Registering a branch office in Japan

Required documents

• Affidavit certified by the country's Embassy/Consulate in Japan or a public notary of the country where the foreign company is registered.
• Seal certificate (inkan shomeisho) or signature attestation of the Representative in Japan (issued within 3 months)
• Branch office's official seal (to be registered at the registry office)

 

What is an "Affidavit"?

An Affidavit is a statement of facts signed by the author and certified as to the authenticity of the author's signature by a notary public or a consul.

Usually the person wishing to have an Affidavit notarized prepare its content himself and bring the document to a notary public or a consul.

An Affidavit for registering a branch office contains the details such as the name of the parent company, address of the head office, the company's activities, amount of capital, names of the Directors, the date of establishment of the brance office in Japan, address of the branch office, name and address of the Representative in Japan.

To be able to prepare such Affidavit, the following documents are required.

 

• Registry certificate of the parent company overseas
• Articles of Incorporation of the parent company
• Japanese translation of the above documents

 

 

Who can become the Representative in Japan?

An individual of any nationality can become the Representative in Japan, although at least one of them needs to be a resident in Japan (having a resident registration in Japan under a valid long term visa).

If you would like to open a branch office but don't have a long term visa yet, it is necessary to find someone who is already resident in Japan to become the Representative.

It is required to obtain a seal certificate (inkan shomeisho) at the city hall of the resident registration, which can be replaced by a signature attestation issued by the Embassy/Consulate of the person's country of citizenship in Japan.