Opening in Los Angeles: Staffing a Japanese Restaurant from Japan

Los Angeles has more Japanese nationals than any other city in the world outside Japan. For a Japanese restaurant company entering the US, it is one of the best places to find Japanese-speaking kitchen staff locally. Almost every company still wants to send its head chef from Japan, though, and then the visa and the Japan and US social security agreement sit at the centre of the plan.

This guide looks at staffing an LA opening from the point of view of a Japanese head office. California and City of LA rules, such as minimum wage and pay scales in job postings, are covered in Hiring a sushi chef in Los Angeles.

1. Los Angeles in numbers

• Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) counted 63,972 Japanese nationals in the Los Angeles metropolitan area on 1 October 2025, the largest of any city worldwide.
• The United States as a whole had 416,380, the most of any country.
• Japan's agriculture ministry (MAFF) counted 26,360 Japanese restaurants in the US in its survey published on 28 November 2025, 320 more than in 2023.

Residents are not cooks. Even so, the chance of finding kitchen and floor staff locally who can take instructions in Japanese is higher in LA than in any other US city.

2. E-2 is the core route for staff from Japan

The US has no visa made for chefs. A Japanese restaurant company sending staff from Japan usually starts with the E-2 (treaty investor) visa. According to the US Department of State, the treaty with Japan has been in force since 30 October 1953, so Japan qualifies for E-2.

The point that matters most with E-2 is nationality. The company's nationality follows its ownership, so if a joint venture with a local partner leaves the Japanese side below half, a staffing plan built on E-2 falls apart. That is why HR should be in the room when the ownership structure is decided. The E-2 application itself is covered in bringing a chef on an E-2 visa (in Japanese).

3. Secondees and the US agreement's six month rule

The Japan and US social security agreement took effect in October 2005. According to the Japan Pension Service, it coordinates Japan's public pension and public health insurance with the US public pension (Social Security) and public health insurance (Medicare). An employee sent by a Japanese employer for an expected period of five years or less stays in the Japanese system only and is exempt from the US system.

The US agreement has conditions that bear directly on an opening plan.

• The six month rule: to be exempt from US Social Security, an employee sent from a Japanese company must, as a rule, have worked or lived in Japan and been covered by Japanese social insurance for at least six continuous months immediately before the assignment.
• Extension limits: beyond five years, an extension of up to three years is possible where the reasons were unforeseeable, and of more than three and up to four years where it is needed to avoid serious hardship.

The six month rule matters if your plan is to hire a chef in Japan for the opening and send them to LA straight away. If the gap between hiring and assignment is short, the exemption under the agreement may not be available. Having a new hire work in one of your restaurants in Japan first also gives them time to learn your food.

To get the exemption, the Japanese employer submits an application for a certificate of coverage to a pension office, and the employee gives the certificate to the US workplace. Applications can be made from about six months before the planned start date. On tax, the Japan and US tax treaty applies (original treaty in force 30 March 2004, amending protocol in force 30 August 2019). See social security agreements and chefs and tax for employees working abroad.

4. The local pool and pay levels

In US Bureau of Labor Statistics data for May 2025, chefs and head cooks in the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim metro area earned US$37,310 at the 10th percentile, US$69,990 at the median and US$102,760 at the 90th percentile. The median is above the national figure of US$62,470 and a little below New York (US$71,780). BLS does not count sushi chefs separately, so treat these as a benchmark for chefs in general.

Every local hire needs a work authorization check (Form I-9). Someone working on another employer's visa may need a new filing to move to you. Minimum wage is also set separately by the state and the city: California's rate is US$16.90 an hour from 1 January 2026, and the City of Los Angeles rate is US$18.42 from 1 July 2026. The rate that applies depends on which city the restaurant is in, so check it once the site is chosen. The other local rules are covered in our Los Angeles hiring guide.

5. Where each role comes from, and in what order

1. When setting the ownership of the US company, confirm the E-2 ownership test (Japanese side at least 50%).
2. Decide who comes from Japan and check that their time in Japan meets the six month rule.
3. Prepare the E-2 applications, and plan the certificate of coverage application (from about six months before the start date).
4. Set the local roles and pay ranges and start advertising.
5. Before departure, run the year-end tax adjustment for secondees and brief them on resident tax and overseas residence registration.

The full opening timeline is in our overseas opening staffing plan (in Japanese), and the choice between secondment and local hire in secondment vs local hire.

General information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. US visa requirements and fees, the operation of the Japan and US agreement, and state and city labour law can change. Check the official sources below, verified in September 2026, and consult a US immigration lawyer, the Japanese pension office or a tax adviser as needed.