SWIFT/BIC codes in Japan: banks starting with J

Finding a SWIFT code in Japan

This directory contains 586 banks and other institutions in Japan, with 712 SWIFT/BIC codes in total. A BIC tells the banks handling a transfer exactly which bank should receive an international payment.

Search for the recipient’s bank below and open its page to see the full list of codes and what else a transfer requires. Below the list we explain how a code from Japan is put together, how to send money to Japan at a fair price and what to check before you pay.

Japan and the Japanese Yen

Bank accounts in Japan are usually held in JPY. When you pay money in a different currency, it gets converted somewhere along the way – by your bank, a bank in between or the recipient’s bank.

Who converts the money makes a difference, because each party uses its own rate. Check what JPY the recipient gets via different providers before choosing one. Exchange rates change all the time, so a quote is usually valid only briefly.

Why a transfer to Japan needs a SWIFT code

Because Japan does not belong to SEPA, an international payment normally goes through SWIFT. That means you always need the SWIFT/BIC code of the receiving bank in addition to the account details.

In some countries, accounts are identified by a local account number instead of an IBAN, sometimes with an extra bank or branch code. The recipient’s bank usually provides a list of required details for incoming international payments – follow them exactly. SWIFT payments sometimes go via one or more intermediary banks.

Transfer times to Japan

A SWIFT payment to Japan typically takes one to a few business days, depending on the currency, the route and the banks involved. Public holidays in either country add a day or more.

Many banks use SWIFT gpi for faster and traceable payments. Each gpi transfer gets a unique reference, the UETR, which the sending bank can use to trace it. Keep the payment confirmation until the money has arrived.

How SWIFT codes from Japan are built

Every SWIFT/BIC code consists of eight or eleven characters. The first four letters stand for the bank, characters five and six are the country code and characters seven and eight give the location.

Whatever the bank, every code from Japan share the same country code in positions five and six. When those two letters do not match Japan, you are looking at a bank somewhere else.

The long version adds three characters for a branch, where XXX means the head office. In most cases the head office code is fine unless the recipient asks for a specific branch.

Sending money to Japan for less

What you pay for a transfer to Japan has more than one component. Besides the fee, intermediary banks may take a cut, and when the money is converted the bank usually applies a less favourable rate than the actual market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, not in the fee – the bank builds a margin into its rate. Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate, the midpoint you see on financial news sites; the gap is what conversion costs you.

Money transfer services often offer rates closer to the mid-market rate and lower fees. On GoldexPay you can compare the amount that arrives in Japan with different services.

Verifying a SWIFT code from Japan

The safest source for the BIC is the bank details provided by the recipient – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. When the code you were given differs from the code listed here, do not guess – contact the recipient or their bank.

The directory on GoldexPay is based on publicly available sources and is updated regularly. Banks merge, change names and change codes. Treat this list as a starting point. GoldexPay is not a bank and has no link to the banks in this list.

Scammers often send payment requests with changed bank details that look completely genuine. A real SWIFT code says nothing about whether a request is genuine.

Banks in Japan starting with :letter

Here you see a filtered list: only institutions in Japan whose name begins with :letter. The counts in the introduction always cover the whole country.

Many institutions appear under their legal name, which may start with words like Bank or Banco. The full overview for Japan remains one click away when the letter filter does not help.

Which bank in Japan has the most codes?

Of all banks in Japan, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ufj, LTD., The has the largest number of SWIFT codes. Its main office has BOTKJPJTXXX and that code covers most payments.

Banks differ in how many codes they register, so the count is not a ranking of size. Unless the recipient asks for a branch, the head office code BOTKJPJTXXX works for a payment to Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ufj, LTD., The.

What a sender needs to pay you in Japan

For an international payment in Japan, the person paying you has to have more than the SWIFT code. In practice that means: your name as your bank knows it, your account number or IBAN, the BIC of your bank and usually your postal address.

The code of your bank appears in our list, yet the version on your own statement or in your banking app is leading. Certain sending banks may also want your bank’s address.

Do not be surprised if the incoming amount is smaller than what the sender paid. Fees for incoming transfers vary from bank to bank – your bank’s price list tells you what applies. For business payments, state who bears the costs, so nobody is left short.