Thousands of Companies Sharing One Address: Tokyo Top for Virtual Renting Trend

Economy Society## Prime Locations No Longer Just a Dream

Compalyze, which manages a corporate database, conducted a survey based on data from the National Tax Agency’s corporate number publication site, under which 13-digit identifiers are assigned to companies and other organizations registered in Japan. By compiling the head office locations of all legally registered corporations and breaking the locations down by building, Compalyze could then analyze the concentration of addresses where corporations were registered.

The results revealed that two particular addresses in Tokyo had a very high concentration of corporate registrations. One was an accounting firm building in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, with 4,794 companies registered, and the other was a commercial building in Dōgenzaka, Shibuya, at which 4,754 companies were recorded. In fact, the majority of addresses with a high concentration of corporate registrations were commercial buildings in Tokyo, with the next three at buildings in Nishi-Shinjuku (4,116 companies), Ginza (3,189 companies), and Jingūmae (2,568 companies). Only one out of the top 10 ranked addresses was based outside of Tokyo, which was a building directly in front of Umeda Station in Osaka, where 2,037 companies were registered.

Even outside of the top 10, the other listed locations were mainly in major metropolitan areas, including commercial buildings in Meieki, Nagoya (770 companies), Tenjin, Fukuoka (520 companies), and Kitasaiwai, Yokohama (632 companies).

There were four clear types of address registration.

Address rental (virtual offices): Services allowing companies to legally use a central city address for registration for just several thousand yen a month, used mainly by sole traders, side-business owners, and startups.

SPC registered address provider (administration addresses): Companies providing registered addresses for management of Special Purpose Companies and funds involved in securitization of property, solar power generation, and other assets.

Registration agencies for foreign companies: Agencies providing addresses for foreign companies based in Japan to use for the handling of all registration-related matters.

Real estate SPC registered address providers: Services for companies whose trade names frequently indicated ownership and/or management of property.

The type that has seen the sharpest increase since 2022 is “address rental,” such as in the case of the top-ranking address at the Dōgenzaka commercial building. It is thought that contributory factors include the increase in remote work and rise in establishing side businesses and small enterprises, along with growing popularity for use of virtual office services..

Assessing the situation, Compalyze stated that “a company’s ‘address’ no longer necessarily indicates the actual location of that company,” noting that the phenomenon of corporate registrations concentrated in particular addresses is clear proof of the loosening relationship between companies and their physical locations.”

Data Sources

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)