Are electronic signatures legal in Japan? E-signatures vs hanko explained

If you are doing business in Japan, renting an apartment there, or hiring staff, you have probably been told that "everything needs a hanko". That was the practical reality for decades. The legal reality has been different for a long time, and since the government's push to cut back on seals in 2020 and 2021, it is changing in practice too.

The short answer

• Most contracts in Japan do not need any particular form at all, so they are valid when agreed electronically, with or without a seal.
• The Act on Electronic Signatures and Certification Business (Act No. 102 of 2000, usually called the Electronic Signature Act) defines an electronic signature and, in Article 3, presumes that an electronic record was genuinely made by a person if it carries that person's own electronic signature of a qualifying kind.
• In 2020 the government confirmed that cloud "witness-type" services (where the platform applies its own key on the signer's instructions) can also qualify for the Article 3 presumption if they meet strict conditions.
• Real estate paperwork, fixed-term building leases and written employment terms can now be delivered electronically, but usually only with the other party's consent.
• Notarial deeds went digital in 2025. Wills are still the big exception: a holographic will must be handwritten, and the new "digital will" passed in 2026 is not yet in force.

The law: the Electronic Signature Act and the hanko presumption

Why seals mattered in the first place

Japanese courts do not decide cases on whether a document "has a hanko". What a seal gives you is evidence. Under Article 228(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure, a private document is presumed to be genuinely made if it bears the signature or seal of the person (or their agent). Courts also infer that a seal impression made with a person's own seal was affixed by that person's will, which together with Article 228(4) forms what lawyers call the "two-stage presumption". The seal is therefore a convenient way of proving authenticity, not a condition of validity.

Article 2: what counts as an electronic signature

The Electronic Signature Act defines an electronic signature as a measure taken on information recorded electronically that shows the information was made by the person who took the measure, and that allows checking whether the information has been altered. In plain terms: it must point to the signer and make tampering detectable. A typed name or a pasted image of a seal on its own does not meet this definition, although it can still be evidence of agreement.

Article 3: the presumption of authenticity

Article 3 is the electronic counterpart of the paper presumption. An electronic record is presumed to have been genuinely made if the principal applied an electronic signature to it, limited to signatures that only that person could make by properly managing the codes and devices needed. A cryptographic signature made with a certificate and private key held by the signer is the classic example.

Cloud signing services and the 2020 government Q&A

Most Japanese e-contract platforms work on the "witness-type" (立会人型, also called business-operator signature type) model: the signer authenticates by email or login, and the platform applies its own key. In 2020 the ministries then responsible (Internal Affairs and Communications, Justice, and Economy, Trade and Industry) published two Q&A documents. The first, on Article 2, said such services can meet the definition of an electronic signature. The second, issued in September 2020 on Article 3, said the presumption can apply if the process has enough "uniqueness", meaning the signing could only have been done by that person. In practice this points to strong identity checks and two-factor authentication both in how the user logs in and in how the provider applies the signature internally.

Two things follow. First, cloud signatures used in Japan are legally valid as contracts either way. Second, whether a particular platform's signature gets the Article 3 presumption depends on its authentication setup, and a court would look at the facts.

Accredited certification businesses

The Act also sets up a voluntary accreditation scheme for "specified certification business" (certificate authorities that meet strict standards). The competent ministers are now the Prime Minister (through the Digital Agency) and the Minister of Justice. Accreditation is not required for a signature to be valid, but a certificate from an accredited provider makes it easier to prove who signed.

Seal reforms of 2020 and 2021

During 2020 the government reviewed administrative procedures that required a seal from the public and dropped the requirement for the vast majority of them. The Digital Reform related laws passed in May 2021 then amended dozens of statutes that had required paper or seals, which is what opened up electronic real estate documents in 2022.

Documents you cannot sign electronically (or need a special signature)

Notarial deeds went digital in 2025

Amendments to the Notary Act, made as part of the 2023 law on using information technology in civil proceedings (Act No. 53 of 2023), took effect on 1 October 2025. Notarial deeds can now be created as electronic data, and designated notaries can take part of the procedure remotely by web conference when the notary agrees it is appropriate. Participants need their own computer with a camera and a touch screen or pen tablet. Some deeds, including the business loan guarantee intention deed, remain paper only.

