---
title: "SPV TK / GK / TMK / SPC vehicle choice (Japan tax)"
aliases:
  - "Japan SPV vehicle"
  - "TK-GK scheme"
  - "TMK"
  - "SPC Japan"
  - "Tokumei kumiai"
  - "Godo kaisha"
  - "Tokutei mokuteki kaisha"
  - "Japan securitization vehicle"
  - "Japan tax-pass-through SPV"
domain: structured-finance
created: 2026-05-25
last_updated: 2026-07-29
last_tended: 2026-07-29
review_by: 2027-01-29
confidence: likely
tags: [structured-finance, spv, tk, gk, tmk, spc, japan, tax]
status: active
sources:
  - "https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/132AC0000000048"
  - "https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/417AC0000000086"
  - "https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/410AC0000000105"
  - "https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/332AC0000000026"
  - "https://www.fsa.go.jp/policy/marketentry/guidebook/reference1.html"
---

# SPV TK / GK / TMK / SPC vehicle choice (Japan tax)

## TL;DR

A TK is a Commercial Code contract, a GK is a Companies Act corporation, and a TMK is a specified-purpose company under the Asset Securitization Act. “SPC” is only a generic label. None of these names automatically proves tax pass-through, deductibility, bankruptcy remoteness, accounting derecognition, risk retention, public / private offering status or listing. Those conclusions require the current statute and the named transaction's contracts and facts.

## Wiki route

For trust arrangements, use [[structured-finance/japan-trust-beneficial-interest-vs-spv]]. For TMK detail, use [[structured-finance/tmk-special-purpose-company-mechanics]]. For a product evidence map, use [[structured-finance/japan-securitization-product-matrix]].

## 1. Legal forms

[The Commercial Code](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/132AC0000000048), [Companies Act](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/417AC0000000086), and [Asset Securitization Act](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/410AC0000000105) support the following legal-form table.

| Label | Legal form | What the label establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| TK | 匿名組合 contractual relationship | Contribution and profit / loss relationship under the Commercial Code | Corporation, tax result, security offer or asset ownership |
| GK | 合同会社 corporation | Corporate legal form under the Companies Act | Bankruptcy remoteness, derecognition or tax deduction |
| TMK | 特定目的会社 | Statutory specified-purpose company under the Asset Securitization Act | Public offer, listing or automatic distribution deduction |
| SPC | Generic market term | Nothing without the actual legal form | Any legal, accounting or tax consequence |

## 2. GK plus TK evidence

[FSA's FIEA classification guide](https://www.fsa.go.jp/policy/marketentry/guidebook/reference1.html) identifies collective-investment / TK interests generally as paragraph-2 securities; the following table states the additional evidence required.

| Question | Required evidence |
|---|---|
| Who owns the assets? | GK purchase / trust documents and perfection evidence |
| What does the TK investor hold? | Executed TK agreement and offer terms |
| Is an allocation deductible? | Current tax law, characterization and transaction facts |
| Is the GK bankruptcy-remote? | Governance, limited-purpose, non-petition and separateness package |
| Is the transfer derecognized? | Applicable accounting standard and control / risk analysis |
| Is the offer private? | FIEA conditions and selling restrictions |

There is no “workhorse,” market-share or standard product mapping asserted on this legal page.

## 3. TMK evidence

[The Asset Securitization Act](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/410AC0000000105) supports the following statutory boundary.

| Field | Verified boundary |
|---|---|
| Entity | Specified-purpose company under the Act |
| Procedure | Statutory notification and asset-liquidation-plan filing |
| Instruments | Instruments authorized by the Act and plan |
| Offer / listing | Determined separately under FIEA, offer terms and exchange rules |
| Tax | Corporation in principle; any deduction requires all current tax-law conditions |
| Accounting / insolvency | Requires transaction-specific analysis |

TMK is not labeled “preferred” for any asset class without a named transaction population.

## 4. Tax review

[The Tax Special Measures Act](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/332AC0000000026) supplies conditional rules; the following table is a review checklist, not tax advice.

| Form / interest | Required tax analysis |
|---|---|
| GK with TK interest | GK corporate taxation, TK allocation characterization / deductibility, investor status and withholding |
| TMK | Entity eligibility, distribution-ratio, offering / investor, ownership, asset-management and other statutory conditions |
| Generic corporation | Corporation tax and any specific statutory relief |
| Trust beneficial interest | Trust category, beneficiary status, income classification and withholding |

The “over 90%” TMK distribution test is only one condition. No blanket single-layer-taxation conclusion is retained.

## 5. Transfer, insolvency and accounting

[The Asset Securitization Act](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/410AC0000000105) does not replace the following transaction analyses.

| Claim | Required evidence |
|---|---|
| Effective transfer | Asset contract, perfection and enforceability |
| Bankruptcy remoteness | Entity purpose, governance, separateness, non-petition and insolvency-law analysis |
| Risk transfer | Actual retained exposures, recourse, warranties and support |
| Control transfer | Contractual rights and practical control |
| Derecognition / consolidation | Applicable JGAAP / IFRS analysis |
| Risk retention | Actual law / policy and transaction disclosure; no assumed 5% |

## 6. Offering and listing

[FSA's FIEA classification guide](https://www.fsa.go.jp/policy/marketentry/guidebook/reference1.html) supports the following instrument boundary.

| Route | Vehicle implication | Required evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Public offer | None by label alone | Instrument classification, disclosure and offer terms |
| Private placement | None by label alone | Applicable FIEA conditions and selling restrictions |
| QII-only offer | None by label alone | Professional-investor conditions |
| Exchange listing | None by label alone | Exchange eligibility and approval for the named security |

## 7. Product-to-vehicle claims

Use the following evidence rule instead of a default vehicle map:

| Product claim | Minimum evidence |
|---|---|
| Auto / card / lease / consumer ABS uses GK-TK | Named transaction legal documents |
| RMBS uses a trust | Named trust and offering documents |
| CMBS uses TMK | Named issuer and asset-liquidation plan / offer document |
| JHF MBS is a trust-beneficial-interest variant | Do not state; use JHF's bond plus contingent beneficiary-interest-event description |
| Covered bond has no SPV | Use the named program; SMBC's verified program uses a specified money trust |

## Wiki route

Read this entry within [[structured-finance/INDEX|structured finance]] and use [[finance/INDEX|finance]] for cross-domain capital-markets context.

## Related

- [[structured-finance/INDEX]]
- [[structured-finance/japan-trust-beneficial-interest-vs-spv]]
- [[structured-finance/tmk-special-purpose-company-mechanics]]
- [[structured-finance/japan-securitization-product-matrix]]
- [[structured-finance/jhf-mbs-mechanics]]

## Sources

- [Commercial Code](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/132AC0000000048).
- [Companies Act](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/417AC0000000086).
- [Asset Securitization Act](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/410AC0000000105).
- [Tax Special Measures Act](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/332AC0000000026).
- [FSA, examples of FIEA paragraph-1 and paragraph-2 securities](https://www.fsa.go.jp/policy/marketentry/guidebook/reference1.html).