Bank Accounts for Transfer of Capital When Setting up a Joint Stock Company in Japan

When establishing a joint stock company in Japan, the capital is paid into a bank account, and a copy of the bank account passbook or a copy of the transaction statement is attached to the application for registration of the company’s incorporation. However, the corporate bank account itself can only be opened after the company's registration. Consequently, such issues as into whose bank accounts the capital should be transferred, which banks are acceptable, and what happens if you can’t open a bank account, can occur. 

To which bank account should you transfer the capital?

The capital should not be transferred to just any old bank. Rather, the capital should be transferred to one of the following banks.

• Japanese Banks
• The Japanese branch of a foreign bank

You can also use an account at a foreign branch of a Japanese bank if you have transactions with a Japanese bank.

Into whose bank account should the transfer be made?

Generally, the capital is transferred into the bank account of the incorporator. When the incorporator is an individual, the money is transferred to the incorporator's personal account and when the incorporator is a corporate entity, the money is transferred to the incorporator’s corporate account. However, there are cases where the incorporator does not have a bank account in Japan in its name.  In such case, you may delegate the receipt of the capital to the director or representative director at the time of incorporation and have the capital transferred to the bank account in the name of such representative director or director. Even if the incorporator doesn't have a bank account in Japan, the company could be incorporated by transferring the capital to the bank account of a trustworthy person who is willing to cooperate with the incorporator. In this case, this trustworthy person would make a minimal investment, become the incorporator, and would then become a director of the company at the time of incorporation. In fact, this situation is quite common!

What to do if you can't get a bank account in Japan

What should you do if you can't open a bank account for the transfer of the capital? This means that you do not know a trustworthy person upon whom you can rely. In this case, you might want to reconsider whether you can really successfully start a business in Japan. If you still want to do business in Japan, you can try applying for a 4-month business management visa. A four-month business management visa is a visa that allows you to do the preparation for  setting up a company prior to the actual incorporation. If you get this four-month visa, you will be able to live in Japan and, depending on the bank, open a bank account. Once you have a bank account, you can transfer the capital to this bank account and move forward with the incorporation procedures.