1.
limited liability company; Ltd. company
A type of Japanese small-business corporation in which the owners' liability is limited to their investment. New 有限会社 cannot be founded since the 2006 Companies Act, but existing ones continue to operate and the name is still common in business listings.
父は有限会社を経営している。
My father runs a limited liability company.
名刺には有限会社の社名が書かれていた。
The business card had the name of a limited liability company on it.
制度が変わったため、新たに有限会社を設立することはできない。
Because the law changed, it is no longer possible to newly establish a limited liability company.
Often abbreviated 有限 or written as ㈲ before the company name. The 2006 Companies Act (会社法) discontinued the category, but existing 有限会社 were grandfathered in and may still keep the title indefinitely.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 有限会社を設立する: to establish a limited company
- 有限会社を経営する: to run a limited company
- 有限会社○○: "○○ Ltd." (in company names)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 株式会社: stock company; joint-stock corporation — much larger and more common form, with shares
- 合同会社: LLC (Japanese-style) — the modern small-business form that replaced 有限会社 after 2006