Kitakyushu City's Support for Opening in Vacant Shop Fronts: FY2026 Renovation Subsidy Only, Open Until End of DecemberThe city supports people who start a business in an empty shop on a shopping street
Through its Shutter Hiraku Project, Kitakyushu City helps people open businesses in vacant shop fronts in shopping streets and markets, with consultation, business plan help, subsidies and renovation support. New applications for the rent subsidy ended with FY2026, leaving the subsidy that covers 50% of opening renovation costs. Applications for FY2026 are accepted until the end of December.
Key points
- The Shopping Street Vacant Shop Subsidy is one of two types: a rent subsidy (50% of rent for 12 months) or a renovation subsidy (50% of opening renovation costs). The cap is JPY 500,000 (JPY 750,000 for the youth and women support frame). New rent-subsidy applications ended from FY2026
- For the renovation subsidy, part of the subsidy must be repaid if the business closes within 3 years of opening. Some costs must go to companies in the city. A recommendation letter from the shopping street association is also required
- Applicants: individuals, SMEs, social welfare corporations, NPOs, general incorporated associations and foundations and others. Apply before signing a lease. Retail and service businesses (including restaurants) open at least 3 hours a day and about 5 days a week on average. Offices and businesses regulated under the Entertainment Business Act are excluded
- Location: a shopping street or market with roughly 30 or more clustered shops, in a vacant shop that has not been leased for at least 3 months
- Applications are due at the end of each month, with results the following month. FY2026 applications are accepted until the end of December, and work must be completed by the end of February of the grant year. A separate measure for shops damaged by fire or natural disaster covers 80% of relocation costs or one year's rent, up to JPY 1,200,000
What to do in practice
- Consult the city's counter before signing a lease
- Check in advance the recommendation letter from the association and how to allocate construction costs to companies in the city
- Confirm with your advisers how the subsidy is treated for accounting and tax (for example, when it is recognized as income)
This program supports people who start a new business in a shop on a shopping street that has been closed up. In FY2026, a subsidy that pays half of the shop renovation cost (up to JPY 500,000) is accepting applications until the end of December.
- 1. ApplyApply by the end of any month
- 2. ResultThe result arrives late the next month
- 3. WorkRenovate the shop (by the end of February of that fiscal year)
- 4. OpenOpen the shop
Points
- People starting a new business in an empty shop on a shopping street are eligible
- Up to half the renovation cost, at most JPY 500,000 (JPY 750,000 for young people and women)
- The rent subsidy has not accepted new applications since FY2026
What the words mean
- Vacant shop
- A shop that is empty because no one rents it
- Renovation
- Remodeling the inside or outside of a shop
- City of Kitakyushu: Kitakyushu City: About support for opening in vacant shop fronts (Shutter Hiraku Project)
This article summarizes and explains materials published by government agencies and is not advice on any individual case. Rules can change, so for actual procedures and decisions always check the latest original materials and consult professionals such as tax accountants or labor and social security attorneys. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese versions are translations prepared from the Japanese articles for convenience. If anything differs, the Japanese text and the original source take precedence.