Branch office

  1. Prior notification to the Bank of Japan for branch office establishment, depending on the industry category
  2. Determination of branch office details to be registered
  3. Verification of identical corporate names at the Legal Affairs Bureau
  4. Establishment of the branch office (the establishment date is at the branch office’s discretion)
  5. Preparation of an affidavit for the branch office establishment
  6. Certification of the affidavit by a notary public in the foreign company’s home country or by an embassy/consulate in Japan
  7. Application for branch office registration and company seal registration at the Legal Affairs Bureau
  8. Obtaining a certificate of registered information and company seal impression certificate
  9. Opening a bank account under the branch office’s name

Joint-stock corporation

  1. Determination of the profile for the joint-stock corporation to be established
  2. Verification of identical corporate names at the Legal Affairs Bureau
  3. Preparation of the joint-stock corporation’s Articles of Incorporation
  4. Obtaining registration certificates and preparing affidavits regarding the profile and signatures of the parent company’s representatives
  5. Notarization of the joint-stock corporation’s Articles of Incorporation by a Japanese notary
  6. Application to the bank for capital custody and issuance of a capital custody certificate (in the case of incorporation through an outside offering)
  7. Remittance of the joint-stock corporation’s capital to the incorporator’s, representative director’s, or director’s account at incorporation
  8. Remittance of the joint-stock corporation’s capital to a special bank account (in the case of incorporation through an outside offering)
  9. Appointment of directors and other officers, such as representative directors and auditors
  10. Examination of the legality of establishment procedures by directors and auditors
  11. Application for the joint-stock corporation’s establishment registration and company seal registration at the Legal Affairs Bureau (the official establishment date of the joint-stock corporation)
  12. Acquisition of the certificate of registered information and company seal impression certificate (typically available within two weeks after four days from the registration application)
  13. Opening a bank account under the company’s name
  14. Notification to the Bank of Japan regarding stock acquisition (advance notification may be required in certain industries)

LLC

  1. Determination of the profile for the LLC (Godo-Kaisha) to be established
  2. Verification of identical corporate names at the Legal Affairs Bureau
  3. Certification of equity participants (outside Japan):
    • Obtaining registration certificates for companies that will become equity participants
    • Preparing affidavits regarding the profiles of companies and signatures of representatives, attested by a public notary in the equity participants’ home countries
  4. Certification of equity participants (in Japan):
    • Obtaining registration certificates for companies that will become equity participants
    • Obtaining seal certificates for individuals/companies that will become equity participants
  5. Preparation of the LLC’s Articles of Incorporation
  6. Payment of investment by members, as stipulated in the Articles of Incorporation, to members’ bank accounts
  7. Application for the registration of the LLC’s establishment and registration of the company seal at the Legal Affairs Bureau (official establishment date of the Godo-Kaisha)
  8. Acquisition of the certificate of registered information and company seal impression certificate (typically available within two weeks after four days from the registration application)
  9. Opening of a bank account under the company’s name
  10. Notification of stock acquisition to the Bank of Japan (advance notification may be required in certain industries)