Who should I consult with to incorporate my company in Japan?

Which legal consultant should I talk first?

Japan has a large number of national licensed experts and they have their exclusive duties, according to their qualifications.
In the list below, you are probably only familiar with lawyers and tax counsels.
I am the certified judicial scrivener (below (2)), but 99% of my non-Japanese resident clients do not understand who or what am I.

In such a situation, you may not know which legal specialists you may want to talk to about the incorporation?

You can try consult with one of the following experts:

Depending on the priority of the problem you are facing, you may contact one of the following legal experts:

Administrative (Gyoseishoshi) Scrivener
To those who may want to obtain visas and/ or business permits or licenses first.
Judicial scriveners (Me!)
To those who may want to incorporate the company and get right on to business
Tax counsel
To those who may have priority on tax-saving measures.
Lawyers
To those who may seek large-scale business expansion in the initial stages or who are planning to hire legal counsel.
One-stop service firm:
To those who may want to leave all the legal procedures of the established company (for reasons such as not having executives in Japan).

Conclusion

Which specialist you should approach first for the incorporation will depend on the problem you currently have.

For example, if you want to obtain a management visa to set up a company in Japan, and initially consult with a judicial scrivener, you may end up been told, “regarding the visa application, please ask an administrative scrivener”. Or, if you want to reduce the initial cost to set up the company, and go to a lawyer for consultation, you may receive an estimate higher than what you expected.

By having correct first-hand access to legal experts who best suit your goals, you can start-off your business in Japan more smoothly and efficiently!

MK@ 03/10/2022

Announcement:

The Ministry of Justice has released an English webpage for establishing a Kabushiki-Kaisha or Godo-Kaisha in Japan (with English translations of the registration documents)!

MK@ 05/22/2022