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Useful information on subsidies, visas, company formation, and other legal topics.
Delivered in an easy-to-understand manner from the perspective of an administrative scrivener.
A deposited handwritten will after death: certificates and notices at the Legal Affairs Bureau
After the testator dies, use a deposit-fact certificate to check whether a will is held, or an information certificate to obtain its contents if eligible. Understand notice triggers, the exemption from family-court examination, and the separate documents needed for inheritance procedures.
Specified amusement restaurant licence: amusement, 33 m² rooms and permitted areas
Check when late-night amusement with alcohol requires a licence, including the 33 m² minimum per guest room, lighting generally above 10 lux, local operating areas and hours. Distinguish the licence from late-night alcohol notification and customer entertainment.
Estate division: the ten-year rule and the March 2028 transition for older inheritances
For an inheritance that began before April 2023, compare ten years from the date of death with the transition through 31 March 2028. Estate division remains possible after the period; court petitions and unanimous agreements require separate consideration.
Pickle-manufacturing permits in Japan: facilities and HACCP
Making umeboshi, lightly pickled vegetables and other pickles for sale generally requires a manufacturing permit. This guide explains the transition that ended in 2024, facility requirements and ongoing HACCP-based hygiene management.
Registration, Deemed Registration and Notification for an Electrical Construction Business, and the Chief Electrician for Each Office
To run an electrical construction business, you generally need registration under the Act on the Proper Operation of Electrical Construction Businesses (Act No. 96 of 1970): a registered electrical contractor (Article 3) for work on general electrical installations, or a notifying electrical contractor (Article 17-2) where you handle only self-use installations. A construction operator with a construction-business licence is treated as a deemed registered or deemed notifying contractor (Article 34). An office doing general electrical work must have a chief electrician (Article 19). This article explains, as general information, the division of roles for the permit (administrative scrivener), commercial registration (judicial scrivener) and premises (real estate), each a separate engagement.
How to Make a Notarial (Public-Document) Will: Witnesses, the Notary's Fee, and the Flow up to the Day
A notarial will is made when the testator, in the presence of two or more witnesses, states the gist of the will to a notary who records it (Article 969 of the Civil Code). Because a notary is involved and the notary's office keeps the original, it is less likely to be invalid for a defect in form, and no family-court probate (kennin) is needed after death. The notary's fee is set by the Notary Fee Order, calculated per person who receives property and totalled, with a will-addition where the total is 100 million yen or less. Witnesses have disqualifications (Article 974). This article is general information; it does not make the final legal judgment of who should receive what.
Permanent residence in Japan: requirements and documents for professionals from China and Taiwan
Check residence history, timely tax and insurance payments, guarantor documents and the different implementation dates discussed for the October 2026 guideline revision. Permanent residence, naturalisation and future revocation rules are separate procedures.
Nonresident K.K. incorporation: capital payments and corporate bank accounts
Founders living overseas can apply to register a Japanese K.K. A third-party capital payment account may be used under specific conditions, while the corporate bank account, incoming overseas funds and regulation of businesses receiving funds each require separate checks.
Car-rental permits in Japan: documents, insurance and vehicle management
Starting a car-rental or car-sharing business in Japan requires a permit. This guide covers application documents, insurance thresholds, rental records, vehicle maintenance and the roles of different professionals.
Demolition or renovation: when and by whom is an asbestos pre-survey and report required?
Before you demolish or renovate a building, an asbestos pre-survey is in principle mandatory regardless of scale. This article organises the pre-survey, the reporting, the overlapping notifications, the penalties, and who to ask for what — for the orderer (the owner commissioning the work).
How do you open a live house or small theatre? The structure-and-facility standards of an entertainment-venue business permit and the flow of notifications
A permanent facility that, as a business, shows or lets the public hear music or drama can fall under an 'entertainment venue' under the Entertainment Venues Act (Act No. 137 of 1948), and the operator must obtain the entertainment-venue business permit of the prefectural governor (the city mayor or ward head in a city or special ward). The structure, facility and sanitation standards are set not by the Act itself but by prefectural ordinance. This article explains, as general information, who to ask for the building and fire uses, the late-night alcohol notification, and property selection (separate engagement).
