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The fees for commercial registration electronic certificates were revised effective April 1. An electronic certificate valid for 1 month can now be issued for ¥500, while certificates valid for 3 to 27 months have also been reduced in price by up to ¥1,000.

If it can be done for ¥500, I might try applying once. It is a bit inconvenient that it can only be done from a Windows PC, though.

A commercial registration electronic certificate is required when the representative of a corporation completes various procedures online. It is used for purposes such as the following:

Main Uses of Commercial Registration Electronic Certificates

Commercial registration electronic certificates can be used for the following purposes.

  1. Legal matters
    • Commercial registration, deposits, electronic notarization, obtaining seal registration certificates, and similar procedures.
  2. Tax matters
    • Filing returns and paying taxes through the national e-Tax system and the local-tax eLTAX system.
  3. Social insurance and labor insurance
    • Procedures for health insurance and employees’ pension insurance, and applications related to labor insurance.
  4. Patent-related matters
    • Online patent applications and international applications (PCT-RO).
  5. Automobile ownership procedures
    • Automobile-related procedures such as vehicle registration and periodic inspections.
  6. Other administrative procedures
    • Electronic applications for radio spectrum use, electronic bidding by the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency, the common electronic procurement system for ministries and agencies, and similar procedures.

Still, there are not many things in this list that I would have occasion to use.

How to Electronically Sign a PDF

Commercial registration electronic certificates can also be used to sign contracts and other PDF documents. Follow these steps to sign a PDF:

1. Prepare the required software

  • Use Adobe Acrobat Pro or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • It is helpful to install the Commercial Registration Electronic Certification Software or the Application Software Suite provided by the Ministry of Justice.

2. Prepare the PDF file

  • If the file to be signed is a Word or Excel file, convert it to PDF format beforehand.

3. Apply the electronic signature

  1. Open the PDF file
    • Open the PDF to be signed in Adobe Acrobat Pro or Reader.
  2. Configure the digital ID
    • Select “Tools” → “Certificates” from the menu.
    • Click “Digitally Sign” and specify the signature location.
    • Select “Configure New Digital ID,” then select “Use a Digital ID from a File.”
    • Select the commercial registration electronic certificate (file extension .p12) and enter the password to configure it.
  3. Apply the signature
    • Select the configured digital ID and enter the password again.
    • After signing, save the document as a signed PDF file.
  4. Confirm that signing is complete
    • For a signed PDF, Adobe displays the message “This document contains valid signatures.”

Points to Note

  • Because commercial registration electronic certificates are issued by the Legal Affairs Bureau, Adobe Acrobat may display “There is a problem with at least 1 signature” when verifying one. This is because the Legal Affairs Bureau’s root certificate is not registered in Adobe’s trusted list. Even in this case, verification with software provided by the Ministry of Justice presents no problem, but this becomes an obstacle to general use.
  • Signing by multiple people and adding further signatures are also supported.

For more details, please see https://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/CERTIFICATION/index.html.

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