Second-level registrations require a Japanese mailing address; third-level registrations have varying rules depending on which second-level name they are beneath
Structure
Registrations permitted at second level and at third level beneath various second-level labels
At the establishment of the .jp domain, the domain was administered by the JPNIC, as part of their role as an overseeing technical body for the Internet in Japan. It was originally proposed by Jun Murai for the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California on August 5, 1986. Handling of the domain was first managed within the "junet-admin" admin group, which was responsible for the operations of JUNET, an early computer network in which Murai was a part of.[2]
In April 1989, the junet-admin group began formally registering .jp domain names.[3] 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.
.jp registrations are only allowed if the registrant has a physical address in Japan. Registrations are processed via accredited registrars and domain names with Japanese characters (kanji, hiragana or katakana) 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.[4]
ac.jp: higher level academic institutions, such as universities
^"A New Phase for JP Domain Name Registration and Administration". Retrieved September 18, 2020. Since their introduction in 1989, JP domain names have been registered and managed under such rules as "one domain name per organization" and "prohibition of domain name transfer."