Services

Certified translation

Translations accepted by immigration offices, courts, universities and registrars.

Every certified translation is delivered with a signed statement of accuracy on our letterhead, the translator's credentials and our company seal, in the format the receiving authority expects. We match the layout of the original page by page, transcribe seals and handwritten annotations, and keep names consistent with your passport spelling.

Apostille and legalisation

Apostilles from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plus embassy and consulate legalisation.

Japan is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a document issued by a Japanese public authority usually needs a single apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be valid abroad. Where the destination country is outside the convention, the document instead needs an authentication from the Ministry followed by legalisation at that country's embassy or consulate in Japan. We determine which route applies, prepare any notarisation required first, and run the document through each counter on your behalf.

Document retrieval

We obtain Japanese civil and corporate records for you, wherever you are.

Japanese civil records are held by the municipality where the family register is registered, not where you live, and many offices still accept only postal applications in Japanese with a domestic payment method. We apply on your behalf under a power of attorney, follow registers back through older handwritten entries when you need ancestry documents, and can send the original abroad by tracked courier together with the translation.

Interpreting

On-site, remote and telephone interpreters across Japan.

We supply interpreters for the situations where getting it wrong is expensive: immigration and city hall appointments, notary offices, hospital consultations, police and court matters, factory audits, negotiations and conferences. Tell us the setting, the language pair and the date, and we will confirm an interpreter with the right subject-matter background and brief them on your documents in advance.

Sworn and notarised translation

For authorities that require a sworn translator or a notarised declaration.

Japan has no register of sworn translators, which causes problems when a foreign authority asks for one. There are two workable routes: a translation sworn by a registered translator in the destination country, or a declaration of accuracy signed before a Japanese notary and then apostilled. We advise which your receiving authority will accept and arrange it end to end.

Business and legal translation

Contracts, filings and technical documentation for companies operating in Japan.

Legal and commercial translation handled by translators with a background in the relevant field, with terminology kept consistent across a matter through a glossary we maintain for your account. Confidentiality agreements are signed before any file is shared, and recurring work can be quoted on a retainer.