Q112    The law that determines the organizational structure of companies in Japan was revised in May 2006 and is known as the New Company law. What is the smallest amount of capital required to establish a joint-stock company under this law?

(a) 1 yen
{b) 10,000 yen
(c) 1 million yen
(d) 1 0 million yen

A112    The correct answer is (a), 1 yen. The regulations concerning the minimum amount of capital required to set up a joint-stock company have been abolished, and a company can be set up with zero capital remaining after setup fees have been deducted from the paid-up capital. Before February 2003, when the Revised New Business Creation Promotion Law came into force introducing a minimum capital requirement, 10 million yen was needed to set up a joint-stock company, which was a major hurdle for start-up companies. The new law has made it much easier to set up companies.