Today, we will explain the general procedures for a foreigner to establish a joint stock company in Japan.

(1) Determination of basic matters and preparation of articles of incorporation

The person who invests (puts up money) in a company in order to establish it is called the promoter.
There can be one or more founders.

The promoters determine the basic matters of the company to be incorporated, such as the form of the company, the company's trade name, the location of the head office, the purpose of the business, and the amount of capital.
The articles of incorporation are then prepared based on the matters decided by the promoters.

(2) Authentication of articles of incorporation by a notary public

When incorporating a joint stock company, it is necessary to have a notary public certify the articles of incorporation prepared in (1) above.

(3) Payment of capital

Money is necessary to operate a company.
In the case of incorporation of a joint stock company, payment of the capital contribution by the promoter must be made to a bank account designated by the promoter.

(4) Registration of incorporation

After preparing all the necessary documents, an application for registration of incorporation is filed with the Legal Affairs Bureau having jurisdiction over the location of the head office (i.e., the company's address).
The registration of incorporation legally establishes the company.
It takes from one week to ten days to complete the registration of incorporation, depending on how crowded the Legal Affairs Bureau is.

Required Documents for Incorporation

Let's take a look at the documents required to incorporate a company.

The following documents are basically required, although they may vary slightly depending on the composition of the directors and the organization of the company to be established.
The main documents required for incorporation of a corporation are as follows

1 Application for registration
2 Articles of Incorporation
3 Seal registration certificate (and certificate of seal registration of the representative director)
4 A document certifying that the investment has been paid in (1) 5 Certificate of Seal Registration of the promoter (2)
6 Officer's (representative director's) letter of acceptance of office
7 Certificate of seal registration of the officer
*Generally, a certificate of payment prepared by the representative director and a record of the bank book in which the investment was paid in should be attached.
* This is necessary to have the articles of incorporation certified by a notary public.

Please refer to our Business Manager Visa web page.