Comparison9 measuresChecked 2026-08-20Türkiye incentive programme

Türkiye vs Japan for a software or game company

Japan has the lowest consumption tax in this comparison at 10%, a corporate rate of 23.2% and a dividend rate identical to Türkiye's at 15%. Its cost of living index is 47.6 against Türkiye's 40.2, closer than most people expect, and its purchasing power is far higher.

The short verdict

By Tom HuseynzadeCo-founder, CyberScope Solutions

TürkiyeJapan

Cash back on growth spend50% to 70%None

Tax on software sold abroad0%Taxed

Cost of living40.247.6

Dividends to a foreign parent15%15%

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01Where each one wins, 4 measures to 3

Where Türkiye wins

Marketing and platform spend, refunded at 50% to 70%, which no Japanese scheme covers.
The cost base, about 18% below Japan's.
Time zone overlap with Europe and the Middle East.
Income from customers abroad, untaxed under the export regime.

Where Japan wins

A lower corporate rate, 23.2% against 25%.
Consumption tax at 10%, half Türkiye's VAT rate.
The deepest games industry in this comparison, by revenue and by history.
Local purchasing power 49% above Türkiye's.

02How do Türkiye and Japan compare, line by line?

Of 9 measures, Türkiye takes 4 and Japan takes 3, with 2 level. Every figure links to its source and carries the date we last checked it.

Tax

Measure	Türkiye	Japan
Corporate tax on ordinary profit	25%source checked 2026-08-20	better for the company23.2%source checked 2026-08-20
Tax on income from software sold abroad	better for the company0% under the IT export regimeApplies to income earned from customers outside Türkiye.source checked 2026-08-20	Taxed the same as any other profitsource checked 2026-08-20
VAT or equivalent, standard rate	20%Exported services are outside the scope, so this matters less to an exporter than the headline suggests.source checked 2026-08-20	10% consumption taxsource checked 2026-08-20
Withholding tax on dividends to a foreign parent	15%A double tax treaty can reduce it.source checked 2026-08-20	15%source checked 2026-08-20

Public money

Measure	Türkiye	Japan
Cash back on ads, hosting and platform fees	better for the company50% of what you spend, rising to 70% when the customers you are targeting are in one of the twenty countries on Türkiye's target listsource checked 2026-08-20	Nothing comparablesource checked 2026-08-20
Support for development costs	Yes, through two separate programmes: TÜBİTAK, which funds defined research projects, and teknopark status, which removes corporate tax on software developed inside a technology parkBoth are applied for separately from the export refund, and a company can hold them at the same time.source checked 2026-08-20	better for the companyR&D tax credits and METI programmes, with no games-specific reimbursement of marketingsource checked 2026-08-20

What it costs to live there

Measure	Türkiye	Japan
Cost of living index	better for the company40.2Numbeo index, mid-2026.source checked 2026-08-20	47.6, 18% higher than Türkiyesource checked 2026-08-20
Rent index	better for the company12.3source checked 2026-08-20	13.6, 11% higher than Türkiyesource checked 2026-08-20
Local purchasing power index	71.8Salaries buy less locally, which is the other side of a low cost base.source checked 2026-08-20	better for staff107.3, 49% higher than Türkiyesource checked 2026-08-20

03What is it like to run a company in Japan?

Tokyo is six hours ahead of Istanbul, which makes a shared working day difficult, and the flight is around twelve hours. Japan's games industry is the deepest in this comparison by history and by revenue, though it is console and domestic mobile rather than the global free-to-play model most of this directory runs on.

04What does the Turkish programme pay back, and what are the limits?

What you spend it on	Programme item	Paid back	Annual cap
Ads and player acquisition	Digital product promotion: ads & marketing (up to 10 products/yr)	50% to 70%	50 000 000 ₺ ≈ $1,043,841
App store and platform commissions	App store & platform commissions (up to 10 products/yr)	50%	20 000 000 ₺ ≈ $417,537
Hosting and servers	Hosting costs	50%	5 000 000 ₺ ≈ $104,384

What Türkiye would pay back on your spending

Türkiye runs a government programme that refunds part of what a software company or game studio spends on reaching customers abroad. It covers advertising, app store and platform commissions, and hosting. The refund is paid in cash against invoices the company has already settled, so it does not depend on the company making a profit. The standard rate is 50%, and it rises to 70% when the customers being targeted are in one of the twenty countries on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target list.

Put your own yearly figures in below. The rates and the annual caps come from the same file as our full calculator, and the total updates as you type.

Ads and player acquisition $ App store and platform commissions $ Hosting and servers $ Most of my customers are in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan or another of the twenty target-list countries, so the rate is 70% instead of 50%. Japan is one of them.

Back in cash, every year $0

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05Questions we get asked

Is Japan expensive?

Less than its reputation suggests. Its cost of living index is 47.6 against Türkiye's 40.2, a smaller gap than Germany or Finland.

Does Japan support games financially?

Through general R&D credits and METI programmes rather than through anything games-specific, and nothing reaches user acquisition.

Is the time difference workable?

Six hours is manageable for handover but not for a shared working day, which is why most groups run Japan as a separate operation rather than an extension.

Where this comparison comes from

CyberScope Solutions is an Istanbul consultancy that manages Türkiye's IT export incentive claims for software companies and game studios. We build these comparisons because clients ask for them before deciding, and we keep the rows where the other country wins because a comparison nobody believes is worth nothing.

Every figure is sourced. Each number links to the page it came from and carries the date we last checked it.
These pages get rebuilt, not left. Rates and caps come from the same file as our calculator, so when one changes the page changes with it.
You find out early if it is not for you. The first call is thirty minutes and we will say plainly if your spend pattern does not suit the programme.

Turn that number into money

Send us the rough shape of your spend. You get back what it is worth, what setting it up involves, and how fast the first claim can go in. Companies already operating here treat this as routine, and the six month window means the clock is running on invoices you have already paid.

A reply from a person within one working day
No mailing list, no drip sequence
Thirty minutes, and you keep the numbers either way

06Where these numbers come from

https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/corporate-income-tax-cit-rates checked 2026-08-20
https://cyberscope.solutions/blog/zero-percent-tax-on-it-exports/ checked 2026-08-20
https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/value-added-tax-vat-rates checked 2026-08-20
https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/withholding-taxes checked 2026-08-20
https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/withholding-tax-wht-rates checked 2026-08-20
https://cyberscope.solutions/guides/ checked 2026-08-20
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp checked 2026-08-20

About this page

This is general information about public funding and tax rules. It is not tax, legal or financial advice, and nothing here is an offer or a guarantee of any outcome. The figures come from the sources listed above and were correct on the dates shown beside them.

Rules change often and every company's position is different, so take advice from a qualified professional in the relevant country before acting on anything here. Support under any programme depends on eligibility and on approval by the authority that runs it. CyberScope Solutions accepts no liability for decisions taken on the basis of this page. The named author writes for the company in a professional capacity and carries no personal liability for its contents.

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