.jp Domain: Japan's Official Country Extension
.jp is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of Japan, entered into the root zone on 5 August 1986. The zone is operated by Japan Registry Services (JPRS). General-use JP names — addresses in the form yourbrand.jp — are open to any individual, group or organisation that has a permanent postal address in Japan. For brands that want to appear to Japanese consumers with a local address, this is the natural starting point.
The defining condition of the extension is an address: having a permanent postal address in Japan applies to all .jp registrations. Applying from abroad, the point that really governs the process is not paperwork but this address requirement. Our trustee service covers it; it is a paid service and the current amount is shown during ordering. That lets you obtain and keep using your .jp address without opening an office in Japan.
JP names fall into three groups: general-use JP names, prefecture-type names carrying one of Japan's 47 prefecture names (such as yourbrand.tokyo.jp), and organisational-type names. Within the organisational types, co.jp is for companies, or.jp for judicial persons, ne.jp for network service providers, ac.jp for educational institutions, go.jp for government authorities and lg.jp for local authorities, and each registrant may hold only one name of that kind. Check your candidates with domain search.
.JP Domain at a Glance
- Registry Japan Registry Services (JPRS)
- Delegated 5 August 1986
- Eligibility Any individual, group or organisation with a permanent postal address in Japan
- Namespace structure General-use JP, prefecture-type names for 47 prefectures, and organisational-type names
- Organisational-type limit One name per registrant in types such as co.jp, or.jp and ne.jp
- Document Requirement There are no requirements for buying .jp domain registration
- Country Japan
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 1 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 13 servers
.jp Domain Prices — No Surprise Fees
Registration, transfer and renewal fees are listed separately. The renewal price can differ from the first-year price, so you see both up front.
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New Registration
$78.99 / years -
Transfer
$0.00 / years -
Renewal
$89.99 / years -
Restore
$192.00 -
Late Renewal
$17.98 -
Trustee Service
$29.00
Included With Every .jp Domain
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Free DNS management
Change A, MX, TXT and CNAME records yourself from the panel — no waiting on anyone when you move a site or mailbox.
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Domain lock
While the lock is on, nobody can move your domain to another registrar without your approval.
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Domain forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
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Free WHOIS privacy
Your name, address and phone stay out of public WHOIS records, which cuts down spam and scam calls.
.jp Domain Lifecycle
Domain lifecycle
The stages in order, from registration to releaseDomain Is Available (Available)
A .jp address at this stage has not been taken yet, and it goes to whoever registers first. Check the name you have in mind — if it is free, it can be yours within minutes.
Domain Is Active (Active Period)
Once registration is complete the domain is yours for the term you chose. You can renew at any point before expiry to keep it uninterrupted, or switch on auto-renewal so you never have to watch the date.
Redemption Period (Redemption Period)
The domain is not released the moment it expires — during this window it is still yours and can be recovered. Some extensions charge an extra restore fee at this stage, so renewing before expiry is always the cheaper route.
Pending Delete Period (Pending Delete Period)
If the redemption window is missed too, the domain enters the final stage and waits to be deleted. Renewal and recovery are no longer possible here; when the period ends the registration is removed for good.
Domain Is Available Again
Once deletion completes, the domain leaves the system and anyone can register it — popular names are often taken the same minute by someone watching. Keep auto-renewal on so a name you care about never gets this far.
.jp Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.jp Domain Registration
- Document Requirement There are no requirements for buying .jp domain registration
- Country Japan
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 1 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 13 servers
.jp Domain Support
- IDN Support No
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
.jp Domain Registration Periods
- Registration Periods 1 years
- Renewal Periods 1 years
- Pre-registration 1 days
- Accounting Period 45 days
- Finalization Period 1 days
- Failure Period 45 days
- Payment Period 45 days
- Redemption Period 30 days
- Deletion Hold Period 30 days
- Renewal Time 30 Day
Trustee Requirement for .jp Domains
Frequently Asked Questions About .jp Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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General-use JP names are open to any individual, group or organisation that has a permanent postal address in Japan. The applicant does not need to be a Japanese national or to have set up a company in the country; what is required is the address. Organisational-type names such as co.jp or or.jp additionally expect a structure matching that type, and each registrant may hold only one name of that kind.
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The permanent postal address requirement applies to all .jp registrations and is the first thing an applicant abroad has to resolve. A trustee service is offered to meet this need: it is a paid service and the current amount is shown during ordering. That lets you apply without opening a company or office in Japan. The address exists solely to satisfy the registration condition; it imposes no separate rule about where your site is hosted.
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General-use .jp names are open to anyone with an address in Japan and do not look at the type of applicant. co.jp is one of the organisational types and is reserved for companies; in the same group, or.jp is for judicial persons, ne.jp for network service providers and ac.jp for educational institutions. In the organisational types each registrant may hold only one name, whereas general-use .jp carries no such limit.
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Prefecture-type names put one of Japan's 47 prefecture names into the structure, as in yourbrand.tokyo.jp. They can be registered as freely as general-use names and are useful when you want the address itself to show that you operate in a particular city or region. For a local store, a branch or a regional campaign, this is the practical way to set up a separate address.
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No. The trustee arrangement exists solely to satisfy the requirement for an address in Japan; the registrant record and the right to use the domain remain yours. Keeping the service running matters for the validity of the registration, because the condition applies throughout the registration period. Even if you change provider, the arrangement needs to continue, otherwise the registration condition stops being met.
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.jp names can be moved between providers. A transfer does not remove the Japanese address requirement: it must still be met under the new record, and where a trustee service covers it, that arrangement is expected to continue. The remaining registration period is preserved after the move, and your site keeps running as long as you do not change name servers. You can start on the domain transfer page.
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You can see whether a .jp name is registered, and the general state of the record, through WHOIS. Because of data protection obligations the registrant's contact details are published only in limited form, so a lookup will usually show the status of the name and its registration dates. Run the lookup on the whois search page, and check whether a name is still free with domain search.
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