Company identity
Japanese Company Kanji, Kana, and Romanization Search
Searching only one spelling can miss the right Japanese company. Build a name-variant search set before reviewing risk records.
Key takeaways
- Kanji, kana, and romanized names can point to the same company.
- Company suffixes can appear in different positions in English.
- A search set should include Japanese name, English name, Corporate Number, and address clues.
- Name variants should be resolved before enforcement screening.
Practical workflow
- 1Start with the name exactly as supplied by the counterparty.
- 2Add the Japanese registered name if available.
- 3Search romanized and translated variants as discovery terms.
- 4Use Corporate Number and address fields to confirm candidates.
- 5Record which name variant found the final matched company.
Why Japanese name variants happen
A Japanese company may appear in kanji in official records, in kana in internal systems, and in romanized English on websites or invoices. The same company suffix can also be translated as Co., Ltd., Corporation, Inc., or omitted in casual use.
This creates a search problem for overseas teams. A narrow English-only query may return no result even when public records exist.
- Try exact Japanese registered-name searches where available.
- Search common English order variations and suffix variations.
- Use Corporate Number when the counterparty can provide it.
- Compare address and status before accepting a match.
When to stop expanding variants
Search expansion should stop when it starts creating low-confidence candidates. If many companies share similar words, move from name search to Corporate Number, address, website, contract, or direct counterparty confirmation.
Important limitation
RegBase supports public-source screening and evidence collection. It is not a credit report, sanctions result, legal opinion, or final due-diligence conclusion.