
Japanese financial institutions and banks allow locals, as well as foreign citizens, to
open abank accounts in
this country. Moreover, banks enable their clients to choose from a variety of
bank accounts.
A bank account in Japan can be:
• A general deposit account;
• A general savings account: a post office account which provides a slightly bigger interest rate than the general deposit account;
• A time deposit account: it generally has a bigger interest rate, however it could request a notice for withdrawals;
• A current account: commonly, it offers the option of utilizing cheques, but is rather used by businesses than by private individuals;
Usually, the most common kind of bank account in Japan is the general savings or the general deposit account.
Documents necessary to open a bank account in Japan
• The residence card;
• A valid passport;
• A valid visa;
• The applicant’s address in Japan and his or her phone number;
• A “hanko” seal, which is a seal hand carved sold in certain stores.
The applicant will be offered the choice of a four-digit personal identification number (PIN) and of receiving a passbook which he or she can utilize to update the bank account balance at the ATM.
The passbook will contain the account name, the three-digit sort code of the local bank branch and the seven-digit account number. Our
company registration advisors in Japan can offer more information on the documents needed to
open a bank account here.
Opening a company bank account in Japan
The procedure involved in opening a company bank account in Japan has been tightened in the last few years, mainly due to the coordination among most states and their local banks worldwide in order to prevent illegal businesses and money laundering.
The documents required for opening an ordinary company bank account in Japan are:
• Application form from the bank;
• The Registration Certificate of the branch or local office;
• The Articles of Association of the local company;
• The seal of the branch or company;
• ID proof for the individual who is applying for the company bank account.
If you require further details on the
bank accounts in Japan, or if you intend to
open a company in Japan, please
speak to our friendly
Japan company formation executives.