.jp is the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 country code

Country code

Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The best known of these is ISO 3166-1...

 top-level domain

Top-level domain

A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...

 (ccTLD) for Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is administered by the Japan Registry Service

Japan Registry Service

The Japan Registry Service Co., Ltd. was incorporated on December 26, 2000. Its mandate is to manage the .jp ccTLD, including the operation of the registry and DNS servers...

.

At the establishment of the .jp domain the domain was administered by the JPNIC

Japan Network Information Center

The Japan Network Information Center is the National Internet Registry in Japan that manages several aspects of Internet operations, including the allocation of IP addresses and AS numbers....

, as part of their role as an overseeing technical body for the Internet in Japan. However, due to the growing importance and size of the .jp registry, it was decided at the 11th General Meeting of JPNIC in December 2000 to create a new corporation that would manage the .jp domain. Thus, the Japan Registry Service was created, and on June 30, 2003, officially assumed the duties of the .jp registry

Domain name registry

A domain name registry is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a network information center , is the part of the Domain Name System of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert...

.

.jp registrations are only allowed if the registrant has a physical address in Japan.

Registrations are processed via accredited registrars and domain name

Domain name

A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....

s with Japanese characters (kanji

Kanji

Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

, hiragana

Hiragana

is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...

 or katakana

Katakana

is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...

) may be registered at the second level.

Second-level domains

While any party with a Japanese mailing address can get a second-level domain (example.jp) there are several restricted-use second-level domains, listed below.

• ac.jp: higher level academic institutions, such as universities
• ad.jp: JPNIC members
• co.jp: most forms of incorporated companies, including foreign companies registered in Japan
• ed.jp: educational institutions for individuals under 18
• go.jp: Japanese government ministries and their endeavours
• gr.jp: groups of two or more people, or groups of registered companies
• lg.jp: local government authorities
• ne.jp: network service providers
• or.jp: registered organizations and non-profit organizations

Geographical type jp domain names

• (organization).(cityname).(prefecturename).jp

Domains listed below are reserved for the local governments in Japan:

• metro.tokyo.jp: reserved for the government of Tokyo Metropolis
• pref.(prefecturename).jp: reserved for the prefectural government
• city.(cityname).jp: reserved for cities designated by government ordinance
• city.(cityname).(prefecturename).jp: reserved for non-designated cities and, wards and cities within Tokyo
• town.(townname).(prefecturename).jp: reserved for towns
• vill.(villagename).(prefecturename).jp: reserved for villages

See also

• Domain Name System
  Domain name system
  The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
  
  
• Country code top-level domain
  Country code top-level domain
  A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
  
  
• Internationalized domain name
  Internationalized domain name
  An internationalized domain name is an Internet domain name that contains at least one label that is displayed in software applications, in whole or in part, in a language-specific script or alphabet, such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi or the Latin alphabet-based characters with diacritics,...
  
  

External links

• IANA .jp whois information
• JPRS website
• JPNIC website
• .jp accredited registrars (in Japanese only)