When you inherit a sole proprietorship and continue it, can you take over the licences? What can be succeeded and what must be re-obtained
A licence held by a sole proprietor is granted to that person, so it is not automatically inherited as part of the estate. Whether it can be taken over differs by licence. A construction business permit can be succeeded by applying for approval within 30 days after death (Construction Business Act, Article 17-3); a food-business permit allows a notification of succession of status (Food Sanitation Act, Article 56); but a secondhand-goods dealer permit and an industrial-waste treatment business permit have no succession mechanism and must, in principle, be re-obtained. This article explains, as general information, who to ask for licensing, registration, tax and disputes (separate engagement).
What permit do you need to operate a graveyard or ossuary?
A person who intends to operate a graveyard, ossuary or crematorium must obtain the permit of the prefectural governor (the city mayor or ward head in a city or special ward) under Article 10, paragraph 1 of the Act on Graveyards, Burial, etc. This is a local-government permit, not a national one. This article explains, as general information, the restriction on who may operate (the Ministry's guideline), the location, structure and management standards set by local ordinances, and who to ask for land acquisition, registration and tax (separate engagement).
Mainland China has joined the Apostille Convention: how the documents for inheritance and company formation have changed
Public documents made in mainland China can, from 7 November 2023, be submitted in Japan with an apostille instead of the former double consular legalisation. This is because China acceded to the 1961 Apostille Convention on 8 March 2023, with entry into force on 7 November 2023 (Japan has been a party since 27 July 1970). This article explains, as general information, when and which documents switched to the apostille for inheritance and company formation, and who to ask for registration, tax and disputes (separate engagement).
Can an estate-division agreement, once concluded, be redone? Sorting out rescission by agreement, nullity and cancellation
An estate-division agreement, once concluded, can be redone if all heirs agree. The Supreme Court (27 September 1990) held that the co-heirs may rescind an already-concluded agreement by their unanimous agreement and conclude a fresh division. But a statutory rescission under Civil Code Article 541 for an heir's non-performance of a debt is not allowed (Supreme Court, 9 February 1989). Even without unanimity, mistake (Article 95) or fraud/duress (Article 96) may allow cancellation. The pitfall is tax: redistribution after a valid original division is treated, in principle, as a gift or exchange and may trigger gift or capital-gains tax. This article sorts out the law and who to hand each part to.
Getting your driving school designated: the Road Traffic Act Article 99 criteria and the public safety commission procedure
A 'designated' (shitei) driving school is one whose graduates are exempt from the practical driving test at the licence centre (Road Traffic Act, Article 97-2(2)). Designation is a disposition of the prefectural public safety commission, and to obtain it you must meet every requirement in Article 99(1)—a qualified manager, examiners holding a skill-examiner certificate (Article 99-2(4)), instructors holding an instructor certificate (Article 99-3(4)), facilities meeting the standard, and compliant operation—then apply via the competent police station. This article organises the criteria, the flow and who to hand each part to.
Who are the heirs? Fixing the scope of per-stirpes and re-substitute succession through the family register
Per-stirpes succession (daishu) is where a grandchild or niece/nephew inherits in place of an heir who died before the decedent or lost the right of succession. This article organises, from an administrative scrivener's practice, how far it continues, why siblings have no re-substitution, the rules for adopted children and the unborn, and how to fix the heirs through the family register.
How do you set up an NPO (specified non-profit corporation)? The certification application flow and the competent authority
An NPO (specified non-profit corporation) is set up under the Act on Promotion of Specified Non-profit Activities, and requires the competent authority's certification of establishment. This article organises, from an administrative scrivener's practice, the difference from a stock company, who the competent authority is, the application documents, the flow from certification to registration, and who to consult for registration and tax.
What permits and approvals do you need to fly a drone for work? The Civil Aeronautics Act and aircraft registration
To fly a drone (unmanned aircraft) for business, two separate systems apply: aircraft registration (mandatory for anything 100 g or more since 20 June 2022) and flight permits and approvals for certain airspace and methods (Articles 132-85 and 132-86 of the Civil Aeronautics Act). This article organises them from an administrative scrivener's view and shows who handles radio, insurance and accidents.
What do you need to naturalise and acquire Japanese nationality? The Nationality Act (for people from mainland China and Taiwan)
Naturalisation is the system by which a foreign national applies to acquire Japanese nationality, and it requires the Minister of Justice's permission (Article 4 of the Nationality Act). This article organises the requirements and documents under the Nationality Act from an administrative scrivener's view, including the documents people from mainland China and Taiwan prepare at home, and who to consult on residence status, inheritance and registration.
Let's start by sorting out your situation.
Yotsuba Gyoseishoshi Office (Kohinata, Bunkyo-ku; a 5-minute walk from Myogadani Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line) supports you from organizing the requirements through document preparation and application.
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