Machinaka Small Business Support Subsidy (Maebashi City, FY2026)

(1) Overview: Maebashi City's FY2026 Machinaka Small Business Support Subsidy supports challenge pop-up shops and the creation/renovation of pop-up spaces within Maebashi's Urban Design Area (~158ha). It aims to revitalize the downtown by enabling market-testing before opening real stores and by encouraging existing shops to host newcomers. (2) Eligible Applicants: For the Challenge Pop-up type, eligible entities are businesses conducting trial sales/services in the designated area before opening a real shop, with the project not yet started, required permits in hand, no local tax arrears, and not in excluded sectors (adult-entertainment-related, etc.). For the Owner type, applicants must have operated a shop in the area for 1+ year and offer the pop-up space to others with consultation support. Anti-organized-crime clauses apply. (3) Eligible Expenses: Challenge Pop-up type covers booth/space fees (incl. electricity), advertising, lease/rental, and other pop-up-related costs. Owner type covers only renovation works (interior, fittings, furniture installation) for the new/renovated pop-up space. Sales-target merchandise procurement, expenses pre-application, and consumption tax are excluded. Expenses are tax-exclusive; contractors should be Maebashi-based unless justified. (4) Rate/Cap/Schedule/Key Points: Subsidy rate is up to 2/3 of eligible expenses; cap is JPY 50,000 (Challenge) or JPY 100,000 (Owner), rounded down to the nearest thousand. Application window: 1 Apr 2026 – 28 Feb 2027; project completion & payment by 31 Mar 2027. Applications close upon budget exhaustion. Submit application/oath, project plan, and budget; after approval, implement, then submit completion report within 30 days, followed by a payment request. Email submission allowed if seals are waived. One application per applicant per year.