Every japanese has a seal, a so called inkan or hanko, of their own. It is a replacement of a signature for any applications or documents like government related documents, bank etc. You will see something like ㊞ asking for personal seal. You will need this if you are living in Japan. If not, it would be very inconvenient and you may not be able to proceed for what you will have to do like opening a bank account. It can be inscribed in katakana or romanji as you like.

There are lots of seal shops around and even through internet. It will roughly cost you around JPY1,000 or above depending on the type etc. They will take a few days to depending on your order. Once you have a seal, you will need to register it at your local ward office. As in certain matters, a Seal Certificate will be required in order to ensure that your personal seal really belongs to you. Such matter are like buying a car, house etc. Therefore, please be careful when you make a seal, if you plan it for official use, please tell the seal shop as they know the standard requirement of the size, characters and letters. And you MUST use your name registered in your Residence Card.

To obtain a seal certificate, you will need to registered your seal first. By registering it, the seal will be ‘yours only’ seal. You can do that at your local ward office where you stay.

Below are the documents you need if you are living Minato-ku Tokyo. For other location, please confirm with your local ward office. A small amount of fees may incur.

1. Residence Card, My-Number-Card, passport or health insurance card etc
2. Seal

If you have someone to apply on your behalf, your representative must bring along the below.

1. Power-of-Attorney
   (document link)
2. Representative identiy document like residence card, my-number-card, passport, driving license etc.
3. A copy of