Mochibun kaisha

Mochibun kaisha (持分会社^?) are a class of corporations under Japanese law.^[1] While mochibun kaisha have legal personality as corporations, their internal functions are similar to partnerships, as they are both owned and operated by a single group of members (社員, shain^?).

Types

There are three types of mochibun kaisha:

• Gōmei gaisha, in which all members have unlimited liability for the company's debts (similar to a general partnership)
• Gōshi gaisha, in which some members have unlimited liability and some have limited liability (similar to a limited partnership)
• Gōdō gaisha, in which all members have limited liability (very similar to a U.S. limited liability company)

Mochibun kaisha are formed by preparing articles of incorporation and depositing the articles with a local Legal Affairs Bureau.

The Japanese civil code also provides for partnerships (組合, kumiai^?), a different type of business organization. Civil code partnerships lack legal personality and are mainly used for specialized investment purposes.

References

1. ^ Nottage, Wolff & Anderson; Luke Nottage, Leon Wolff, Kent Anderson (2008). Corporate governance in the 21st century: Japan's gradual transformation. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 1847209238. http://books.google.com/books?id=XmMzBmRqBbsC&pg=PA121&dq=%22Mochibun+kaisha%22&hl=en&ei=cnAcTcypLsH98Ab19fS9Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Mochibun%20kaisha%22&f=false. 

See also

• Kabushiki kaisha
• Yugen kaisha