Archives May 2020

Status of residence in Japan

Status of residence for foreign nationals at Japanese branches and representative offices

by kigyo-kaji

Which status of residence should foreign staff working in a Japanese branch or representative office apply for?

Working at the Japanese Branch

If the size and business volume of a Japanese branch is above a certain level and you are allowed to exercise discretion as a branch manager, you may apply for “Business Manager”.

If you are recognized as a highly-skilled foreign professional, you may apply for “Highly Skilled Professional”.

For the detail of “Highly Skilled Professional”, click here.

If the size of the Japanese branch is small and you are not allowed to exercise discretion as a branch manager, you may apply for “Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services” or “Intra-company Transferee”.

For the details of these status of residence, click here.

Working in a representative office

It is common for foreign nationals working in representative offices to apply for “Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services” or “Intra-company Transferee”.

If you are recognized as a highly-skilled foreign professional, you may apply for “Highly Skilled Professional”.

Establishment of a company in Japan

Establishing a branch or representative office in Japan

by kigyo-kaji

A company located overseas can set up a branch or representative office in Japan.

Difference between a branch office and a representative office

The difference between a branch office and a representative office is whether they conduct business in Japan or not.

Branches can trade in Japan.

A representative office can NOT trade in Japan.

Establishment of a branch office

If you want to conduct business in Japan, you need to go through procedures such as registration.

In the case of conducting business as a separate legal entity from the company in the home country, you will set up a Japanese corporation.

Click here for detailed of incorporation in Japan.

When a company in the home country conducts business in Japan as the main entity, you will set up a Japan branch.

It is a little different from the procedure to establish a corporation in Japan.

A: Certificate of Incorporation and Capital

Certification of articles of incorporation and capital is not required.

B: Registration

Registration of the establishment of a business office is required.

C: The officers

The Company must appoint a representative (branch manager) of the Japan Branch.

It may be a different person than the representative of the home company.

Required documents: Affidavit of the registered matters of the company in the home country (Japanese translation must be attached)

After the registration is complete, the necessary procedures are just like the establishment of a company.

Click here for information on procedures after the establishment of a company.

Establishment of a representative office.

No special procedures are required to set up a representative office in Japan.

You don’t even need to register.

The representative office in Japan can collect and provide information about the business, conduct advertising activities, purchase goods for the home company, and liaison services.

If you want to continue to dealings in Japan, you need to appoint a representative in Japan and register it as a foreign company.

Until the registration is complete, you cannot continue to dealings in Japan.

Establishment of a company in Japan

Procedure a limited liability company (Godo-gaisya)

by kigyo-kaji


Here we will discuss the flow of the procedure for establishing a company.

1.Preparation of Articles of Incorporation
Articles of Incorporation are the information and rules of a company.

In addition to the company’s name and business purpose, it should state what is required by law, such as whether the company issues stock certificates and whether it has a board of directors.

The articles of incorporation must be written in Japanese.
2. Payment of investments
At this stage, the company has not been established, so you cannot open a bank account for the company. (You can’t create a corporate account until the formation is complete.)
Therefore, all the Representative person will transfer the money into one of the Representative person’s personal bank account. If the Representative person is one, two personal accounts are required for that person.

You have to transfer money from a different account.
You must not deposit directly.
The name of the person who transferred the money should be displayed.

If you are overseas and want to set up a company in Japan, you need to get a collaborator in Japan.
You transfer money from abroad to your collaborator’s account.
As long as the collaborator has a bank account in Japan, he or she can be a foreigner.
3. Establishment registration
Submit the documents to the Legal Department that has jurisdiction over the location of the company and pay the registration and pay the license tax.

If there are any mistakes in your documents, you will be contacted by the Legal Department to correct them.

You must go and fix it, if you are contacted !
The registration procedure will NOT be completed until you correct all mistakes.

The registration of the establishment of a limited liability company(Godo-gaisya) will be completed in about one week after submission !

Click here for the information of procedures after establishment of the company.

Is it possible for a foreigner to establish a limited liability company (Godo-gaisya) by himself?

It is possible to establish it by yourself, if you can write, read and speak Japanese.

You have to fill out the documents in Japanese and contact the relevant authorities in Japanese.

In addition, if you are living overseas, you will have to come to Japan to complete the procedures, which can be very burdensome, such as schedule adjustments, travel expenses, and obtaining a visa.

In Japan, you can’t do it online, you have to go to the counter in person.

We are professional and will take care of all of these procedures on your behalf if you ask us to.

If you want to set up a company in Japan, it is recommended that you hire a professional.

We are also available in English.

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