The Date of Incorporation Registration refers to the day when the corporation is legally established, which is the date the incorporation registration is completed at the Legal Affairs Bureau. In contrast, the Corporate Number Assignment Date is the day on which the National Tax Agency assigns a corporate number, usually after the registration is finalized. Therefore, the incorporation registration date comes first, followed by the corporate number assignment date.
Answer body: The jurisdiction of a religious juridical person is determined by both the location of its headquarters and the scope of its activities. Comprehensive religious juridical persons or those with a wide area of activity fall under the jurisdiction of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, while organizations that operate only within a specific region fall under the jurisdiction of the governor of the prefecture where they are located.
Affiliated religious juridical persons always belong to a Comprehensive religious juridical person, and therefore their jurisdiction falls under the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Regardless of their individual location or scope of activities, as long as they are affiliated, the jurisdiction of Affiliated religious juridical persons is consistently handled by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Religious organizations that have been legally registered as Religious Juridical Persons are assigned a corporate number. However, voluntary groups or small associations without juridical person status do not have one. Therefore, not every religious organization has a corporate number, as it depends on their legal status.
Because Religious Juridical Persons are recognized as non-profit entities, they are granted special tax advantages. Income derived from religious activities, as well as facilities and land used directly for such activities, are generally tax-exempt. Donations made to them can also be exempt under certain conditions. In addition, although they are in principle subject to consumption tax, many qualify as tax-exempt businesses.
| Tax type | Tax benefit |
|---|---|
| Corporate tax | Income related to religious activities (such as offerings, donations, and maintenance fees) is tax-exempt |
| Property tax | Facilities and land used directly for religious activities are tax-exempt |
| Inheritance and gift tax | Donations to Religious Juridical Persons are tax-exempt (with measures to prevent tax evasion) |
| Consumption tax | In principle taxable, but many qualify as tax-exempt businesses |
The main reasons for incorporating a religious organization are to protect its rights and assets and to gain social credibility. With juridical person status, the organization can own real estate and enter into contracts in its own name, and liability relationships become clearer. In addition, as non-profit entities, Religious Juridical Persons receive tax advantages, such as exemptions from certain income and property taxes.
Religious juridical persons in Japan are classified from several perspectives, including legal categories, religious traditions, administrative jurisdiction, and distinctive organizational forms. These classifications help clarify their characteristics and roles.
| Perspective | Category |
|---|---|
| Legal classification | Comprehensive religious juridical person / Affiliated religious juridical persons / Individual religious juridical persons |
| Religious classification | Buddhist / Shinto / New Religions / Christian / Others |
| Administrative jurisdiction | Agency for Cultural Affairs (Religious Affairs Division) or Prefectural Governors |
| Distinctive organizational forms | Jinja Honcho, Sect Head Temples (e.g., Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha), New Religions (e.g., Soka Gakkai) |
