Japan: registering a trademark costs an estimated US$599 for one class, plus US$294 for each further class. Japan is a member of the Madrid System, so a trademark can be filed with its office directly or extended to Japan through an international registration. Japan is a leading import market for leather goods and bags (class 18) and tobacco and smokers' articles (class 34). It is also one of the world's leading exporters of vehicles (class 12) and machines (class 7).
Figures by trademark class count branded goods only: raw commodities that are traded mostly without brands - such as gold bars, fuel, bulk chemicals, grain and fabric by the metre - are left out. Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are left out of the rankings, as much of their trade is re-exported.
In colour: goods where Japan is among the world's 10 largest exporters, or has at least 5% of world exports. In grey, for comparison: its next-largest shares.
Goods where Japan is among the world's 3 largest exporters, has at least 15% of world exports, or that make up at least 25% of its own exports - of at least US$500m a year.
Our estimate is about US$599 for one class, from filing to registration: about US$284 in official fees and about US$316 in professional (law firm) fees. Each further class adds about US$294. Responses to office actions and oppositions are not included. These are estimates only: the actual cost depends on the law firm and the application. Request a quote from a law firm on this site for an exact price.
Japan is a member of the Madrid System, so a trademark can be filed with its office directly or extended to Japan through an international registration. WIPO's fee to designate Japan is CHF 221 for one class (about US$265) and CHF 429 for two classes, on top of WIPO's basic fee for the international application.
Japan's 10 largest import markets by trademark class are electronics and software (class 9, US$123.3bn), machines (class 7, US$46.8bn), pharmaceuticals (class 5, US$29.5bn), clothing, footwear and headwear (class 25, US$27.9bn), vehicles (class 12, US$23.5bn), meat, dairy and preserved foods (class 29, US$11.7bn), medical apparatus (class 10, US$11.4bn), furniture (class 20, US$7.8bn), lighting, heating and cooking appliances (class 11, US$7.1bn) and jewellery and watches (class 14, US$7.1bn). Within its region, it stands out for leather goods and bags (#1 in East Asia and Pacific), tobacco and smokers' articles (#1 in East Asia and Pacific), musical instruments (#1 in East Asia and Pacific), household utensils (#1 in East Asia and Pacific), textiles (#1 in East Asia and Pacific) and games, toys and sports goods (#1 in East Asia and Pacific). Imports are growing fastest for jewellery and watches (17% a year), firearms and fireworks (10% a year) and leather goods and bags (9% a year). Foreign applicants filed 73,261 trademark classes in Japan in 2024 - #2 in East Asia and Pacific - a sign of how many brand owners already protect their marks there.
Japan's exports of goods came to US$730.8bn in 2024. Its 10 largest exports were cars (US$115.3bn, 16% of its exports, #2 in the world), integrated circuits (chips) (US$38.4bn, 5% of its exports, #6 in the world), semiconductor-making machines (US$30.8bn, 4% of its exports, #1 in the world), vehicle parts (US$27.1bn, 4% of its exports, #5 in the world), gold (US$19.7bn, 3% of its exports, #6 in the world), printers and printing machinery (US$12.3bn, 2% of its exports, #2 in the world), bulldozers and excavators (US$11.8bn, 2% of its exports, #2 in the world), trucks (US$9.5bn, 1% of its exports, #7 in the world), hot-rolled steel (US$9.5bn, 1% of its exports, #2 in the world) and ships (US$9.1bn, 1% of its exports, #3 in the world). By trademark class, its 10 largest exports were vehicles (class 12, US$162.5bn, #3 in the world), machines (class 7, US$138.5bn, #4 in the world), electronics and software (class 9, US$123.2bn, #9 in the world), pharmaceuticals (class 5, US$15.0bn, #16 in the world), rubber and plastics (class 17, US$13.6bn, #4 in the world), medical apparatus (class 10, US$9.5bn, #8 in the world), cosmetics and cleaning (class 3, US$7.4bn, #12 in the world), metal goods (class 6, US$7.0bn, #7 in the world), chemicals (class 1, US$5.3bn, #5 in the world) and paints (class 2, US$4.0bn, #4 in the world). Where goods are made and exported, copies are often made too: a registered trademark there lets you act against counterfeits at the source, including with the help of customs.
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Find the best countries for your trademarkTrade: imports and exports of each trademark class's branded goods. Rankings compare countries' trade in those goods, without the re-export hubs. Costs are estimates.