Wills: handwriting still required, with a digital option on the way

A holographic will under the Civil Code must be written by hand, apart from the property list. Since 2020 you can deposit a holographic will with the Legal Affairs Bureau for safekeeping. In June 2026 the Diet passed an amendment to the Civil Code creating a new kind of will, the 保管証書遺言 (often called a "digital will"), which can be typed on a computer, signed with an electronic signature such as the My Number Card, and confirmed orally before a Legal Affairs Bureau official, in person or by video. It must come into force within three years of promulgation and is not yet available. Until then, no e-signing tool, including KovaPDF, can make a valid will in Japan. For the wider picture see can you sign a will electronically.

Real estate: sales and rentals

From May 2022, amendments to the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act allowed real estate agents to deliver the important matters explanation (重要事項説明書) and the contract documents electronically instead of on stamped paper, provided the customer agrees. The explanation itself can also be given online by video. Seals are no longer required on these documents.

For rentals, the same reform changed the Act on Land and Building Leases so that a fixed-term building lease (定期建物賃貸借) can be concluded electronically, and the advance written notice that the lease will not be renewed can be delivered electronically if the tenant agrees in advance. If the tenant asks for paper, the landlord must provide it. Ordinary residential leases never needed a special form and can be signed electronically. See also can you e-sign a lease and e-signing a property deed or sale contract.

Employment contracts

Japanese law does not require an employment contract itself to be signed on paper. What it does require is that the employer states key working conditions (wages, hours, place of work and so on) in writing. Since April 2019 the Enforcement Regulations of the Labor Standards Act allow this notice to be sent by fax, email or messaging services, but only if the employee wishes to receive it that way, and in a form they can print. In practice employers ask for the employee's consent and keep a record of it. See can an employment contract be signed electronically.

Company and government documents

Board minutes can be kept as electronic records under the Companies Act and signed with an electronic signature instead of seals. For filings with the government (e-Gov, e-Tax, online registration), you sign through the government's own systems with an accepted certificate, usually the My Number Card for individuals or the commercial registration electronic certificate issued by the Legal Affairs Bureau for companies. KovaPDF does not file anything with Japanese authorities.

How to get a digital certificate in Japan

• My Number Card (JPKI): every card can carry a signature certificate under the Public Certification Service for Individuals. It is valid until your fifth birthday after issue. The private key lives on the card's chip (and, on newer phones, in the phone's secure element), so it cannot be exported. You use it with a card reader or phone app, not by uploading a file to a website.
• Accredited commercial CAs: several accredited certification businesses issue certificates for individuals and company officers, often on IC cards; some offer file-based certificates.
• Commercial registration electronic certificate: issued to company representatives by the Legal Affairs Bureau for online corporate filings. It is file-based rather than a card, but check how your provider packages it before assuming it will work outside government systems.

KovaPDF's Digital Signature tool needs a certificate you hold as a .pfx or .p12 file with its password. A My Number Card or any IC card or token cannot be used on a website, including this one. For more background see how to get a digital signature certificate.

Signing with KovaPDF

• Contracts between companies, NDAs, offer letters, ordinary leases: use Request Signatures. Each signer gets a private email link, can be protected with an access code, and signs in the browser. The finished PDF comes with a certificate of completion (document fingerprint, names, emails, times, IP address and browser) and is sealed with a trusted timestamp so later changes show up. Legally these are simple electronic signatures backed by an audit trail. They are valid as contracts in Japan, but they are not an accredited-certificate signature and we do not claim they automatically get the Article 3 presumption.
• Just you, filling in a form: Sign PDF lets you draw, type or upload a signature or seal image. That is a picture, not an electronic signature under Article 2, so use it only where a visible mark is enough.
• When a certificate-based signature is wanted: if you hold an exportable .pfx or .p12 certificate, Digital Signature signs the PDF with it (PAdES, with a trusted timestamp and long-term validation data where the issuer publishes it). What legal weight it carries depends on who issued the certificate.
• Checking a file you received: Verify PDF Signature shows whether a signature is intact, who signed, and whether the certificate chain is trusted.

For how these tiers compare, read digital vs electronic signature and what is a digital signature in a PDF.