The office

I am starting a small business and looking for an office. I hear that you have to pay many months -- up to a year -- to rent an office. Is this true and is there anything I can do about it?

Well done on setting up your own business. At The Japan Helpline, we are seeing more and more members of the international community here in Japan opting to establish their own companies rather than work for somebody else.

When it comes to renting office space, it shouldn't cost you the Earth. The best thing to do is to find a place that is dual use -- in other words, it can be rented as a place to live as well as work.