Japan: Treatment of foreign organizations (including private foundations) and trusts in Japan

The article discusses the treatment of foreign organizations and trusts from the Japanese legal and tax perspectives, with reference to the 2015 decision of the Supreme Court that a limited partnership formed under the laws of the state of Delaware constitutes a corporation for Japanese tax purposes. This judgment is the first and only decision from the Supreme Court that provides the criteria for determining whether an organization established under foreign law is a corporation for Japanese tax purposes. The article assesses the application of these criteria and provides a guide for analyzing the Japanese tax implications of foreign organizations.