For your business

New privacy for KK reps: Here’s how to (but at what cost?)

Since October 2024, Kabushiki Kaisha (KK) or stock corporations in Japan now have the option to remove its representative's home address from the company registry (tohon).

Yumiko Horie

10 Jan 2025 — 4 min read

KK representatives can now opt to hide their home addresses. Photo by Scott Graham / Unsplash

Undisclosure of rep's home addresses: new provisions for KKs in Japan

While this offers increased privacy, it is important to be aware of potential drawbacks. Disclosure may make it more difficult to secure loans from financial institutions or could complicate real estate transactions. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of address non-disclosure and then outlines the procedures for KK representatives.

The Companies Act stipulates the disclosure of a company representative's address, which has been crucial in establishing a company's creditworthiness by confirming its existence. However, concerns have been raised about the potential risks of stalking, excessive solicitation, and other forms of harassment. According to the Ministry of Justice, this measure aims to promote entrepreneurship by allowing representatives to keep their addresses private. Given this background, the ministerial ordinance was revised last year.

Under the revised regulations in Japan, when a company opts for address non-disclosure for its KK representative, the registered address will only be displayed up to the city level, e.g. Shibuya-ku, Osaka-shi.

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My client received full approval for their subsidy application of ¥11m when the government accepted the activity report! It was such a long journey. While it has been a long process, I am delighted that my client's project is progressing with the support of the subsidy.