Registering a Branch Office (支店 or "shiten")
Once your branch office or subsidiary company is successfully registered, you can obtain a "Certificate of Registered Information" (登記事項証明書 or "touki-jikou-shomeisho" in Japanese) and a "Registered Seal Certificate" (印鑑証明書 or "inkan-shomeisho" in Japanese) from the Legal Affairs Bureau.
Note: The "Certificate of Registered Information" is a document certifying a company’s registered information, and the "Registered Seal Certificate" is a document certifying the company’s official registered seal.
The "Certificate of Registered Information" usually needs to be submitted when:
- Opening a bank account,
- Getting a bank loan
- Buying real estate, securities, or a car
- Entering into a major contract
If there is any change to the registered information of a company, the changes must be registered with the Legal Affairs Bureau within:
- 2 weeks for K.K.’s and G.K.’s, and
- 3 weeks for branch offices.
The "Registered Seal Certificate" may need to be submitted by the company if it is filing certain applications, making certain filings, or entering into certain contracts, so that the other party can confirm the legitimacy of the company seal placed on the application, filing, or contract.