Published 2026-07-22
Quick answer: most Japanese supplier scams follow one pattern. A company that looks real asks for a bank transfer, then either vanishes after payment or sends forged shipping documents and demands the balance. You avoid nearly all of it with three checks: confirm the corporate number is exactly 13 digits, refuse bank-transfer-only deals, and independently verify any shipping document with the carrier. This guide walks through the red flags and the exact steps.
A genuine Japanese supplier scam is rarer than a Chinese one, because Japan has a deep base of honest manufacturers. But when it happens the losses are large, and the pattern repeats. Buyers have publicly reported losing $69,500 on two trucks, $33,000 on three cars, $25,500, $20,700, and 4,200 euro, most of it sent by irreversible bank transfer to a company that turned out to be a shell or an impersonator.
The good news: these scams rely on the buyer skipping a few basic checks. Do the checks and you are ahead of almost everyone who gets caught.
Almost every case fits one of three scripts.
The disappearance. The buyer finds a company with a polished English site, agrees a price, and wires a deposit or the full amount. After the money lands, replies slow down, then stop. The phone stops being answered. There was never any product.
The forged bill of lading. The buyer pays a deposit. The seller sends a bill of lading, the shipping document proving goods are on a vessel, to reassure them, then asks for the balance. The document is fake. In one documented case two different buyers compared notes and discovered they had been sent the same bill of lading with different names typed on it, for the same single vehicle. Another buyer flew to the destination port, waited nearly a month, and found nothing.
The impersonator. A fake company copies the name, address, and sometimes the registration details of a real Japanese business. The buyer verifies the real company exists, sees it is legitimate, and pays the impersonator. This is why "the company is registered" is not enough on its own.
| Signal | Risk | |---|---| | Corporate number is not exactly 13 digits | Critical. Almost certainly forged | | Bank transfer is the only accepted payment | Critical. Transfers cannot be reversed | | Bank details change part-way through the deal | Critical. Treat as fraud until you confirm by phone | | No Japanese-language presence anywhere online | High | | Registered address is a home, an empty lot, or shared by unrelated firms | High | | Contact only through a free email account, never a company domain | High | | Refuses or delays giving a corporate number | High | | Website domain is far newer than the company's claimed history | Medium | | Only a mobile or internet phone number for a company with a factory | Medium | | Pressure to pay fast, or a discount that expires | Medium |
Any one of these deserves a pause. Two or more, and you should not send money until you have resolved them.
Every legally registered company in Japan has a corporate number that is exactly 13 digits. Ask the supplier for theirs. A real business gives it up without friction because it is printed on invoices and official documents.
In one real case, a buyer asked for the corporate number, received a 12-digit number, and questioned it. The seller claimed his company was new and "all corporate numbers are like that now." That is false. The format has never changed. The buyer had just caught a forgery with a single question.
One more trap: a large share of Japanese companies were assigned their corporate number on the same day in October 2015, when the national system launched. So an "assignment date" tells you nothing about how old the company is. Anyone presenting that date as a founding date is either confused or hoping you are.
You can check a name against Japan's registered companies for free using our verification search. Type the company name in English, romanized letters, or Japanese, and it works even if you only have an approximate spelling.
Registration confirms a company legally exists. It does not confirm the company you are talking to is that company, or that it still operates, or that it is honest.
Two extra checks close the gap the impersonators rely on:
Search the name in Japanese. A real Japanese company that has traded for years leaves a Japanese-language trail: its own site, industry listings, recruitment pages, local mentions. A slick English site with almost no Japanese-language footprint is a serious warning sign.
Look at the registered address on a map. Use street view. For a manufacturer you should see something that looks like a factory, workshop, or office. Buyers have caught scams where the registered address turned out to be an old apartment or an empty lot. Then search the address on its own: if many unrelated companies share it, or it belongs to a different well-known business, it has been borrowed.
Our full step-by-step verification guide covers every check in order.
This is the most important section, because this is where a scam closes.
Bank transfer only, with no alternative, is the single strongest predictor of fraud. Bank transfers cannot be reversed or disputed. That is exactly why scammers insist on them. In documented cases, buyers who tried to recall a transfer found the recipient simply refused to sign the recall, and the money was gone. One buyer's bank in the Seychelles tried to pull back a $69,500 transfer; the company refused, and there was no recourse.
Extra payment red flags:
Verify shipping documents independently. If you receive a bill of lading, contact the shipping line directly, using contact details you find yourself, and confirm the document is real. Forged bills of lading appear again and again in these cases, and the check costs one email. Our guide on how to pay Japanese suppliers safely covers payment methods that give you more protection than a raw transfer.
Scams cluster heavily in used vehicle and vehicle-parts exports sold to overseas buyers who cannot inspect in person. Industrial sourcing, machinery, and components see far less, partly because those deals usually involve drawings, samples, and repeat contact that a fake cannot sustain.
That does not mean industrial buyers can skip the checks. It means the base rate of honesty is higher, and the checks are what keep you on the right side of it. When you source through verified manufacturers, for example a CNC machining supplier or a metal parts maker, you start from companies whose identity is already confirmed against official records.
1. Ask for the corporate number. Confirm it is exactly 13 digits. 2. Search the name in Japanese. Confirm a real Japanese-language footprint exists. 3. Put the registered address into street view. Confirm it looks like a real business. 4. Search the address alone. Confirm it is not shared or borrowed. 5. Check the contact email uses a company domain, not free webmail. 6. Refuse bank-transfer-only terms. Ask for a method you can dispute. 7. If you get a bill of lading, confirm it with the carrier directly. 8. If bank details change, stop and confirm by phone on a number you already had. 9. For anything large, get someone to physically visit, or use an inspection service.
If a deal fails several of these, walk away. There are honest suppliers who will pass all of them.
Run three checks: confirm the corporate number is exactly 13 digits, confirm the company has a real Japanese-language presence and a registered address that looks like a business, and refuse bank-transfer-only payment. Most scams fail at least one. You can start with a free company verification search.
Overwhelmingly yes. Japan has a large base of honest manufacturers, and most transactions are unremarkable. Fraud concentrates in specific channels, especially used vehicle exports. Doing the basic checks puts you well ahead of the people who get caught.
Insisting on an irreversible bank transfer, then either disappearing after payment or sending a forged bill of lading and demanding the balance. Refusing bank-transfer-only terms and verifying shipping documents with the carrier stops both.
Exactly 13. Any other length means the number is wrong or fabricated, which is one of the fastest fraud checks available to you.
Usually not. Bank transfers are designed to be irreversible, which is why scammers require them. Recall attempts routinely fail when the recipient refuses to cooperate. Prevention is the only reliable protection.
This guide is based on publicly documented buyer accounts and official warnings about export fraud. It is general information, not legal advice. If you have lost money, contact your bank immediately and report the matter to the relevant authorities.
Use the company verification tool to check any Japanese company by name.