Japan is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention: a single apostille, affixed in Switzerland by the chancellery of the issuing canton, makes your Swiss document valid there — no embassy, no consulate, no further stamp.
Order an apostille →Always in the country that issued the document — so for your Swiss diploma, extract or certificate, at the state chancellery of the issuing canton, or at the Federal Chancellery for federal documents. We route it; you just name the canton.
Diplomas and transcripts for jobs and universities, civil-status records for marriages and residence, criminal-record extracts for visas, commercial-register extracts and powers of attorney for business.
Standard 1–2 business days plus delivery; same-day express available. Registered Swiss mail included — or DHL straight to Japan (CHF 140 worldwide, CHF 90 in Europe).
A Japanese translation is required from every Swiss canton. Japanese offices are generally less concerned with who translated than with completeness: the translation must cover everything on the page, apostille included, and carry the translator’s name and contact details. A partial translation that omits stamps and marginal notes is a common reason for a return.
Japanese municipal offices — the ward or city hall where a resident is registered — handle much of what a foreigner needs, and their requirements are set locally rather than nationally. Two offices in the same prefecture can ask for different things. Get the request in writing from yours before we start; it is the only reliable specification.