#JapanRedTape, a new tag
I'm currently writing a report for a subsidy of over ¥10 million that we won for a client. This report is required to receive the grant money.
This week in Small Business Japan (8 Dec, 2024)
It's a detailed report on the project that used the subsidy, along with supporting documents showing how the money was spent. By the way, receipts are not the only supporting documents!
In other words, the client won’t be able to receive the subsidy money unless the report is approved by the government. However, getting government approval is tough. In addition to the estimates and invoices, we had to submit documents like contracts, bank statements, and invoices to prove the legitimacy of every transaction. They checked the consistency of everything, so we had to meticulously document every detail.
We are human, so we sometimes make mistakes. For example, a serial number on the invoice might be slightly different. Of course, we have no intention of cheating, but they scrutinised even the smallest details, which was surprising. If there were even the slightest problem, they would tell us to send the documents back and start again, and this process was repeated multiple times.
Finally, I thought we had reached the final stage after resubmitting the documents in mid-September, and then, in late November, after radio silence for nearly two months, we were asked to resubmit the documents again with 15 points for improvement. This experience was so frustrating that I felt utterly deflated. I'm thinking of writing about this in a separate article, but this is the reason why I'm behind on this week's article.
However, I am not publishing this newsletter to make excuses. As the title suggests, I have created the #RedTapeJapan tag. I hope that sharing my experiences and case studies will help readers navigate the complexities of Japanese bureaucracy and avoid similar pitfalls. Red tape and bureaucracy in Japan are often talked about, but I want to give readers a firsthand look at what it's really like, rather than just complaining about it. I hope my experience provides some helpful hints for those who encounter similar situations. Articles with the #RedTapeJapan tag will be published under the top menu 'Red Tape Japan.'
