The program notice for the 16th round of Japan's SME business succession and M&A subsidy tells applicants not to wait for the last day. Applications are open from October 2 to November 6, 2026. Based on past rounds, the notice expects filings to bunch on the day before the deadline and on the deadline day itself. It says the review timetable this round does not allow multiple rounds of deficiency flags and sent-back corrections for late filers, and that an application whose deficiencies are not resolved may be rejected. Applicants who want deficiencies flagged and returned for correction should consider filing by October 29, five business days before the deadline.
Where the money goes
The subsidy pays part of the cost of new initiatives that small and medium-sized firms and sole proprietors undertake as a result of succession, restructuring or business integration. The 16th round is split into frames, each with its own listing and conditions.
The succession promotion frame sets a subsidy rate of up to two-thirds for small businesses and up to one-half for everyone else. In this listing, a small business has 20 or fewer employees in manufacturing and other sectors, 5 or fewer in commerce and services, and 20 or fewer in accommodation and entertainment.
The expert-use frame covers buyer-support and seller-support types. The small-seller type is capped at ¥4.5mn. A separate buyer-support type, labelled a ¥10bn-company special provision in its title, is capped at ¥20mn.
The PMI promotion frame has two types, an expert-use type and a business integration investment type. Both carry the same window and the same October 29 advice.
The re-challenge frame
The closure and re-challenge frame is aimed at owners who tried to sell and failed. To apply alone, a business must have started an M&A sale since 2020 without reaching closing, and at least three months must have passed since it started as of the application deadline. Starting means asking a succession support center for advice, signing a comprehensive contract with an M&A adviser or regional lender, or registering on an M&A matching site. It must also hold a plan for the business it will start after the existing business closes, confirmed by a certified support body. Applicants who also use another frame apply under that frame instead.
Conditions that can cost points or eligibility
An applicant that paid to have its application drafted must have used an administrative scrivener or scrivener corporation, and must submit proof of that status and the mandate contract.
The listings also say that an applicant must accept a heavy score reduction, unless there is a justifiable reason, if an application it made to an SME Agency subsidy in the 18 months before applying did not meet wage-increase scoring conditions.
In the expert-use frames, an applicant that claims financial adviser or M&A intermediary fees must accept that the secretariat will share information on the registered adviser it used with the M&A support organization registration system. A registered adviser that is itself the applicant cannot hire itself or an affiliate for that work.