are a type of business defined under Japanese law. Usage in language Both kabushiki 'kaisha and the rendaku form kabushiki gaisha are used. The "K" spelling is much more common in the names of companies and in English-language legal literature, whereas the "G" pronunciation is more common in Japanese. In Japanese, "kabushiki gaisha" can be used as a prefix (e.g. Kabushiki Gaisha Dents?) or as a suffix (e.g. Toyota Jid?sha Kabushiki Gaisha). It is often abbreviated as "," its first character. Many Japanese companies translate the phrase "kabushiki kaisha" as "Co., Ltd." while others use the more Americanized translations Corporation or Incorporated. English texts often refer to kabushiki kaisha as "joint stock companies"; while this is close to a literal translation of the term, the two are not the same