Apostille for Japanese Articles of Incorporation and Board or Shareholder Minutes: Representative's Declaration, Notary Fees and English Translation

Setting up a subsidiary abroad, opening a local bank account or signing contracts with foreign partners may require a Japanese company's articles of incorporation or minutes of shareholders' or board meetings with an English translation and an apostille. Articles of incorporation and minutes are private documents prepared by the company, so they cannot be submitted directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA). Usually, the company's representative signs a declaration stating that "the attached copy is identical to the original", the declaration is notarized at a notary office, and the Legal Affairs Bureau and MOFA certifications follow. If an English translation is attached, it is bound in and certified together. This page covers how to prepare copies of the articles and minutes, what to bring to the notary office, costs and points to note in the English translation.

This page is based on MOFA's "Application guide" and "What are the certificate of official seal and the apostille?", the Japan National Notaries Association's pages on certifying foreign-language documents, required documents and fees, the Notary Fee Ordinance, the Commercial Registration Act, guidance from the Tokyo and Nagoya Legal Affairs Bureaus and JETRO's guide to setting up a company in Singapore, as of 20 October 2026. Certification methods and fees may differ between notary offices, so check with the notary office and the receiving authority in advance.

In short: public and private company documents are handled differently

At notary offices in Hokkaido (Sapporo Legal Affairs Bureau area), Miyagi, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka, the notarization, the Legal Affairs Bureau's certification of the notary's seal and MOFA's apostille are obtained at once (one-stop service). For countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention, a certificate of official seal from MOFA and consular legalization by that country's embassy or consulate are needed instead of an apostille (see Apostille vs. consular legalization).

How to obtain the company registration certificate is explained in our guide to the company registration certificate. This page focuses on articles of incorporation and minutes.

Preparing a copy of the articles of incorporation

Original articles vs. current articles

If the trade name, purposes, head office, shares or other matters have changed since incorporation, the original articles differ from the company as it is now. Receiving authorities abroad usually want the current articles. Check which they need.

Where to get a copy

• Use the company's copy: the most common method. Print the current articles and have them certified through the representative's declaration that they are "identical to the original"
• Use the notary office's copy: the original articles are in principle kept for 20 years by the notary office that notarized them. For paper articles you can request a certified copy; for electronic articles, "provision of identical information" (a paper copy can also be chosen). Ask the notary office that notarized them who can request and the fees
• Legal Affairs Bureau: documents attached to registration applications can only be inspected by interested parties (Commercial Registration Act, Article 11-2); copies are not issued. After the retention period, they may not be available for inspection either

Notarization step by step

1. Check the receiving authority's instructions: current or original articles, which minutes, whether an English translation is attached, whether an apostille is needed
2. Prepare the copies: print the articles and minutes and bind them in page order
3. Prepare the declaration: the representative prepares a declaration stating that "the attached document is a true copy of the original of the company's current articles of incorporation (or of the minutes of the board meeting held on [date])" and binds it with the copies. If an English translation is attached, bind it in as well and also declare that "the English translation is accurate"
4. Notarization: the representative signs and seals before the notary, or acknowledges that the signature and seal are their own
5. Legal Affairs Bureau and MOFA: the Legal Affairs Bureau to which the notary belongs certifies the notary's seal, and MOFA issues the apostille (in one-stop areas, all at the notary office)

The notary certifies that the representative's signature on the declaration is genuine; the notary does not certify that the content of the articles or minutes is correct. That the copy is identical to the original rests on the representative's declaration and is not guaranteed by the notary.

What the representative brings

According to the Japan National Notaries Association, when a company's representative signs with their title, they bring the following (certificates issued within three months):

• A certificate of the representative's capacity, or the company's certificate of registered matters
• The representative seal (company seal)
• The seal certificate for the representative seal (the company seal certificate issued by the Legal Affairs Bureau, not the representative's personal seal certificate from the municipal office)

If an agent attends

If the representative cannot attend, an agent can. The agent needs the certificate of capacity or certificate of registered matters, a power of attorney sealed with the representative seal, the seal certificate for the representative seal and the agent's own ID. Notary offices have power of attorney templates. However, some receiving authorities do not accept certification by an agent and require the representative to sign in the notary's presence, so check in advance.

Notary fees

For a copy of the articles with an English declaration, about JPY 12,500–17,000 can be expected (JPY 6,500 or 11,000 plus JPY 6,000 for a foreign language). Because the articles state amounts such as share capital, and depending on how minutes are treated, fees may differ between notary offices. Send the documents in advance for a quote. The Legal Affairs Bureau's certification and MOFA's apostille are free.

