No. It is not possible to enter the Japanese national phase of a PCT application as a design application, although it is available as a patent and/or utility model application.

Normally, we suggest that the applicant first enter the Japanese national phase as a patent application, then file a divisional patent application thereof, and then convert the divisional patent application into a design application. In this way, the applicant can pursue both a patent application and a design application in Japan, although it is not possible to enter the Japanese national phase directly as a design application based on the PCT application.