AURORA Translation & Legal Services handles the application for Apostilleand other certification as well as the translation of relevant documents.
The founder of the AURORA Translation & Legal Services, Ryoko Mestecky, has been engaged in translation work (English and Japanese) since 2000 and also in legal work under the qualification of the Administrative Scrivener since 2005. See the
PROFILE page to read more about her.
Our office is closed from July 19 (Mon) to August 4 (Thu), 2022.
We will respond to your inquiry on August 5 (Fri).
We are sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
AURORA Translation & Legal Services handles the application for, and acquisition of, the Apostille, a kind of certification issued by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We also prepare the English or Japanese translation of documents which are necessary for such procedure.
In order to receive an Apostille on your documents, you are typically required to visit a notary public, the Legal Affairs Bureau, and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By using our services, you are able to outsource such time-consuming travel, and in addition, the translation of relevant documents is also available from us.
In order to receive an Apostille on your documents, you are typically required to visit a notary public, the Legal Affairs Bureau, and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By using our services, you are able to outsource such time-consuming travel, and in addition, the translation of relevant documents is also available from us.
Passport, Driver's license, Certificate of Family Register, Resident Certificate, Residence Card, Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate, Certificate of Corporate Registration, Power of Attorney, Electric/gas/water/telephone bill, etc.
We have obtained Apostille and other types of certification for the following documents.
Certificate of Family Register, Resident Certificate, Certificate of Corporate Registration, Certificate of Seal Impression, Signature Certificate, Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, Notification of Death, Postmortem Certificate, Burial Permit, Cremation Permit, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate, Residence Card, Certificate of Marriage Eligibility, Certificate of Criminal Record, Passport, Driver's license, Tax Residency Certificate, Tax Payment Certificate, Taxation Certificate, Export Certificate, Medical License, Health Insurance Card, Tax return form (income tax, corporate tax), Tax declaration form (inheritance tax, gift tax), Bill of lading, Notarized will, Power of attorney, Graduation certificate, Diploma, Academic transcript, Certificate of employment, Certificate of withholding tax, Articles of incorporation, Financial statements, Settlement report, Invoice, Audit report, Minutes of board of directors' meeting, Minutes of shareholders' meeting, Shareholder registry, Real estate documents, Real property appraisal report, Repayment application form, Lawyer's identification card, Contract, Written opinion, Bank account statement, Balance statement, Electricity/gas/water/telephone bill, Income certificate, Written consent, Affidavit, Written declaration
The documents for which we have obtained Apostille and other types of certification were used in the following countries.
United States, Italy, India, Russia, Argentina, Germany, Australia, Portugal, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Mexico, Turkey, Netherlands, Dominican, Republic, South Korea, England, Finland, Maldives, Malta, Vietnam, Israel, Switzerland, Colombia, Thailand, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Germany, Man (British territory), Chile, Spain, South Africa, Czech Republic, Republic of Estonia, China, Canada, Singapore, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Belgium, Bahamas, Latvia, Ireland, State of Kuwait, Kingdom of Cambodia, Romania, Seychelles, Iraq, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Peru, New Zealand, Liechtenstein, Nepal, Brazil
In addition to the Apostille, there are other types of certification such as notarization, authentication of official seal and attestation. While the word “Apostille” is clearly defined and is used without confusion, other types of certification may be used with somewhat confusion on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, in order to acquire the right type of certification on your document, in addition to the name of the certification, including notarization, notarial, attestation, legalization and whatever else that is called, please also be aware that your certification should be issued by whether a Japanese notary public, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a foreign embassy/consul located in Japan, or otherwise.
The Apostille is effective only among countries and regions which are the members of the Hague Convention. Such members of the Hague Convention account for approximately a half of all nations and regions worldwide, as listed below. (The below list is an extract from the website of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.)
Iceland, Ireland, Azerbaijan, U.S.A., Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Antigua and Barbuda, Andorra, UK, Israel, Italy, India, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, Ecuador, Estonia, El Salvador, Australia, Austria, Oman, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Cook Islands, Greece, Georgia, Grenada, Croatia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Suriname, Slovakia, Slovenia, Swaziland, Seychelles, Serbia, Saint Christopher-Nevis, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Tonga, Namibia, Niue, Nicaragua, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Vanuatu, Bahamas, Paraguay, Barbados, Hungary, Fiji, Finland, France, Bulgaria, Brunei, Burundi, Venezuela, Belarus, Belize, Belgium, Peru, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Poland, Hong Kong, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Macao, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, South Africa, Mexico, Mauritius, Monaco, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Luxembourg, Romania, Lesotho, Russia, Bahrain, Botswana, Czech Republic, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kyrgyz Republic, Kosovo, Morocco, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Tunisia, Bolivia, Guyana, Philippines, Palau, Singapore, Indonesia
French Territory:
Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Saint-Pierre Island, Miquelon, French Polynesia
Portugal Territory:
All overseas territory
Dutch Territory:
Dutch Antilles, Aruba
British Territory:
Jersey, Guernsey, Man, Cayman Islands, Bermudas, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St. Helena, Anguilla, Turks And Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands
Iceland, Ireland, Azerbaijan, U.S.A., Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Antigua and Barbuda, Andorra, UK, Israel, Italy, India, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, Ecuador, Estonia, El Salvador, Australia, Austria, Oman, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Cook Islands, Greece, Georgia, Grenada, Croatia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Suriname, Slovakia, Slovenia, Swaziland, Seychelles, Serbia, Saint Christopher-Nevis, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Tonga, Namibia, Niue, Nicaragua, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Vanuatu, Bahamas, Paraguay, Barbados, Hungary, Fiji, Finland, France, Bulgaria, Brunei, Burundi, Venezuela, Belarus, Belize, Belgium, Peru, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Poland, Hong Kong, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Macao, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, South Africa, Mexico, Mauritius, Monaco, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Luxembourg, Romania, Lesotho, Russia, Bahrain, Botswana, Czech Republic, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kyrgyz Republic, Kosovo, Morocco, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Tunisia, Bolivia, Guyana, Philippines, Palau, Singapore, Indonesia
French Territory:
Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Saint-Pierre Island, Miquelon, French Polynesia
Portugal Territory:
All overseas territory
Dutch Territory:
Dutch Antilles, Aruba
British Territory:
Jersey, Guernsey, Man, Cayman Islands, Bermudas, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St. Helena, Anguilla, Turks And Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands
(As of June 4, 2022)
Non-Members of Hague Convention:
Roughly a half of countries in the world, including Canada, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, are not the members of the Hague Convention. Consequently, if any type of certification is required on your document which will be used in any of those non-member countries, such certification should not be the Apostille but should be other type of certification.
Roughly a half of countries in the world, including Canada, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, are not the members of the Hague Convention. Consequently, if any type of certification is required on your document which will be used in any of those non-member countries, such certification should not be the Apostille but should be other type of certification.
