The land area is about 378,000 square kilometers, including the four large islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu and more than 6,800 other small islands.

The Population is approximately 124.43 million (August 2023). The primary ethnic group is the Yamato, with approximately 13,000 Ainu people in Hokkaido. Japanese is the common language. Shintoism and Buddhism are the primary religions. Japan's real GDP in 2022 was approximately 546 trillion yen, a year-on-year increase of 1.1%. It has been the world's largest creditor nation for 32 consecutive years. Foreign exchange reserves reached US$1,294.6 billion as of the end of December 2023. Exchange rate: 1 US dollar = 147.36 yen (December 2023).

1. Treaty Membership
2. Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention)

Accession: 1899

2. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Accession: 1978

3. Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol)

Accession: 2000

4. Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (Hague Agreement)

Accession: 2015

III. Trademark Application Procedure and Required Documents

1. Trademark Registrable Elements and Types

Elements that can be registered as trademarks in Japan include: text, graphics, symbols, slogans, three-dimensional logos, color combinations, sounds, motion graphics, holograms, location marks, etc.

The types of trademarks that can be registered in Japan include: trademarks, service marks, collective trademarks, and certification trademarks.

1. Filing Routes

1) National filing (direct filing)

2) Madrid International Registration

3. Required Documents

• Clear representation of the mark;
• List of goods and/or services;
• Applicant's name, address and nationality;
• If priority is claimed, a certified copy of the priority document and its Japanese translation need to be submitted.

4. Application Procedure and Timeline

Filing: Japan adopts the 12th edition of the Nice Classification; there is no limit on the number of goods and/or services, but usually no more than 22 items per class; multiple class applications are possible; the first-to-file principle is followed (but for well-known trademarks, trademark rights can also be claimed through "prior use"); the filing processing takes 1-2 days; accelerated examination can be requested

Examination: formal examination and substantive examination; about 8 months

Registration: After passing the examination, the registration will be approved and the certificate will be issued;it takes about 11-13 months from filing to registration (if smooth).

Publication/Opposition: The opposition period is 2 months with the certificate issued first. After obtaining the trademark certificate, close attention needs to be paid to the developments during the opposition period)

5.Protection Period and Renewal

The validity period is 5 years or 10 years (optional) from the date of registration. It can be renewed 6 months before the expiration date with a grace period of 6 months. Each renewal can be valid for 5 years or 10 years (optional).

6.Assignment

Allowed for both pending and registered trademarks. The original assignment agreement signed by the assignor and a scanned copy of the assignee's power of attorney are required. The processing time is about 2-3 months.

7.Chang of Name/Address

Allowed for both pending and registered trademarks, and the processing period is approximately 2-3 months.

8. Cancellation

Non-use Cancellation: If a trademark has not been used for three consecutive years, any interested party may file a cancellation request for the non-used trademark.

1. Trademark application statistics *:

A: Statistics on total trademark applications:

2020: 179,947

2021: 184,125

2022: 168,381

B: Statistics of trademark applications from China:

2020: 17,875

2021: 20,107

2022: 14,989