The rules
| Term |
Reading |
Meaning |
| 政府調達 |
seifu chōtatsu |
Government procurement. |
| 会計法 |
kaikei-hō |
The Accounts Act, the basis of central-government contracting. |
| 予決令 |
yoketsu-rei |
The Cabinet Order on Budget, Auditing and Accounting. |
| 特例政令 |
tokurei seirei |
The special cabinet order for contracts covered by the WTO GPA. |
| WTO政府調達協定 |
— |
The WTO Government Procurement Agreement. Thresholds from April 2026: ¥20m goods and services, ¥900m construction. |
| 運用指針 |
un’yō shishin |
Operational guidelines setting Japan’s voluntary measures (e.g. a 50-day bid period). |
Procedures
| Term |
Reading |
Meaning |
| 一般競争入札 |
ippan kyōsō nyūsatsu |
General competitive bidding, the default (75% of covered contracts). |
| 指名競争入札 |
shimei kyōsō nyūsatsu |
Designated competitive bidding: selected firms are invited. |
| 随意契約 |
zuii keiyaku |
Negotiated contract: sole supplier, urgency, or small amounts (up to ¥3m for purchases since 2025). |
| オープンカウンター |
open counter |
Open quotations for small purchases. Possible with just a GビズID since March 2026. |
| 総合評価落札方式 |
sōgō hyōka rakusatsu hōshiki |
Comprehensive evaluation: price plus quality. |
| 最低価格落札方式 |
— |
Lowest-price award. |
Finding tenders
| Term |
Reading |
Meaning |
| 調達ポータル |
chōtatsu pōtaru |
The Government Procurement Portal, with GEPS e-bidding. |
| 官報 |
kanpō |
The Official Gazette (electronic since April 2025). WTO-covered notices appear here. |
| 入札公告 |
nyūsatsu kōkoku |
Tender notice. |
| 入札説明書 |
nyūsatsu setsumeisho |
Tender instructions. |
| 仕様書 |
shiyōsho |
Specifications. |
| 意見招請 / 資料提供招請 |
iken shōsei / shiryō teikyō shōsei |
Requests for comments on a draft specification / requests for information, for large purchases. |
| 調達機関 |
chōtatsu kikan |
Procuring entity. |
Qualifying and bidding
| Term |
Reading |
Meaning |
| 全省庁統一資格 |
zenshōchō tōitsu shikaku |
The Unified Qualification for all ministries, graded A–D. |
| 等級 (A・B・C・D) |
tōkyū |
Grade, which sets the contract values you can bid for. |
| 資格審査結果通知書 |
— |
The qualification result notice, posted to a Japanese address. |
| 業者コード |
gyōsha kōdo |
Your supplier code, entered on every bid form. |
| 入札書 |
nyūsatsusho |
Bid form, with a tax-exclusive total. |
| 予定価格 |
yotei kakaku |
The secret ceiling price. |
| 入札保証金 / 契約保証金 |
nyūsatsu hoshōkin / keiyaku hoshōkin |
Bid security (at least 5%) and contract security (at least 10%), routinely waived (免除) for qualified bidders. |
| 低入札価格調査 |
tei-nyūsatsu kakaku chōsa |
Investigation of abnormally low bids (contracts over ¥10m). |
| 電子入札 / 紙入札 |
denshi nyūsatsu / kami nyūsatsu |
E-bidding (needs a Japanese certificate) / paper bidding. |
| 代理人 / 委任状 |
dairinin / ininjō |
Agent / power of attorney. |
| 建設業許可 |
kensetsugyō kyoka |
Construction business licence, needed for public works. |
| 経営事項審査 (経審) |
keiei jikō shinsa |
Management matters review, needed to bid for public works directly. |
| 共同企業体 (JV) |
kyōdō kigyōtai |
Joint venture. For single projects: 2–3 members, each with at least 30% or 20%. |
After the award
| Term |
Reading |
Meaning |
| 落札者 |
rakusatsusha |
The successful bidder. |
| 契約書 |
keiyakusho |
Contract document, in Japanese and yen. |
| 検査 |
kensa |
Inspection: within 10 days (14 for works). |
| 支払遅延防止法 |
shiharai chien bōshi-hō |
The prompt-payment law: payment in 30 days (40 for works), with 3.0% interest if late. |
| 苦情処理 (CHANS) |
kujō shori |
The challenge system for WTO-covered procurement: 10 days to file. |
Questions
What is 予定価格 (yotei kakaku)?
The ceiling price: the buyer’s secret maximum, sealed until bids are opened. A bid must fall within it to win; if none does, there’s an immediate re-bid, and if that fails, the buyer may negotiate.
What is 総合評価落札方式?
The comprehensive evaluation method: the award goes to the bid with the best combined score for price and quality, instead of the lowest price. It’s mandatory above set values for computers, telecoms, medical technology and supercomputers.
What is 全省庁統一資格?
The Unified Qualification for all ministries: one supplier qualification for central-government goods and services, graded A to D, valid to 31 March 2028. Foreign companies can apply from abroad in Japanese.
Sources
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.
