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HomeResourcesJapanese Patent Translation BulletinNo. 5: Seals as Used on Japanese Discovery Documents Japanese Patent Translation Bulletin No. 5 (January 1, 2009) Seals as Used on Japanese Discovery Documents by William Lise Summary:  Seals are almost exclusively used in Japan in place of signatures, but not all seals are created equal or have equivalent meanings. The practice of using seals in Japan was borrowed from China more than a millennium ago and persists to this day. With even the widespread use of electronic documents in Japan, a document not printed on paper with a seal of the originator in the characteristic vermillion color is viewed as suspect and might not have power to bind the originator. We often see seals on discovery documents. Seals are typically used on internal documents that are circulated within a company and, of course, on contracts executed with other entities and documents submitted to regulatory agencies, name just a few applications. There are several types of seals and seal applications, however, and it is best to keep this in mind when discussing just what a person meant when that person's seal impression was added to a document. There are two ways of classifying seals, by the type of seal itself and by the manner in which it is used. Types of Seals There are basically two types of seals seen on Japanese corporate documents, the registered seal (jitsuin) and the informal seal (hanko). The Japanese themselves are sometimes not precise in applying these terms, but the distinction between the actual seal types is very clear, as noted below. Registered Seals  Almost all Japanese who have reached adulthood have registered a seal with the local government where they reside. The registered seal is officially known as a jitsuin, but can also be referred to as an inkan or hanko. The latter two terms, however, are usually used to refer to informal seals, which can never be called jitsuin. The registration process includes providing a sample impression and the right to receive a document attesting that the seal impression on the document is the official registered seal of the bearer. Registered seals are almost always required on contracts but a Japanese would very rarely use a registered seal on a document that was produced for an in-house recipient or even another entity, unless the document was intended to legally bind the originator. For such informal documents, an informal seal impression is used. Informal Seal  This type of seal is not registered and will be held by an individual in addition to his or her registered seal. It is used in most instances in which a seal is required in Japan. This includes a wide variety of circumstances, such as receiving a package at home or the post office, sealing an in-house document created by the seal owner, and sealing documents received by the seal owner when they are received and/or before they are circulated to others in the office. Seals on Circulated Documents We often see a document circulated within a company bearing the seals of a number of employees. Sometimes it is not clear just what the existence of a seal impression means. The meaning depends upon the position of the person applying the seal and the nature of the document. If the document is in the form of a request (for budget or to embark on some project, for example) requiring approval, the seal of the originator links the originator to the request. However, the seal used will almost always be an informal seal. Additionally, the request will not be considered granted until the final (most senior) person on the distribution list applies his/her seal impression to the document, and the seals of persons receiving and passing along the document up until that point usually indicate at least the recipient does not oppose the request. If the circulated document is merely informative, the seal impressions applied by recipients indicate merely that they have received and seen the document. If it is a direction or order to do something, the recipient is indicating the intent to comply. Again, these seal impressions are almost always of informal personal seals. Seals on Contracts In the case of contracts, a corporate party must use a registered seal, and this is the registered seal of the director of the company having power to represent the company. Whereas individual registered seals have the name of the holder carved therein, although a company seal could have the personal name of the representative, because that post changes from time to time, such company registered seals almost never have a personal name. Instead, the seal inscription is usually something such as "Seal of the Representative of [Company Name]."

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