Certification Services by Attorneys at Law

What is Certification Service?

We provide a variety of attestation services at the request of our corporate clients. The simplest example is the issuance of a translation certificate. When submitting Japanese documents and their translations to overseas public institutions (including tax offices and courts) and financial institutions, the overseas public institutions and financial institutions cannot read Japanese, so they cannot be sure that the translations are correct. Therefore, foreign public institutions and financial institutions may be required to submit a certificate of translation by a Japanese public institution. For example, in Singapore and other countries, interpreters are officially certified, and documents to be submitted to courts and other authorities are required to be translated by an officially certified interpreter. Therefore, foreign public institutions and financial institutions will require Japanese companies to have a translation certificate from the same public institution as in other countries. In Japan, however, there is no organization or person that issues official translation certificates because there are no qualified public interpreters. Therefore, for legal documents, a lawyer will prepare a translation as a specialist and submit a translation certificate.

Preparation of Translation Certificates

We can prepare a Certificate of Translation. In order to issue a Certificate of Translation, we prepare a translation of the document, and a certification document (a document confirming that the translation was made accurately) is prepared in English and signed by Kuribayashi. A certificate of eligibility to practice law from a bar association may be attached to the translation to prove Kuribayashi’s eligibility, and a notary public may be required to certify the translation to clarify that Kuribayashi’s signature is definitely his. Documents for which we have prepared a Certificate of Translation include the following:

• Certified copy of the commercial register
• Certificate of seal impression
• Driver’s license
• Death certificates
• A copy of family register
• Certificate of residence
• Passport

Submission of translation certificates to overseas business partners

A certificate of translation can be used to prove the identity of your company or your company’s representative when starting a transaction with a foreign business partner. A certificate of translation may also be required to verify your identity when opening a bank account or closing a bank account abroad. Please contact Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office if you wish to have a translation certificate issued.

Attorneys’ Fees for Preparation of Translation Certificates

Upon request, we translate the above documents into English, and our attorneys will prepare and issue a Certificate of Translation in English. If the content of the document is complex, we may charge a time fee based on the time required for translation. In most cases, a Certificate of Translation will be prepared and issued on the same day or within a day or two. For documents other than standard documents, such as commercial registers and driver’s licenses, translation fees will be charged at the actual cost.

Standard attorney’s fees for issuing a translation certificate (excluding consumption tax)

Issuance of a certificate of translation in English (simple): 50,000-100,000 yen
Issuance of a certificate of translation in English (for difficult content): 100,000-200,000 yen

Affidavit and consular certification

Affidavit and consular attestation are official attestation procedures used to verify that documents submitted to foreign courts or legal authorities were prepared by the applicant. Affidavits and consular attestation are required when submitting documents to foreign public authorities for the establishment or dissolution of a foreign company, or to prove to foreign financial institutions that a foreign bank deposit was acquired as a result of inheritance. Whether an affidavit or consular certification is required depends on the judgment of the overseas public institution, so it is necessary to confirm each case by contacting the overseas public institution.

Affidavit and Apostille

We can assist in the preparation of Affidavit and consular certifications. We prepare the document to be authenticated in English and Japanese, and coordinate the schedule with the notary public or consulate. Affidavits may or may not require an apostille. If the client requires it, we will be present at the notary public or consulate so that the client can prepare the affidavit and consular certification with confidence.

Documents covered by an affidavit

Documents that are subject to the affidavit include documents that confirm that the person is a representative of the company, documents that confirm the relationship of kinship, and documents that confirm that the estate division agreement is a true and correct one.

Our services for affidavits and consular certification

• Preparation of affidavits and authenticated documents
• Arrangements with the notary public and the embassy
• Attendance at notary offices and embassies

Attorneys’ fees for preparation of affidavits

The fees for affidavits and consular attestation vary from case to case.

Standard attorneys’ fees for preparation of affidavits (excluding consumption tax)

Preparation of affidavits in English (simple affidavits): 100,000-200,000 yen
200,000-1,000,000 yen for preparation of affidavits in English (difficult content)

Notarization

If the subject document is not to be submitted to an overseas public institution, it is sufficient to prepare a notarial deed in Japanese or English. We will prepare a draft of the notarial deed in Japanese or English, and perform the certification procedure at the notary public’s office in the presence of the parties concerned. The fee for notarization varies from case to case. For example, the fee for the certification of a loan agreement was 70,000 yen (excluding consumption tax).