New arrivals are told they must get a hanko immediately. Usually they must not. Japan has moved a long way towards accepting signatures for routine paperwork, and the seal you buy at the airport is often the wrong one for the situations that will actually require a seal.
Here is what each kind is for, and when you genuinely need one.
The three kinds
Mitome-in (認印) — the everyday seal
Unregistered, cheap, mass-produced, sold in stationery shops and hundred-yen shops. It acknowledges a delivery, marks an internal form, signs off routine office paperwork. It has no particular legal weight. A signature is accepted in most of these situations now, so this is a convenience rather than a requirement.
The catch for foreign residents: mass-produced seals carry common Japanese surnames. If yours is not one, you need one made, which is inexpensive but not instant.
Ginko-in (銀行印) — the bank seal
A seal registered with a specific bank when you open an account. Many banks now accept a signature instead and will ask which you prefer. If you register a seal, it becomes the thing that authorises counter transactions — and losing it is a genuine nuisance, so keep it separate from your everyday seal.
Jitsu-in (実印) — the registered seal
Registered at your city or ward office and backed by a certificate proving the impression is yours. This is the one with legal force, and it is required for a short, specific list: buying property, taking a mortgage, registering a car, inheritance, and incorporating a company.
Outside that list you will rarely be asked. Which is why registering one before you need it is optional — but if any of those are coming, do it early rather than under deadline.
Registering a jitsu-in
Take to the resident registration counter at your city or ward office:
- The seal you want to register
- Your residence card or My Number Card
- A small fee, commonly around ¥300, varying by municipality
The seal must meet the municipality rules: typically an impression between 8mm and 25mm, not mass-produced, and showing your name as it appears on your resident record. You leave with an Inkan Registration Card (印鑑登録証), which is what you present later to obtain certificates. Keep it somewhere other than your wallet — it is separate from the seal itself, and you need both.
Getting the certificate
When a transaction requires a jitsu-in, the other side will also want an Inkan Shomeisho (印鑑登録証明書) — a certificate confirming the impression on the contract matches the municipal record. It is usually required dated within the last three months, so obtain it close to the transaction, not in advance.
With a My Number Card you can print one at a convenience store multifunction machine, which is faster and cheaper than the counter and available outside office hours. Without one, you go to the ward office with your Inkan Registration Card.
Practical notes
- Do not register your everyday seal as your jitsu-in. The point of the registered seal is that its use is rare and deliberate.
- Store the seal and the registration card apart. Together they are close to a signed blank.
- If your name is long, a seal maker will advise on abbreviation, but the registered form must still match your resident record.
- Report a lost jitsu-in immediately to the ward office and cancel the registration.
The phrases
- 印鑑登録をしたいです。 — Inkan tōroku o shitai desu. — I would like to register a seal.
- 印鑑登録証明書をお願いします。 — Inkan tōroku shōmeisho o onegai shimasu. — I would like a seal registration certificate.
- サインでも大丈夫ですか。 — Sain demo daijōbu desu ka? — Is a signature acceptable?
- 実印を紛失しました。 — Jitsuin o funshitsu shimashita. — I have lost my registered seal.
Where to confirm this
- Our guide to ward office procedures
- Our guide to the My Number Card, which lets you print certificates at a convenience store
- Our guide to opening a bank account
Guides are dated rather than undated: last reviewed 21 August 2026. This is an organisational aid, not legal or immigration advice — always confirm anything consequential with your ward office, the Immigration Services Agency, or a qualified professional.