About Japan Apostille

Japan Apostille and Document Legalization Services by
Hague Apostille Services

Japan became a member of the Hague Convention on Apostille Authentication on May 28, 1970, with the treaty officially taking effect on July 27, 1970. This international agreement streamlines the legalization process for Japanese documents, making them easier to use in participating countries.

An apostille is a certification that verifies the authenticity of a public document—such as birth and marriage certificates, court decisions, business records, and notarial deeds. It confirms both the validity of the signature and the authority of the issuing official.

Documents issued in Japan and certified with an apostille are legally recognized in over 120 member countries of the Hague Apostille Convention, eliminating the need for additional certification like consular legalization. This greatly reduces processing time and costs for international document validation.

However, if a document is intended for use in a non-member country, consular legalization is required instead of an apostille to ensure its acceptance abroad.

Japan Apostille Sample

Apostille Authorities in the Japan

In Japan, the primary authority responsible for the issuance of apostilles is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, situated in Tokyo. This significant governmental body is specifically tailored to handle public documents that are issued directly by state entities.

However, it’s essential to be aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not directly accept documents that are issued privately. For the apostille certification of such private documents, they must first pass through either the state notary offices located in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kanagawa or be authenticated by a state notary office. After this the document will require further certification from the director of the corresponding legal affairs office. Certain documents, especially those originating from private institutions such as universities, hospitals, charity foundations, and chambers of commerce and industry, cannot be directly apostillized.

The authorities will carefully examine the document to verify if the signatures, stamps, or seals align with their own records. If they are confirmed to be authentic, the document will be legalized by affixing an ‘apostille’ (an officially stamped certificate).

The apostille in Japan is a square stamp in Japanese with the obligatory heading “Apostille” and a reference to the 1961 Hague Convention in French (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961). The apostille certificate’s sides will be at least 9 centimeters long.