Nominee representative director services for Japanese KK companies

Entry-level

Nominee resident representative director 'name-only' service for a dormant Japanese KK company.

SMB

Nominee resident representative director 'name-only' service for a small Japanese KK company with less than JPY1,200,000,000 annual turnover.

Enterprise

Nominee resident representative director 'name-only' service for a Japanese KK company with more than JPY1,200,000,000 annual turnover.

Nominee representative director services for Japanese KK companies.

Japanese KK companies in unregulated industries do not need a resident representative director. Further, using a nominee representative director service is a red flag to Japanese banks when reviewing an application to open a bank account, so it’s generally best to avoid using a nominee representative director service., so it’s best not to use a nominee service simply to open a bank account. If your Japanese KK company does need a resident representative director, outsourcing an experienced nominee representative director might be the most cost-effective and least-risk route to ensuring its legal compliance and your peace of mind. Our nominee representative director services for Japanese KK companies include the following benefits:

Knowledgeable and experienced in Japanese company management.
Accountable and responsible.
Enables enforceable corporate governance.
Avoids the need to make an inexperienced or little-known employee legally responsible for your Japanese company.
The relationship can be ended at any time, without cause or any damaging legal conflict, simply by giving 30-days notice.
Supported by a full range of bilingual Japanese business support services.

Note that although a Japanese KK kabushiki kaisha company does not need any directors resident in Japan, anti-money laundering law might prevent Japanese high-street banks from opening bank-accounts for a company which has no fulltime resident director or employee and many landlords might not lease space to a company which has no resident representative director. Further, many regulated industries forbid companies which do not have a resident representative director.

Many companies appoint an employee as a subsidiary KK’s representative director, but such an appointment carries significant risks. A representative director can irrevocably bind the KK company to unauthorized loans, leases, contracts, and other major transactions, and has unlimited access and control over the KK company’s bank accounts. Among less obvious risks, an inexperienced representative director of a Japanese KK kabushiki kaisha company might inadvertently bind the company to potentially undesirable and expensive labor practices and expenses and can expose the company to damaging tax-audits and penalties if she or he does not sufficiently understand corporate financial transactions.

If your company is fortunate to have a stable and trustworthy employee with experience and knowledge of Japanese corporate law, and if your corporate governance allows, we advise appointing him or her as your subsidiary KK kabushiki kaisha company’s resident representative director. If not, or if your company’s corporate governance forbids appointing local employees to Board-level positions, then using an independent professional arm’s-length nominee representative director service might be safest, although it will be very difficult to open a bank account if there are no local employees.

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