Fukaya City Entrepreneur Support Subsidy

1) Overview: The Fukaya City Entrepreneur Support Subsidy is operated by the Commerce and Industry Promotion Division of Fukaya City (Saitama Prefecture) to stimulate local industry by partially reimbursing startup-related costs for new entrepreneurs who establish a business within the city. Applications are governed by the Fukaya City Entrepreneur Support Subsidy Grant Guidelines, with the prescribed Form No. 1. 2) Eligibility: Applicants must be residents of Fukaya City who have newly started a business, or are within six months of starting one, and must simultaneously satisfy every requirement: registered on the Fukaya basic resident register; have established (or intend to establish) a business location within the city; no municipal-tax arrears; hold any required permits for regulated industries; operate in a sector covered by Article 1 of the Small and Medium Credit Insurance Law Enforcement Order (excluding agriculture, forestry, fishery, finance/insurance); recommended by the Fukaya Chamber of Commerce or the Fukaya City Chamber of Commerce; and registered (or pending registration) as a participating store of the Fukaya local currency 'Negi'. Adult-entertainment-related businesses are excluded. 3) Eligible expenses: Two categories — (a) business establishment costs such as equipment, fixtures, and installation expenses for opening the office/shop, and (b) advertising costs incurred at the start of operations, including newspaper advertisements and the production/distribution of flyers. Consumption tax is excluded; if a receipt does not state the tax amount, the equivalent tax portion is deducted. Vehicles used solely for business purposes may also qualify if supported by receipts. 4) Subsidy rate, cap, schedule, application pointers: Reimbursement is one-half (1/2) of eligible expenses (truncated to the nearest 1,000 yen), with a maximum of 200,000 yen per recipient. Before filing, applicants must first receive startup consultation/management guidance from the Fukaya Chamber of Commerce or Fukaya City Chamber of Commerce. The full application package consists of Form No. 1, resident card copy, registry certificate (corporations), opening/closure notice (individuals), business permit (where required), municipal-tax clearance certificate, payment evidence (itemised statement & receipts), the Chamber recommendation form, plus any other documents the Mayor deems necessary. Submission is to the Commerce and Industry Promotion Division at Nakacho 11-1, Fukaya City.