Japan and the Netherlands at a glance
- Stamp
- Apostille, Hague Convention in force for Japan since 27 July 1970
- Issued by
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Tokyo or Osaka)
- Language
- Japanese, sworn translation
- Register
- Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局)
- Tax treaty
- Signed 2010, in force 2011 (Rijksoverheid, 1 October 2026)
- EU trade
- Economic Partnership Agreement, 2019
- In the Netherlands
- 680 companies controlled from Japan in 2024, 685 in 2021 (-0.7%), about 82,000 jobs, €55.1 billion turnover, 3.4% of all 19,995 foreign-controlled companies (CBS, 9 October 2026)
- Moving here
- Trade treaty route for Japanese business owners
Documents from Japan
Passport copy, certified by a notary in Japan.
Proof of address in Japan, at most three months old.
Power of attorney. Sign the power of attorney before a Japanese notary (公証役場).
Ownership statement, one page from us.
The apostille. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Tokyo or Osaka). A notarised document first needs the Legal Affairs Bureau to certify the notary’s seal. In Hokkaido (Sapporo), Miyagi, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka the notary office does all three steps in one visit (one-stop service).
Good to know. Japanese extracts leave out the shareholders. Add the shareholder register (株主名簿), certified by the notary.
If a company from Japan becomes a shareholder
Register extract, at most three months old: Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局). Order a certificate of registered matters (登記事項証明書) showing directors and capital. Plus articles, signing authority and ownership chart.
Trade between Japan and the EU
In 2025, Japan was the EU's seventh largest partner outside the EU for trade in goods and services. EU exports of goods to Japan came to €65.7 billion in 2025, with an EU surplus in goods trade of €2.4 billion.
The EU mainly exports chemicals, motor vehicles, machinery, optical and medical instruments, and food and drink to Japan. Its main imports from Japan are machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, optical and medical instruments, and plastics.
Trade in services reached €68.8 billion in 2025, with an EU surplus of €20.4 billion. In 2024, Japanese investment stock in the EU stood at €228.8 billion, mainly in the Netherlands and Germany, and EU investment in Japan at €78.5 billion.
The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement was signed on 17 July 2018 and entered into force on 1 February 2019. On 1 July 2024, provisions on cross-border data transfers were added to it.
Import duties: Access2Markets.
Your next step from Japan
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