Points to note in the English translation

• Document names: the articles of incorporation (teikan) are usually translated as Articles of Incorporation (or Articles of Association), minutes of the shareholders' meeting as Minutes of General Meeting of Shareholders, and minutes of the board meeting as Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting
• How to attach: bind the original (copy), the translation and the declaration as one set. The declaration is signed by the translator or the company's representative. The Legal Affairs Bureau does not translate certificates of registered matters into foreign languages, so the translation of the company registration certificate is also prepared in the same way
• Company name: if the articles specify an English trade name, use it; otherwise, use the English name the company normally uses consistently
• Titles: use the same translations for Representative Director (daihyo torishimariyaku), Director (torishimariyaku) and Company Auditor or Audit & Supervisory Board Member (kansayaku) across the registration certificate, minutes and articles
• Article numbers: translate "dai X jo" as "Article X" and keep the chapter and article structure of the original
• Amounts and dates: state the currency for share capital, as in "JPY 10,000,000", and convert Japanese era years to the Western calendar
• For English names of documents, see also our Japanese–English dictionary of document names

Examples of use abroad

JETRO explains that when a Japanese company sets up a branch in Singapore, a notarized (certified true copy) of the head office's latest articles of incorporation and an English translation with a certificate of translation are required. For the company registration certificate, an English translation with a certificate of translation and notarization, certification as a true copy by a lawyer or similar, or the original is required (as of September 2025). In general, setting up a company or branch abroad may also require minutes and powers of attorney in addition to the articles and registration certificate. The documents and form of certification required differ by country and procedure, so follow the instructions of local professionals or the receiving authority.

Financial statements (balance sheets, etc.) are also often requested when setting up a company abroad or opening a bank account. Financial statements and corporate powers of attorney are covered in our guide to private documents.

FAQ

Can we prepare English articles of incorporation ourselves and get an apostille only on those?

English articles are also a private document prepared by the company, so they cannot be submitted directly to MOFA. The usual method is to bind the Japanese articles (copy) and the English translation together, attach a declaration in which the representative states that "the English translation is an accurate translation of the original", and have it notarized. Ask the notary office and the receiving authority whether the English translation alone can be certified.

Can we get a copy of the articles from the Legal Affairs Bureau?

No. Articles attached to registration applications can only be inspected by interested parties. Use the company's copy, or for the original articles request a certified copy (for electronic articles, "provision of identical information") from the notary office that notarized them.

Must the seal on the minutes be the representative seal?

The seal on minutes does not necessarily have to be the representative seal. However, minutes used for registration may require seals registered with the municipal office or Legal Affairs Bureau. With the declaration method, what the notary checks is the representative's signature and seal on the declaration, so seal the declaration with the representative seal and bring its seal certificate.

Is the procedure the same for a godo kaisha (LLC)?

Yes. A godo kaisha's articles are not notarized at incorporation, so no notary office keeps the original articles. Use the company's copy, and the representative member (or, if the representative member is a corporation, its executive officer) signs the declaration.

Our service

Our office (Taiga Sato, Certified Administrative Scrivener) has helped with certification of company documents for setting up companies in the UAE, China, Korea, India and other countries. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Convention, so instead of an apostille, the documents go through the notary office and Legal Affairs Bureau, then MOFA's certificate of official seal and legalization at the UAE Embassy in Japan (further certification by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be required locally). For articles of incorporation, minutes, company registration certificates, seal certificates and powers of attorney, we handle English translation, preparing the declaration, notarization, MOFA's apostille and shipping abroad.

Typical turnaround once the documents are ready: about 3 business days for private documents, or about 5–6 business days with a translation. Articles of incorporation often run to many pages, so we quote translation fees after seeing the documents. Actual costs such as notary fees and postage are charged separately. We obtain certifications in Japan on your behalf; we cannot guarantee that the receiving authority will accept the documents.

For the overall process, see What is an apostille?; for fees, Fees.

Free quote and inquiry form / Phone: +81-3-6303-1664 (weekdays 9:00–20:00 Japan time; weekends and holidays by appointment)

References (official sources)

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Application guide 1: Documents that can be certified" (in Japanese)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "What are the certificate of official seal and the apostille?" (in Japanese)
• Japan National Notaries Association, "Certification of foreign-language documents" (in Japanese)
• Japan National Notaries Association, "Required documents" (in Japanese)
• Japan National Notaries Association, retention of electronic articles and provision of identical information (in Japanese)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, list of Hague Convention parties (in Japanese)
• Japan National Notaries Association, "Fees" (in Japanese)
• Notary Fee Ordinance (e-Gov)
• Commercial Registration Act (e-Gov)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, how to apply (mail and counter) (in Japanese)
• Ministry of Justice, Q&A on commercial and corporate registration (in Japanese)
• Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau, "Certification of notaries' seals" (in Japanese)
• Nagoya Legal Affairs Bureau, "On translation of certificates of registered matters" (in Japanese)
• JETRO, "Company set-up procedures in Singapore" (in Japanese)