Japanese Corporate Registry Certificates and Articles of Incorporation — Apostille and Certified Translation

Japanese Corporate Documents We Handle

A corporate registry certificate (certificate of registered matters / 登記事項証明書) is issued by the Legal Affairs Bureau. The Commercial Registration system provides different certificate types depending on the information required. The principal categories include current matters certificates (現在事項証明書), historical matters certificates (履歴事項証明書), closed matters certificates (閉鎖事項証明書), and representative matters certificates (代表者事項証明書). A receiving party should identify what it needs to prove — for example current registered information, historical changes, or current representative authority — before the certificate type is selected.

“Tokibo tohon” is a traditional expression still used colloquially. Under the current commercial registration system, the document is issued as a certificate of registered matters.

The Articles of Incorporation (teikan / 定款) are constitutional company documents. For overseas use, it is important to identify which version is being requested — for example an original instrument, a current company-held version, a certified copy, or another copy — and whether any notarial certification already exists. The underlying company-prepared document is not treated in the same way as a Legal Affairs Bureau-issued registry certificate. If authentication of the Articles themselves, a copy certification, a signature, or another private-document element is required, the applicable notarial and MOFA steps must be determined from the actual document and authentication target.

Foreign receiving parties may use terms such as articles, constitution, charter, memorandum, or similar expressions. Those terms should not be treated as exact Japanese legal equivalents without checking the requested evidence. Shareholder registers, registers of officers, board and shareholders' meeting minutes, powers of attorney, and company-prepared certificates are likewise reviewed as private documents.

Corporate registry certificates are public records. Under current Legal Affairs Bureau procedures, anyone may request a corporate registry certificate by identifying the company and paying the applicable fee.

A corporate seal certificate is different. The company representative is the person entitled to request it, although an agent request is possible. Current Legal Affairs Bureau procedures, including use of the corporate seal card for applicable paper requests, must be confirmed before we accept procurement handling.

Accordingly, procurement of a registry certificate and procurement of a corporate seal certificate should not be described as the same “POA-based” procedure.

Public and Private Corporate Documents

Even among “company documents,” a registry certificate issued by the Legal Affairs Bureau and a company-prepared record are treated differently on the Japan side. The classification and the authentication target are confirmed before any workflow is selected.

MOFA treats a public document with a translation attached as a private-document set. Do not bind or otherwise combine the translation with the public original before the authentication target and submission format have been confirmed.

If only the original Legal Affairs Bureau certificate requires an apostille, the original public document and the Certified Translation should generally be treated as separate components unless the receiving party instructs otherwise.

Common Corporate Evidence Requests

Confirm the Receiving Party's Written Requirements

The destination country alone does not determine the required Japan-side process. Banks, registries, CSPs, law firms, courts, regulators, and counterparties may apply different requirements even within the same country.

• The exact corporate record requested
• The fact to be proved
• Original, certified copy, or PDF
• Any document-age requirement
• Whether apostille or other authentication is required
• The authentication target
• Translation requirements
• Who must certify the copy or translation
• Whether the receiving party provides its own form

Singapore (ACRA). For Singapore foreign-company branch registration, current ACRA guidance specifies particular certifiers for the certificate of incorporation or equivalent record, the foreign company's constitution, and certified English translations. For translations made outside Singapore, ACRA currently identifies specified certifiers such as an official holding an equivalent registry role in the home jurisdiction, a notary public or sworn translator in the home jurisdiction, or a Singapore consular officer. Apostille Japan's own Certification of Translation Accuracy should therefore not be presented as automatically satisfying ACRA's certifier requirement. Where appropriate, we can review whether a Japan-side notarial arrangement is feasible, but the Singapore CSP or ACRA requirements control.

United Kingdom (Companies House). For registration of a UK establishment of an overseas company, current Companies House guidance requires a certified copy of the company's constitution and, where applicable, a certified English translation. Companies House specifies who may authenticate the copy and translation, including specified company officers or representatives. Apostille Japan's own Certification of Translation Accuracy should not be presented as automatically satisfying that Companies House certifier requirement. Where our translation work is requested for such a filing, the required company-side certification arrangement must be confirmed separately.

United States. U.S. state, banking, licensing, court, and private-sector requirements vary by state and receiving organization. Do not present one corporate-document authentication or translation route as a nationwide U.S. rule.

New Zealand and the Philippines. New Zealand and Philippine corporate-document requirements vary by receiving registry, bank, court, law firm, professional adviser, or other institution. Confirm the exact written instructions rather than assigning one country-wide workflow.

For an initial inquiry, please provide the destination country, receiving authority or organization, document name, desired deadline, and whether the document has already been issued or prepared. After the initial scope check, we may ask for the receiving party's checklist or email and for the document pages necessary to confirm the workflow and quotation.

Corporate Documents Process

* External authority schedules, notary availability, Legal Affairs Bureau procedures, receiving-party review, and delivery timing remain outside our control.

Pricing for Corporate Documents

Corporate-document pricing depends first on whether the relevant document is an eligible public document or a private/company-prepared document and on the authentication and translation work actually required.

Non-Standard Corporate Translation: ¥6,600 (tax included) per 400 Japanese characters — for Articles of Incorporation, minutes, shareholder registers, company-prepared certificates, and similar documents, subject to scope review where needed.

Corporate Document Procurement Assistance is JPY 5,500 (tax included) per document, plus applicable disbursements, where our handling is legally and procedurally available. Legal Affairs Bureau fees and postage are third-party costs and are not included in our professional fee. Corporate registry certificates and corporate seal certificates have different request rules, so procurement availability is confirmed separately.

Official issuance fees, notary fees, domestic postage, international courier or shipping charges, and other third-party disbursements are settled separately from our professional fees and are charged at actual cost where applicable.

What We Do and Do Not Handle

Our work is limited to the Japan-side corporate-document workflow. We do not handle foreign company registration, bank account opening, KYC review, or any other foreign local procedure itself.

Corporate Documents FAQ

Related Documents and Services

Depending on the receiving party's evidence request, corporate seal certificates, personal residence records of representatives, Certified Translation, or professional-to-professional coordination may be relevant.