.jp

Overview

• .jp is the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Japan.
• Introduced on 5 August 1986 and administered by Japan Registry Services (JPRS); sponsored by JPNIC.
• Intended for entities connected with Japan and is widely used within the country. DNSSEC is enabled.

History

• The .jp domain was delegated on 5 August 1986. The initial proposal and early administration were led by Jun Murai and the junet-admin group associated with JUNET.
• Formal registration activity began in April 1989 under junet-admin.
• JPNIC (JaPan Network Information Center) later provided institutional oversight for the domain.
• Due to growth of the registry, Japan Registry Services (JPRS) was created and officially assumed registry duties on 30 June 2003.

Usage and Audience

• Intended use: entities connected with Japan. Actual use: very popular in Japan.
• Registered domains: 1,783,266 (data reported as of 2025-02-01).
• Registrations are commonly used by businesses, educational institutions, governments, local authorities and network providers that operate in Japan.

Registration Rules

• Local presence requirement:
  • Registrants must have a permanent postal address in Japan (Japanese mailing address) to register a .jp domain.
  • Registrations are processed via accredited registrars.
• Levels and structure:
  • Registrations are permitted at the second level (example.jp) and at the third level beneath various second-level labels (example.co.jp, example.city.prefecture.jp, etc.).
  • Second-level registrations may include Japanese characters (kanji, hiragana, katakana) at the second level.
• Types of .jp domain names:
  • General-use JP Domain Name: no restriction on the number of registrations per registrant; any individual, group or organization with a permanent postal address in Japan may apply.
  • Prefecture Type JP Domain Name: includes one of the 47 prefecture names (e.g., example.tokyo.jp); registrants must have a residential or business address in Japan.
  • Organizational/Geographic Type JP Domain Name: registration counts may be limited (often one per registrant) and have eligibility tied to the organization or geographic entity.
• Common restricted second-level labels and typical eligibility:
  • ac.jp — higher-level academic institutions (universities, schools under relevant laws)
  • co.jp — incorporated companies (including foreign companies registered in Japan)
  • or.jp — registered organizations and non-profit organizations
  • ne.jp — network service providers
  • go.jp — Japanese government ministries and related agencies
  • lg.jp — local government authorities
  • ed.jp — educational institutions for individuals under 18
  • ad.jp — JPNIC members
  • gr.jp — groups of two or more people or registered companies
• Geographic and local-government reservations:
  • Formats such as (organization).(cityname).(prefecturename).jp are used.
  • Names like metro.tokyo.jp, pref.(prefecturename).jp, city.(cityname).jp, town.(townname).(prefecturename).jp, and vill.(villagename).(prefecturename).jp are reserved for local governments and designated municipalities.
• Character and length rules:
  • General-use JP domain names with Kanji, Hiragana and/or Katakana must be 1 to 15 characters (excluding the .jp suffix).
  • ASCII JP domain names must be 3 to 63 characters.
  • If ASCII and Japanese script characters coexist in the same label, each character is counted as one character regardless of byte length.

SEO and Brand Impact

• .jp is explicitly associated with Japan and is widely used there; it is commonly chosen by organizations and brands aiming to signal a Japanese presence or market focus.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Common second-level labels in active use include: .co.jp, .ac.jp, .or.jp, .ne.jp, .go.jp, .lg.jp, .ed.jp, .ad.jp, and .gr.jp.
• Internationalized registrations and Japanese-script TLD activity:
  • Second-level registrations may include Japanese script (kanji, hiragana, katakana).
  • Private entities have registered internationalized generic top-level domains in Japanese script such as .みんな, .セール, .ファッション, .ストア, .ポイント, .クラウド, and .コム.
• Geographic and city-related top-level domains (registered as separate gTLDs) associated with Japan include .kyoto, .nagoya, .okinawa, .osaka, .ryukyu, .tokyo and .yokohama.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       JP

organisation: Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.
address:      Chiyoda First Bldg. East 13F
address:      3-8-1 Nishi-Kanda
address:      Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 101-0065
address:      Japan

contact:      administrative
name:         Koki Higashida
organisation: Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.
address:      Chiyoda First Bldg. East 13F
address:      3-8-1 Nishi-Kanda
address:      Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 101-0065
address:      Japan
phone:        +81 3 5215 8451
fax-no:       +81 3 5215 8452
e-mail:       higashida@jprs.co.jp

contact:      technical
name:         Koki Higashida
organisation: Japan Registry Services Co., Ltd.
address:      Chiyoda First Bldg. East 13F
address:      3-8-1 Nishi-Kanda
address:      Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 101-0065
address:      Japan
phone:        +81 3 5215 8480
fax-no:       +81 3 5215 8452
e-mail:       tech-admin@jprs.jp

nserver:      A.DNS.JP 2001:dc4:0:0:0:0:0:1 203.119.1.1
nserver:      B.DNS.JP 2001:dc2:0:0:0:0:0:1 202.12.30.131
nserver:      C.DNS.JP 156.154.100.5 2001:502:ad09:0:0:0:0:5
nserver:      D.DNS.JP 2001:240:0:0:0:0:0:53 210.138.175.244
nserver:      E.DNS.JP 192.50.43.53 2001:200:c000:0:0:0:0:35
nserver:      F.DNS.JP 150.100.6.8 2001:2f8:0:100:0:0:0:153
nserver:      G.DNS.JP 203.119.40.1
nserver:      H.DNS.JP 161.232.72.25 2a01:8840:1bc:0:0:0:0:25
ds-rdata:     35821 8 2 41ad6ec23454a202d05bd75d9c323825c9822b9850cb1793cab2da2814c74140

whois:        whois.jprs.jp

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://jprs.jp/

created:      1986-08-05
changed:      2024-11-06
source:       IANA