Smaller and Local Companies

Which is the threshold for a small and medium enterprise in manufacturing, construction, transport and other industries under Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act (中小企業基本法)?

1. Stated capital or total contributions of 100 million yen or less, or 100 or fewer regular employees
2. Stated capital or total contributions of 1 billion yen or less, or 1,000 or fewer regular employees
3. Stated capital or total contributions of 300 million yen or less, or 300 or fewer regular employees
4. Stated capital or total contributions of 50 million yen or less, or 50 or fewer regular employees

Which is the correct threshold for a small and medium enterprise in wholesale trade under the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act?

1. Stated capital of 300 million yen or less, or 300 or fewer employees
2. Stated capital of 50 million yen or less, or 50 or fewer employees
3. Stated capital of 50 million yen or less, or 100 or fewer employees
4. Stated capital of 100 million yen or less, or 100 or fewer employees

Which is the employee threshold for a small and medium enterprise in retail trade under the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act?

1. 100 or fewer
2. 300 or fewer
3. 20 or fewer
4. 50 or fewer

Which is the correct threshold for a small and medium enterprise in services under the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act?

1. Stated capital of 300 million yen or less, or 100 or fewer employees
2. Stated capital of 50 million yen or less, or 100 or fewer employees
3. Stated capital of 50 million yen or less, or 50 or fewer employees
4. Stated capital of 100 million yen or less, or 100 or fewer employees

For a manufacturing company with stated capital of 500 million yen and 150 regular employees, which is the correct treatment under the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act?

1. No judgment can be made, because there is no employee threshold for manufacturing
2. It is not a small and medium enterprise, because stated capital exceeds 300 million yen
3. It is a small and medium enterprise, because it has 300 or fewer employees
4. It is not a small and medium enterprise, because both stated capital and employee numbers must be within the thresholds

Which is the employee threshold for a small enterprise under Article 2, paragraph 5 of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act?

1. Roughly 100 or fewer, or 50 or fewer in commerce or services
2. Roughly 20 or fewer, or 5 or fewer in commerce or services
3. Roughly 30 or fewer, or 10 or fewer in commerce or services
4. Roughly 50 or fewer, or 20 or fewer in commerce or services

Which is correct about the industry categories in Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act?

1. Construction falls in the same category as wholesale trade, with a threshold of stated capital of 100 million yen or less or 100 or fewer employees
2. There is no small and medium enterprise definition for construction or transport
3. Transport falls in the services category, with a threshold of stated capital of 50 million yen or less or 100 or fewer employees
4. Construction and transport are included in item 1, as manufacturing, construction, transport and other industries

What share of all businesses in Japan do small and medium enterprises make up, according to the White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises?

1. About 99.7 percent
2. About 50 percent
3. About 90 percent
4. About 70 percent

Which is the correct description of business innovation (経営の革新) as the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act uses the term?

1. Seeking a substantial improvement in management through new business activities such as developing new products or introducing new ways of selling
2. Merging with another company to expand in scale
3. Increasing stated capital so as to fall outside the range of small and medium enterprises
4. Replacing the company's representative with someone from outside the family and seeking a substantial improvement in management under the new representative

Which is listed in the provision as falling within management resources (経営資源) as the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act uses the term?

1. Facilities, technology, and the knowledge and skills held by individuals
2. The register of shareholders stating shareholders' names and addresses
3. The notice of a subsidy award decision and the documents attached to it
4. A copy of the company's certificate of registered matters issued by the Legal Affairs Bureau

Which is an appropriate reason why many companies hold high market shares while their names are unknown to the public?

1. Because a company with few employees cannot register a trade name
2. Because listing on an exchange is prohibited by law
3. Because publishing the company name is prohibited by law
4. Because the buyers are companies, so there is little reason to advertise to consumers

Under the Chambers of Commerce and Industry Act (商工会議所法), what is the district of a chamber of commerce and industry as a rule?

1. The area of a prefecture
2. The area of one town or village
3. The whole country as a single district
4. The area of a city

Under the Societies of Commerce and Industry Act (商工会法), what is the district of a society of commerce and industry as a rule?

1. The area of a prefecture
2. The area of a city
3. It may overlap the district of a chamber of commerce and industry
4. The area of one town or village

Which does Article 9 of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry Act list as an activity of a chamber of commerce and industry?

1. Paying corporation tax on behalf of member companies
2. Acquiring the shares of member companies and controlling their management
3. Issuing certificates of origin for export goods
4. Employing the staff of member companies directly and dispatching them

Which criterion for a specified commercial and industrial business (特定商工業者) is laid down in the Chambers of Commerce and Industry Act?

1. Having 20 or more employees (5 or more in commerce or services), or stated capital and the like of 3 million yen or more
2. Having been established 10 or more years ago
3. Having 50 or more employees (10 or more in commerce or services) and stated capital and the like of 10 million yen or more
4. Being listed on a stock exchange and having had a business office in the district continuously for six months or more

Which does the Companies Act provide as a way into the finances of an unlisted stock company?

1. A stock company must prepare a monthly trial balance and give public notice of it in the official gazette
2. Every stock company is required to file an annual securities report for each business year
3. A stock company must give public notice of its balance sheet without delay after the conclusion of the annual general meeting of shareholders
4. The finances of a stock company are private and there is no way to check them

Which correctly states what the Commercial Registration Act provides about requesting a certificate of a company's registered matters?

