REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE

Representative (Liaison) Office

The Representative Office (RO) is the simplest and most cost-effective choice for a small to medium sized foreign company as the first step to entering a new market - Japan. It isn't required to have incorporation or a paid up capital. It allows you to be physically present in Japan and to analyze the market, the competitors, and the cultural environment without allocating a substantial budget

The liaison office can also bridge the language and cultural gaps, negotiate contracts with local partners, distribute brochures, advertise effectively, promote the corporate image of the parent company, and prospect on this new market to test commercial inputs and outputs

Taxable Status

Since it doesn’t generate any commercial sales on its own (it only intermediates business between parent company and local partners, at most), the Representative Office is not taxable in Japan

Staff Employment

The parent company cannot employ local staff directly, but we can recruit and employ new staff dedicated to your needs

In case you don't specifically require dedicated staff and the amount of work is not excessive, another option is to let our existing staff work for you

Benefits & Advantages

• Presence on the Japanese market
• No need for typical investments necessary for opening an office
• No need for a high monthly budget for office expenses (rent fee, maintenance fees, staff wages, transportation, etc)
• Operation during Japan business hours
• Communication in both languages

Legal Status

The Representative (Liaison) Office does not have a legal status and no approvals from the authorities are required. In some rare cases, the local partners that we talk to or negotiate with may ask for evidence of representation. That's why it is necessary for the foreign company to issue a document stating that they empower us to be their representative in Japan (beside the contract, which is confidential)

Branch

Branch Conditions for Registration

• Have a rental contract for an office space (we can assist in this regard by letting you use our office address as your branch address)
• Must nominate a director who is the local representative of the company (we may assist in this regard by providing a local resident for the nominee director)
• The parent company has to provide a hard copy of the act of incorporation in own country
• Document issued by you with the signature certified by a Notary Public (eg. Hague Apostille)
• Japanese translations for the above required documents (we can help with that too)
• No minimum capital is necessary to establish a branch. The parent company is legally bound for the branch activities
• A company seal is needed. The seal is registered at Tokyo Legal Affair Office at the time of incorporation. We can order the seal at a professional manufacturer on your behalf

Other Remarks

We can open a bank account bearing the company name

Time needed: 10 days (if all conditions and documents are in good order)

Note: Please note that sometimes you may encounter services that describe conditions for the Representative Office like they were for the branch, hence confusion may arise

Company Setup

New Company Setup Conditions for Registration

• Have a rental contract for an office space (we can assist in this regard by letting you use our office address as your branch address)
• Must nominate a director who is the local representative of the company (we may assist in this regard by providing a local resident for the nominee director)
• Document issued by you with the signature certified by a Notary Public (eg. Hague Apostille)
• Japanese translations for the above required documents (we may assist in this regard
• Required capital: there is no minimum limit, registration can be made from 1 yen
• A company seal is needed. The seal is registered at Tokyo Legal Affair Office at the time of incorporation. We can order the seal at a professional manufacturer, on your behalf

Taxable Status

YES - registration with the Tax Office is required after incorporation before opening a bank account

Filing an annual tax return is mandatory, in April, every year (we may assist in this regard)

Other Remarks

Time needed: 10 days (if all conditions and documents are in good order)

The Japan branch can issue invoices, sign contracts, and more whenever required