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Certified Japanese Property Deed Translation
Certified translation of the documents that record the ownership of land and buildings in Japan, including the registry annotations and endorsements that carry the legal effect and that a reader unfamiliar with the system will otherwise skip.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
The tōkibo, and its two parts
Japanese title is proved by a registry certificate (登記事項証明書) from the Legal Affairs Bureau, divided into a hyōdaibu describing the property and a kenri-bu in sections kō and otsu — ownership, and other rights including mortgages.
Land and building are separate properties with separate registers, so one address means two certificates. We say which you have.
Registration is not constitutive
Ownership passes by agreement in Japan; registration makes it assertable against third parties. That is the opposite of the German rule and unlike the US recording system.
The practical effect is that the register is reliable but not conclusive, and a US reader should know which it is.
Measurement, and the old units
Areas are given in square metres, but older documents and colloquial practice use tsubo (about 3.31 m²) and jō, and a registered area may not match a survey.
Registered land areas frequently differ from actual measured ones — a known feature of Japanese registers with historic origins, called nawanobi. That is not a translation error, and we note it.
The seal, and the address system
Japanese conveyancing runs on the registered seal (実印) with an inkan shōmeisho certificate rather than on a signature, and a judicial scrivener (shihō shoshi) handles the registration.
Addresses run largest unit first, and the registered land number is not the postal address. See our Japanese page.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Marginal annotations are translated in place, in the margin, and every seal, stamp and registry endorsement is translated with the text. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there two certificates?
Land and building are separate properties in Japan, each with its own register.
Does registration transfer ownership?
No. Ownership passes by agreement; registration makes it assertable against third parties.
The area does not match the survey.
A known feature of Japanese registers with historic origins. Not a translation error.
What replaces a signature?
The registered seal, with a seal certificate. A judicial scrivener handles the registration.
Ready to get started?
Upload the document and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.