Jump to content

GMO Registry

Organization
Type Commercial
Focus Registry
Region AP
Country
  • Japan
City Tokyo
Founded July 28, 2009
Ownership GMO Internet Group
Websites

GMO Registry is a registry found in 2009 by the GMO Internet Group originally assisting with the new gTLD application process approved by ICANN in 2008, and it is one of many businesses that make up the GMO Internet Group.[1]

History[edit | edit source]

In ICANN 32 in Paris, in June 2008, there was the announcement for the new gTLD program, which opened up applications for corporate, geographic, and open top-level domains.

In light of the 2012 new gTLD Program, the GMO Internet Group established GMO Registry, Inc. to offer new gTLD application, management, and marketing support services to corporations and government bodies.

Besides, one of GMO Registry's main goals was to acquire .shop. As the company prepared to apply for .shop, GMO Registry began forging ties with ecommerce associations worldwide for a better understanding of the service they would offer. They also hosted events during ICANN meetings to announce their plans for .shop globally.[2] [3]

In November 2011, it was announced that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government had chosen to work with GMO Registry on its proposed .tokyo geoTLD.[4] GMO Registry signed an agreement with ICANN to operate .tokyo, on November 11, 2013.

In March 2012, GMO Registry also received official support from the City of Yokohama as well as the City of Nagoya for the .yokohama and .nagoya TLDs.

GMO Registry was accredited as Registry operator by ICANN in July 2013. .nagoya was launched in February 2014, .tokyo in April and .yokohama in July of the same year.

In 2016, four years after the beginning of their application for .shop, GMO gained the right to operate the TLD in an ICANN public auction for a record-breaking USD 41.5 million. On December 28, 2016, .shop was licensed to operate in China by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of People's Republic of China. It was officially launched on January 11, 2017. More than 20,000 .shop domain names were registered in China in the first month.[2]

In August, 2022, GMO entered into a partnership with Unstoppable Domains called CryptoName, becoming the blockchain platform's first partnership with a traditional domain name registrar.[5]

Services[edit | edit source]

GMO Registry provides both registry operations and consultancy services related to new gTLDs, GeoTLDs, ccTLDs, and .brand TLDs.

Services[edit | edit source]

According to its official website, GMO Registry provides technical and operational support services for Top Level Domains, with a focus on Brand TLDs, GeoTLDs, and selected ccTLDs.[6]

  • Brand TLD application and operation support: consulting for companies considering applying for a Brand TLD, including Brand TLD application consulting, Brand TLD management support, building and managing the registry system, developing operation policies, and providing domain name registration management services for corporate namespaces such as .canon, .gmo, .hitachi, .toshiba and others.
  • Registry system operational services: building registry systems and providing operational and technical support for new gTLDs, including registry database construction, stable DNS service, billing and collection systems, data backup systems, and technical support for registrars.
  • GeoTLD and ccTLD registry assistance: registry operational assistance for GeoTLDs such as .okinawa, .ryukyu, and .kyoto, and for ccTLDs such as Indonesia’s .id, leveraging operational experience from the wider GMO Internet Group’s domain registration businesses.
  • Marketing support for TLDs: support for planning and executing marketing strategies for TLDs, including domain pricing for registrars and end-users, branding, planning and executing promotional strategies, expanding sales channels, and follow-up activities with partners and registrars.[7]

GMO Registry is also the registry operator for the gTLDs .shop, .tokyo, .nagoya, and .yokohama, which it markets as its own Top Level Domains.[8][9]

Leadership[edit | edit source]

GMO Registry's Board of Directors is composed by (as of 2025):

References[edit | edit source]

Asia/Australia/Pacific, according to the ICANN Geographic Regions (ICANN Geographic Regions).

Country code top-level domain. Determined by "ISO 3166-1: Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country codes".

Country code top-level domain. Determined by "ISO 3166-1: Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country codes".

Retrieved from "https://icannwiki.org/index.php?title=GMO_Registry&oldid=1398111"
Semantic properties for "GMO Registry"
RDF feed
Date foundedStores the date that an object was founded, normalized to the "Month DD, YYYY" format.
July 28, 2009 +
Has ICANN regionAssociates an object with an ICANN-determined Geographic Region.
AP +
Has cityStores the city associated with an object. This value does not get normalized.
Tokyo +
Has countryAssociates a page with a country. Territory names are extracted from ISO 3166, "Country Codes".
Japan +
Has entity typeSpecifies the primary classification or fundamental type of the page's subject (e.g., Event, Organization, Person).
Organization +
Has focusAssociates an object with a focus theme. Not normalized.
Registry +
Has organization typeAssociates an organization with its organizational or legal type (e.g., Non-profit, Government agency, Commercial).
Commercial +
Has owner
GMO Internet Group +