Japan hardens tone on foreign tech giants, asks them to get registered

ISTANBUL

In a harder tone, Japan on Tuesday called on foreign technology giants operating in the country to register with the government.

“Foreign technology giants that do not comply with requests to register their local units in Japan as required by law will be subject to penalties,” said Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa.

According to the ministry, only six of the 48 companies asked to furnish registration by June 13 have responded.

“We will work with relevant ministries and agencies, including notifying courts of violations, to speed up registration,” Furukawa told a news conference, according to Kyodo News.

Those asked by the Japanese government to register include Google LLC, Meta Platforms Inc. and Twitter Inc.

The corporate law in Japan entails a fine of up to 1 million yen ($7,400) against those foreign companies which fail to register.