Talk:Kabushiki kaisha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Pronunciation?

What's the difference between Kabushiki Kaisha and Kabushiki Gaisha? Just iffy romanization? -- Mikeblas 03:57, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

It's just a difference in regional pronunciation in Japan. There are many words where this happens (kurai and gurai, for example). Both are used, so both are mentioned at the beginning of the article. --nihon 05:53, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

”Both kabushiki kaisha and the rendaku form kabushiki gaisha are commonly used” -- is that so? Isn't it misleading (or could even be incorrect)? Well I admit I've spent most of the 20+ years of my life in eastern Japanese (Hokkaido and Kanto) but it is also true that I never heard kabushiki-Kaisha. I thought it's always rendaku^ja:ed and becomes kabushiki-Gaisha. To be specific, in what region is it pronounced as kabushiki-Kaisha? Although many companies seem to write KK, for pronunciation kabushiki-Kaisha is not so common I feel... To tell the truth, I didn't know **-Kaisha for writing the own name is in so widespread use until reading this article. I was a bit surprised.

Also note this 'rendaku' is applied not just to kabushiki- but also to the others. Any **会社 is (always, I think) pronounced as **-gaisha; see for example articles on Japanese Wikipedia: ja:株式会社, ja:有限会社, ja:合名会社, ja:合資会社, etc. -- for their readings you'll find **がいしゃ (**-Gaisha), not **かいしゃ (**-Kaisha). Here, **-kaisha do not appear even as options. Clearly, these readings reflect how they (only kanto-jin?) pronounce them. Another examples include 大会社 (dai-Gaisha // large corporation; also 大企業 dai-kigyou) or 子会社 (ko-Gaisha // subsidiary).

Why does this 'rendaku' so frequently happen for -kaisha? Probably simply it's hard to say **-Kaisha for a native Japanese speaker. - marsian 12:18, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

In Hiroshima Prefecture (where I lived for a few years), I always heard "kabushiki kaisha". It's like the "kurai/gurai" pronunciation: it just depends on where you're from. --日本穣 Nihonjoe 23:41, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. I really didn't know that. When I see a person from Hiroshima I'll try to ask him/her. - marsian 06:32, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

And it may just be in the area where I lived (northeastern Hiroshima-ken) since they had their own "-ben" there (called "Saijō-ben) and said quite a few things differently than people from Hiroshima-shi. --日本穣 Nihonjoe 16:49, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

Might this have something to do with the speed at which people speak? I mean, I can't say "kabushiki kaisha" in conversation without a rendaku slipping its way in. But I'm high on caffeine all the time, too. Perhaps in your part of Hiroshima, people just don't speak as quickly? - Sekicho 08:23, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

No, people spoke quite quickly there, but they definitely said "kaisha." --日本穣 Nihonjoe 23:12, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Hard to say. I'm not sure the "regional" argument is correct either (though I'd love to see some evidence). Where I work (a Tokyo law firm that incorporates companies on a regular basis), we always use "KK" and "kabushiki kaisha" in our English translations and correspondence. That's also the convention I've seen used by other firms, Japanese and Western, scattered around town. It's also what's used in a couple of English texts on Japanese law I have sitting on my bookshelf. On the other hand, the IRS regulations on pass-through entities use the "gaisha" spelling, so it isn't totally universal. Maybe the "kaisha" spelling is used to avoid confusing people unfamiliar with Japanese, who hear about companies being called "kaisha" and then see a bunch of companies called "gaisha." Or maybe old habits just die hard, who knows.

Google says: 955,000 hits for "kabushiki kaisha," and 37,100 for "kabushiki gaisha." However, 159,000 hits for "かぶしきがいしゃ" and 23,600 for "かぶしきかいしゃ" ... Also, I must say that when I see "gaisha" in romaji, I always think of '57 Ford Thunderbirds. - Sekicho 17:28, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, "gaisha" alone is not used for company, as far as I know. - marsian 06:32, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Investment Capital

I am not exactly sure when it changed (it is probably part of the 会社法) but investment capital is now only 8,000,000円. Some of the laws regarding the board members are significantly different as well.