Company Liquidation in Japan

Company liquidation in Japan is a process by which a dissolved company settles its debts and distributes its remaining assets; if it cannot pay its debts in full, special liquidation or bankruptcy applies. When this happens, the company will enter a stage (commonly agreed by the shareholders) in which it will sell the assets to pay the existing debts.

The liquidation stage is a process that needs to be handled according to the laws in force and one of our lawyers in Japan can help you with detailed information about how the related processes, the dissolution, and the liquidation, can take place.

Corporate liquidation 

Corporate liquidation in Japan can differ according to the type of company. More specifically, the process is perceived as a more complex one in case of stock companies. After the process is agreed upon by the shareholders through a resolution, the liquidator must accomplish the following:

• review the financial situation: the liquidator prepares a list of the assets owned by the company as well as the balance sheet.
• give public notice: the liquidator is also the one who must, without delay, give public notice in the Official Gazette (kanpo) asking creditors to file claims within a period of at least two months.
• handle individual creditor claims: apart from sending a general notification, each creditor is to be notified to submit his claim; one of our Japanese lawyers can give you more information about why the liquidation proceedings cannot exclude any creditor.
• distribute the surplus: once the claims are satisfied, the liquidator distributes the surplus assets to the company shareholders.

These steps are largely applicable to stock companies, however, our lawyers in Japan can assist you during this process regardless of the type of company.

Company liquidation procedure assisted by our attorneys in Japan

When companies in Japan are faced with paying their due debts, it is sometimes possible to enter an informal negotiation phase where the parties will work out an agreement to either reduce the payable amount or establish a payment method in stages.

Even when the company is faced with court proceedings because of its situation, the first stage will not necessarily be bankruptcy: the company may instead apply for civil rehabilitation or corporate reorganization. One of our Japanese lawyers can help you with more information about formal court proceedings in case of insolvency.

If you are interested in liquidating a business in another country, such as Malta or the Netherlands, we can put you in touch with our local partners.

Whether or not the liquidation of a company (and its dissolution) take place out-of-court of following a court order, it is useful to benefit from legal assistance at all times. Company owners can contact our law firm in Japan for detailed information about how we can help with adequate legal counseling in liquidation cases.