A Japanese corporate number identifies the company; its certificate shows the registered facts.
Choose current, historical or representative matters for the question you need to answer. Japanese registry certificates leave shareholder evidence with the company.
By Matthew Lee
Japan’s 13-digit corporate number and its commercial registration certificate answer different questions.
The National Tax Agency (NTA) publishes a company’s number, name and head office. The Ministry of Justice’s Legal Affairs Bureaus keep the commercial register. A number lookup is a useful identity match; the certificate of registered matters supplies the company’s registered capital, officers, purposes and other legal particulars.
For an onboarding review, retain both the identity match and the relevant certificate. State whether you are checking the company today, an earlier transaction or a particular representative’s authority. That choice determines which certificate you need.
Match the Japanese name and number
Request the corporate number (法人番号), the exact Japanese registered name and the head office address. The NTA number has 13 digits. For a registered corporation it includes a check digit followed by the 12-digit company registration number; preserve the full identifier when recording a match.
Search the NTA publication site and compare the returned name and address with the contract, invoice and company-supplied certificate. An English trading name or romanisation can have several plausible Japanese matches. Treat it as a search aid until you establish the Japanese legal name and number.
A move or name change can explain an apparent mismatch. Retain the change history and ask the counterparty which name and address applied on the transaction date. If a contract names a branch, confirm whether the contracting party is the company behind that branch.
Choose the certificate by purpose
The Ministry of Justice distinguishes certificates of current, historical, closed and representative matters. Request the exact form, rather than simply asking for a company search.
| Question | Record to request | Limit to record |
|---|---|---|
| What is registered now? | Current matters certificate | Omits cancelled historical entries |
| What changed in the recent period? | Full-history certificate | Does not cover every change since incorporation |
| What did an older or closed entry show? | Closed matters certificate | Select the relevant period or closed record |
| Who can represent the company? | Representative matters certificate | Does not prove authority for every transaction condition |
| Is an initial review enough? | Registry information extract | Viewed information lacks the registrar’s certification |
The full-history certificate (履歴事項全部証明書) includes current entries and changes within the certificate’s prescribed history period. Older cancelled matters may require a closed-matters certificate. If a customer asks for ten years of officer history, confirm the period and document combination before ordering.
The Registry Information Provision Service supplies viewed registry information. It is useful for analysis, but its output is different from a certified certificate. A bank, court or overseas authority may require certification, translation or other formalities; establish those requirements with the recipient first.
Read officers and representation separately
The register records directors and the representative director, together with relevant registered changes. Compare appointment and cessation dates with the signature date on the agreement. A person appearing in an old certificate may no longer hold the same office.
A director’s position and the authority to represent the company are separate points to document. When a transaction is signed under a delegated power, request the delegation and check its scope, signatory and date. The representative-matters certificate is useful evidence of registered representation, alongside the transaction documents.
Business purposes on the certificate describe registered activities. They do not establish a banking, financial services or other regulated licence. Ask which permission applies to the proposed activity and check the responsible regulator separately.
Shareholders need another evidence path
The commercial register does not list the shareholders of a kabushiki kaisha, the common company limited by shares. Capital, issued shares and officers do not identify who owns those shares. Do not turn a director list into an ownership conclusion.
The company’s shareholder register (株主名簿) is a separate record. A company-supplied register, a relevant shareholder list accompanying a registration application, and supporting transaction records can help establish ownership. Availability and lawful access depend on the record and your relationship to the company.
For a godo kaisha, registered executive members can supply part of the ownership picture. Confirm the legal form before applying the same checklist to every Japanese company. A member’s registered management role still needs to be read with the entity’s constitution and ownership evidence.
Trace corporate shareholders in their own jurisdictions. Aggregate the same natural person’s interests across relevant paths and examine control rights separately. Where a public search ends, mark the gap and request evidence from the company rather than assuming that no beneficial owner exists.
Preserve Japanese records and dated conclusions
Certificates are issued in Japanese. Retain the original alongside any translation or English summary, and identify which text was translated. A summary can help an analyst read the file; it does not replace the registrar’s original or automatically satisfy a certified-translation requirement.
Record the certificate’s issue date, your retrieval date and the dates of the entries that support the conclusion. A fresh download can show a change registered earlier. Conversely, a recent commercial event may not yet appear in the document you hold.
For an address change, reconcile the certificate, NTA record and counterparty explanation. A registered head office need not be the location of every employee or factory. Document any separate operating address relevant to the relationship.
Order a defined document set
Send the Japanese legal name, corporate number, jurisdiction and required certificate form to agent@fill-easy.com. Include the historical period, whether certification is required and whether you need an English summary. Identify any supporting shareholder evidence you can provide or need the company to release.
We return available documents through CorpVerify by email or through the API, with source, retrieval time and request ID recorded. Price and expected turnaround are confirmed when the order is accepted. Older closed records and company-held ownership evidence may involve separate requests.
Keep the order, returned originals, translation, identity match and review note together. Your note should separate registered existence, representation, ownership and licensing, with an outstanding action for each unresolved point.
Which certificate and company-held record would establish the Japanese counterparty’s identity, authority and ownership for your next transaction?