East Asiaphase 2

Japan: what can be established about a company

Every Japanese company has a commercial register entry at the Legal Affairs Bureau showing name, head office, capital, directors and representative director, business purposes and history, but the register extract (登記事項証明書) is paid: 600 yen at the counter or 331 yen to view online through the Registration Information Service. The National Tax Agency's free corporate number site gives name, address and the 13-digit 法人番号 only. Shareholders of private companies are not on the register and no beneficial ownership information is public; the 2022 beneficial owner list scheme issues a certified list to the company itself. Listed companies are thoroughly documented on EDINET and TDnet.

Identifiers

IdentifierFormatNote
法人番号 (Corporate Number)13 digitsIssued by the National Tax Agency to every registered corporation; the 12-digit 会社法人等番号 with a leading check digit
会社法人等番号12 digitsCommercial register number assigned by the Legal Affairs Bureau; printed on the register extract
証券コード (securities code)4 characters, e.g. 7203Listed companies; alphanumeric codes permitted for new listings since 2024
EDINET codeE + 5 digitsFiler code on the FSA's EDINET system; also used for funds and large shareholders

Sources

Each with what it discloses, how it is accessed, and our coverage level.

Registry
登記情報提供サービス (Registration Information Service)Online view of the commercial register: trade name, head office, incorporation date, capital, share classes, directors and representative director, business purposes, branch offices and history of changes.Ministry of Justice; operated by the Civil Affairs Legal Association (一般財団法人民事法務協会) · 331 yen per view of the full register (全部事項); a certified extract costs 600 yen at the counter, 520 yen by online request and post, 490 yen online with counter collection (check the authority). Registration is required to use the service; Japanese only.
paid per document
partial
Registry
国税庁法人番号公表サイト (Corporate Number Publication Site)Free lookup of corporate number, registered name, head office address and change history for all corporations; bulk download and Web API.National Tax Agency (国税庁) · Carries no directors, capital or status beyond address changes and closure notices. Romanised names are optional and self-declared.
open API
full
Beneficial ownership
実質的支配者リスト制度 (Beneficial owner list scheme)Since 31 January 2022 a kabushiki kaisha may file a list of its beneficial owners with the registry and receive a certified copy to present to banks. The list is not published and cannot be obtained by third parties.Ministry of Justice, commercial registries (法務局) · Voluntary and limited to stock companies. Japan has no public beneficial ownership register; OpenDossier relies on large-shareholder disclosures for listed companies and on director data otherwise.
restricted
partial
Securities filings
EDINETSecurities reports (有価証券報告書), quarterly and semi-annual reports, large shareholding reports (大量保有報告書), tender offer documents and extraordinary reports, with XBRL data and an API.Financial Services Agency (金融庁) · EDINET API v2 requires a free API key. Filings are in Japanese; English-language summaries exist only where the issuer provides them. Documents are retained for a limited number of years.
open API
full
Securities filings
TDnet 適時開示情報閲覧サービスTimely disclosure by listed companies: earnings summaries (決算短信), material facts, dividend and capital changes.Japan Exchange Group / Tokyo Stock Exchange · The public site shows only recent disclosures; longer history is held in paid data services and in issuers' own archives.
open web
partial
Regulators
金融庁 行政処分事例集 (FSA administrative actions)Business improvement and suspension orders and other administrative dispositions against banks, securities firms, insurers, fund managers and crypto-asset exchanges.Financial Services Agency (金融庁) · Financial sector only. Consumer Affairs Agency (消費者庁) and Fair Trade Commission (公正取引委員会) orders are published on their own sites.
open web
partial
Courts
裁判所 裁判例検索 (Court judgments search)Selected judgments of the Supreme Court, high courts, district courts and IP High Court.Supreme Court of Japan (最高裁判所) · Only a small share of judgments is published, and party names are generally anonymised, so searching by company name is unreliable. Pending litigation is not public.
open web
partial
Sanctions
財務省 経済制裁措置及び対象者リストAsset-freeze targets under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, implementing UN designations and Japan's autonomous measures (including Russia-related listings).Ministry of Finance (財務省) · Published as PDF and Excel; names in Japanese katakana and in the original script where supplied.
open web
full
Sanctions
経済産業省 エンドユーザーリスト (End User List)Foreign entities of concern for proliferation under export control catch-all rules, with countries and concern categories.Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (経済産業省) · An export control list, not a sanctions list; listing restricts exports to the entity rather than freezing assets.
open web
full
Insolvency
官報 (Official Gazette) legal noticesStatutory notices of bankruptcy, civil rehabilitation and corporate reorganisation commencement, dissolution notices and balance-sheet publication (決算公告) by companies that choose the Gazette.National Printing Bureau (国立印刷局) for the Cabinet Office · The electronic Gazette became the official edition on 1 April 2025. Current issues are free online; older issues are available through the archive with some limits (check the authority). Notices use the registered Japanese name and address, not the corporate number.
open web
partial
IP offices
J-PlatPatPatents, utility models, designs and trade marks with applicant and right-holder names.Japan Patent Office / National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training (INPIT) · Applicant names are in Japanese; foreign applicants appear in katakana transliteration. Applicant codes rather than corporate numbers identify filers.
open web
partial
Procurement
調達ポータル (Government procurement portal)Central government tender notices and award results, with supplier names.Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; operated across ministries · Local government procurement is published separately by each prefecture and municipality.
open web
planned

Caveats

  • The register is paid per view and in Japanese; the free corporate number site confirms only name and address.
  • Shareholders of unlisted companies appear nowhere in public records; directors and capital are the only ownership-adjacent facts.
  • Romanised company names are not controlled: the same company may appear as K.K., Co., Ltd. or Inc., and katakana renderings of foreign names vary.
  • Published court judgments are a small, anonymised sample; absence of litigation in the search means little.
  • Private company accounts are not filed with any public body; the Companies Act requires a balance-sheet notice but it is widely not published and is not centrally searchable.

Questions

Is the Japanese commercial register free?

No. Viewing the full register online costs 331 yen and a certified extract 490 to 600 yen depending on the channel. The National Tax Agency's corporate number site is free but shows only name, address and the 13-digit number.

Can I find the owners of a Japanese private company?

Not from public records. Shareholders are not registered and the beneficial owner list introduced in 2022 is issued only to the company. For listed companies, large shareholding reports on EDINET disclose holders above 5 per cent.

What financial information is public for Japanese companies?

Listed and certain large companies file securities reports on EDINET with full audited financials. Unlisted companies are required to publish a balance-sheet summary but there is no central, searchable repository, so in practice their accounts are not available.

How is insolvency recorded?

Bankruptcy, civil rehabilitation and reorganisation commencements are published in the Official Gazette and recorded on the commercial register. The Gazette has been official in electronic form since April 2025 and current issues are free to read.

Sources

Reviewed 26 October 2026. Rules and fees change; confirm with the authority before relying on them.

A brief on a company in Japan

Coverage stated by section; official document fees at cost.

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