Apostille

Apostille is one of the ways to legalize a public document based on the Hague Convention.

In Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is in charge of issuing Apostille.

"An apostille is a certification by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the form of an allonge (= apostille) under the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (or the Apostille Convention) (Hague Convention of October 5, 1961). " quoted from MOFA homepage.

Since Japan is a signatory country of the Hague Convention (also called Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961), Apostille is available to legalize a document.

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Documents can be legalized by Apostille

Following documents can be legalized in the way of Apostille.

Public document

Family Register / koseki
Certificate of Acceptance / juri-shomei
Tax certificate
School certificate issued by a public school
etc

Private document

Power of Attorney
Declaration
Translation
School certificate issued by a private school
etc

Note: Private document should be notarized before Apostille.

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Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961 (Convention abolishing the rerquirement of legalisation for foreign public documents)

Albania, Republic of
America, United States of
Andorra, Principality of
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentine Republic
Armenia, Republic of
Australia
Austria, Republic of
Azerbaijan, Republic of
Bahamas, Commonwealth of The
Bahrain, The Kingdom of
Barbados
Belarus, Republic of
Belgium, Kingdom of
Belize
Bolivia, Plurinational State of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana, Republic of
Brazil, Federative Republic of
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria, Republic of
Burundi, The Republic of
Canada
Cape Verde, Republic of
Chile, Republic of
China, The People's Republic of
Colombia, Republic of
Cook Islands
Costa Rica, Republic of
Croatia, Republic of
Cyprus, Republic of
Czech Republic
Denmark, Kingdom of
Dominica, Commonwealth of
Dominican Republic
Germany, Federal Republic of
Guatemala, Republic of
Guyana, Republic of
Ecuador, Republic of
El Salvador, Republic of
Estonia, Republic of
Fiji Islands, Republic of the
Finland, Republic of
French Republic
Georgia
Grenada
Guatemala, Republic of
Hellenic Republic
Honduras, Republic of
Hong Kong
Hungary, Republic of
Iceland, Republic of
India
Indonesia, Republic of
Ireland
Israel, State of
Italy, Republic of
Jamaica
Japan
Kazakhstan, Republic of
Kyrgyzstan
Korea, Republic of
Kosovo, Republic of
Latvia, Republic of
Lesotho, Kingdom of
Liberia, Republic of
Liechtenstein, Principality of
Lithuania, Republic of
Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of
Macau
Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of
Malawi, Republic of
Malta, Republic of
Marshall Islands, Republic of the
Mauritius, Republic of
Mexican States, United
Moldova, Republic of
Monaco, Principality of
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco, The Kingdom of
Namibia, Republic of
Netherlands, Kingdom of the
New Zealand
Nicaragua, Republic of
Niue
Norway, Kingdom of
Oman
Pakistan, The Islamic Republic of
Panama, Republic of
Palau, Republic of
Paraguay, Republic of
Peru
Philippines, The Republic of the
Poland, Republic of
Portuguese Republic
Romania
Russia
Saint Christopher and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa, Independent State of
San Marino, Republic of
Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of
Saudi Arabia, The Kingdom of
Senegal, The Republic of
Serbia, Republic of
Seychelles, Republic of
Singapore, Republic of
Slovak Republic
Slovenia, Republic of
South Africa, Republic of
Spain, Kingdom of
Suriname, Republic of
Swaziland, Kingdom of
Sweden, Kingdom of
Swiss Confederation
Tonga, Kingdom of
Tajikistan, The Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of
Tunisia, The Republic of
Turkey, Republic of
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Uruguay, Oriental Republic of
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu, Republic of
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of

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What we can do for you

As a registered Administrative Scrivener

"Gyoseishoshi", literally translated Administrative Scrivener, is a registered specialist in documentation, officially qualified by laws in Japan.

As a registered Administrative Scrivener, we can arrange:
- Legalization
- Notarization
- Translation
for you.

Legalization(Apostille)

Legalization is the process at Japan MOFA and/or Foreign delegate in Japan before you submit the document in your home country or embassy. We are very pleased to assist you to get your document legalized in Tokyo.

Notarization

Notarization is the process required before Legalization for a private document such as translation, power of attorney, etc.

Translation

We arrange English translation of the original Japanese document such as Family Register, Certificate of Acceptance, etc.