acquire “secondhand dealer’s permit”
- Become a member of a car auction
Most of the foreign businesses use the car auction platform to purchase used car in Japan.
Kawasaki Onestop Business Startup Center can provide one-stop support for all of these steps.
For a brief information of starting a business in Japan, please see the YouTube video.