Kobe Legal Affairs Bureau offices — full address list
Kobe: all 4 Legal Affairs Bureau offices. Naturalisation is handled at the main bureau by appointment; registration work is split across branches by address.
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Property paperwork — registry certificates for land and buildings
Buying, inheriting, or checking who actually owns the place you are about to rent: the registry certificate is public, cheap, and issued over the counter. Which office holds it depends on where the property is, not where you live.
What to say at the counter
土地と建物の登記事項証明書がほしいです。 Tochi to tatemono no tōki jikō shōmeisho ga hoshii desu. I need the registry certificate for the land and building. 登記事項証明書がほしいです。 Tōki jikō shōmeisho ga hoshii desu. I would like a certificate of registered matters. -
Starting a company — registration, extracts, seal certificate
Incorporation is registered here, and the company extract plus seal certificate are what a business-manager visa application, a corporate bank account and most contracts will ask for.
What to say at the counter
会社を設立したいです。手続きを教えてください。 Kaisha o setsuritsu shitai desu. Tetsuzuki o oshiete kudasai. I want to set up a company — please tell me the procedure. 会社の登記簿謄本をお願いします。 Kaisha no tōkibo tōhon o onegai shimasu. A copy of the company register, please. 会社の印鑑証明書をお願いします。 Kaisha no inkan shōmeisho o onegai shimasu. The company seal certificate, please. -
At the counter — forms and revenue stamps
Applications are paid for with revenue stamps bought in the building, and the forms are unforgiving. Ask for the writing example before you queue rather than after.
What to say at the counter
申請書の書き方を教えてください。 Shinseisho no kakikata o oshiete kudasai. Please show me how to fill in the application form. 収入印紙はどこで買えますか。 Shūnyū inshi wa doko de kaemasu ka. Where can I buy the revenue stamp? -
Discrimination or a refused rental — the human rights consultation
The bureau runs free human-rights consultation, including a foreign-language line, for things like a landlord refusing you for being foreign or harassment at work. Few people know this counter exists.
What to say at the counter
外国人のための人権相談はできますか。 Gaikokujin no tame no jinken sōdan wa dekimasu ka. Can I get the human-rights consultation for foreign residents? 大家さんに外国人だからと断られました。相談できますか。 Ōyasan ni gaikokujin dakara to kotowararemashita. Sōdan dekimasu ka. A landlord refused me for being foreign — can I get advice here? 相談は何語でできますか。 Sōdan wa nanigo de dekimasu ka. What languages can the consultation be in? -
Much later: naturalisation
Applications are handled by the main bureau, not the branches, take a long document list and many months. By the time you qualify you will not need a phrasebook for it — which is why there is none here.
The half nobody prepares for. These come at you in Japanese — recognise them and the visit is easy.
What the clerk will ask you
| 本日はどのようなご用件でしょうか。 Honjitsu wa dono yō na goyōken deshō ka. What can I help you with today? | |
| どちらの会社の証明書でしょうか。 Dochira no kaisha no shōmeisho deshō ka. Which company’s certificate do you need? | |
| 会社の商号と本店所在地をお願いします。 Kaisha no shōgō to honten shozaichi o onegai shimasu. The company name and head-office address, please. | |
| 収入印紙が必要です。 Shūnyū inshi ga hitsuyō desu. You need a revenue stamp for this. | |
| 申請書にご記入のうえ、番号札をお取りください。 Shinseisho ni gokinyū no ue, bangōfuda o otori kudasai. Fill in the form, then take a number ticket. | |
| 登記の管轄は物件の所在地で決まります。 Tōki no kankatsu wa bukken no shozaichi de kimarimasu. Which office handles the registration is decided by where the property is. |
Audio synthesized with VOICEVOX:Meimei Himari at standard pace for shadowing; real conversations run faster and carry accents.