1. Only shareholders of that company may request one
2. Only business partners of that company may request one
3. Only a person with the permission of a court may request one
4. Any person may request one on paying a fee

Which is an appropriate description of an industrial cluster?

1. One large company spreading factories across the country and making and shipping the same product separately in each area
2. Several companies merging into one
3. A company moving its head office functions to Tokyo
4. Companies in the same field sitting close together in a particular area, with the division of labour in materials, processing and the like working within that area

Which is not an appropriate way to go about looking for companies rooted in a local area?

1. Looking at the pages introducing local companies on the local government's website
2. Taking name recognition alone as the test and dropping companies whose names you do not know
3. Looking at the member lists and industry booklets of chambers and societies of commerce and industry
4. Looking at the events and booklets local financial institutions produce to introduce their customers

Which combination is the set of three types of business succession as organised by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency?

1. Voluntary closure, temporary suspension, and liquidation of the company
2. Mergers, company splits, and share exchanges and share transfers
3. Listing shares, issuing bonds, and third-party allotment of new shares
4. Succession within the family, succession by an employee, and succession by a third party

Which matches the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency's account of the Business Succession and Handover Support Centres?

1. They are a desk placed only in Tokyo, giving advice on business succession generally and matching support for M and A for a fee
2. They are private advice desks set up by financial institutions on their own
3. They are placed in all 47 prefectures and give advice on business succession generally and matching support for M and A, free of charge as a rule
4. They are a desk serving listed companies only

Which matches the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency's account of the thinking behind the business succession tax measure?

1. It is a scheme under which the state takes over the borrowings of a company that has been succeeded to
2. It is a scheme giving subsidies to companies that pay a salary to a successor
3. It is a special measure lightening the gift tax and inheritance tax burden that comes with succeeding to unlisted shares and the like
4. It is a scheme adding to the pension of an owner who has closed the business

What is the short name of the Act against Delay in Payment of Subcontract Proceeds after it was recast with effect from January 1, 2026?

1. Chūshō Jutaku Torihiki Tekiseika Hō (中小受託取引適正化法)
2. Chūshō Kigyō Torihiki Tekisei Antei Hō (中小企業取引適正安定法)
3. Shitauke Torihiki Kōseika-tō Suishin Hō (下請取引公正化等推進法)
4. Chūshō Jutaku Jigyōsha Daikin Hogo Hō (中小受託事業者代金保護法)

Which pair of names for the parties under the Chūshō Jutaku Torihiki Tekiseika Hō is correct?

1. Principal business (親事業者) and subcontracting business (下請事業者)
2. Client (発注者) and order taker (受注者)
3. Prime contractor (元請負人) and subcontractor (下請負人)
4. Commissioning business (委託事業者) and small and medium contractor (中小受託事業者)

Which is correct about the date for paying proceeds for manufacturing consignment and the like under the Chūshō Jutaku Torihiki Tekiseika Hō?

1. It must be set within 60 days counting from the day the goods were received, and within as short a period as possible
2. It need only be set within 120 days counting from the day the goods were received, and need not be as short as possible
3. There is no limit on the period if the parties agree
4. No payment date need be set until inspection is finished

Which is correct about the means of paying proceeds under the Chūshō Jutaku Torihiki Tekiseika Hō?

1. The Act says nothing in particular about the means of payment, which is left to the parties
2. Handing over a promissory note is included in failing to pay after the payment date has passed
3. Every means of payment other than cash is subject to criminal penalties
4. Paying by promissory note does not count as failing to pay after the payment date has passed

Which act does Article 5, paragraph 2, item 4 of the Chūshō Jutaku Torihiki Tekiseika Hō prohibit?

1. Setting out the content of the transaction in writing
2. Asking a small and medium contractor in advance for the quotation needed to set the amount of the proceeds
3. Refusing to consult when consultation is sought because costs have changed, and deciding the amount of the proceeds unilaterally
4. Setting the delivery date in writing

Where a person carrying on a construction business has construction work undertaken by another person carrying on a construction business, how is it treated under the Chūshō Jutaku Torihiki Tekiseika Hō?

1. It is carved out of service consignment and is not covered by that Act
2. It is treated as manufacturing consignment, as having all or part of the construction work undertaken by another
3. It is treated as information-based product creation consignment, as involving the preparation of drawings for the construction work
4. It is treated as specified transport consignment

Which is an appropriate description of how subsidies for small and medium enterprises work?

1. The state issues a call for applications, screens the business plans submitted, and selects among them
2. They go only to companies chosen independently by financial institutions rather than by the state
3. Any business meeting the requirements of the call for applications is bound to receive one on applying, with no screening
4. Whether a subsidy is granted is decided by drawing lots among the businesses that applied

Which is not an appropriate point to look at when researching a small or medium enterprise as a place to apply?

1. The substance of its technology, and whether other companies could do the same thing
2. The make-up of its customers, and whether sales lean on one company in particular
3. Its position within the local industrial cluster, and which stage of the process it handles
4. Its ranking in name recognition, and whether the name is famous within the industry