As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2017

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Form 20-F (Mark One) ☐ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR ☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 OR ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR ☐ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of event requiring this shell company report ______For the transition period from ______to ______

Commission file number 001-37821 Kabushiki Kaisha (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) (Translation of Registrant's name into English) (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

JR Shinjuku Miraina Tower, 23rd Floor 4-1-6 Shinjuku Shinjuku-ku, , 160-0022, Japan (Address of principal executive offices) Satoshi Yano Telephone: +81-3-4316-2050; E-mail: [email protected]; Facsimile: +81-3-4316-2131 (Name, telephone, e-mail and/or facsimile number and address of company contact person) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act. Title of Each Class Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

American Depositary Shares, each representing New York Stock Exchange, Inc. one share of common stock

Common Stock * New York Stock Exchange, Inc. *

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act. None Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act. None As of December 31, 2016, there were 217,775,500 shares of common stock outstanding

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☐ No ☒ If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes☐ No ☒ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☐ No ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of "accelerated filer and large accelerated filer" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☒ Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing. U.S. GAAP ☐ IFRS ☒ Other ☐ If "Other" has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 ☐ Item 18 ☐ If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒ ______*Not for trading, but only in connection with the registration of the American Depositary Shares.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGERS AND ADVISERS 1 ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE 1 ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION 1 Item 3.A. Selected Financial Data 1 Item 3.B. Capitalization and Indebtedness 3 Item 3.C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds 3 Item 3.D. Risk Factors 4 ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY 33 Item 4.A. History and Development of the Company 33 Item 4.B. Business Overview 34 Item 4.C. Organizational Structure 49 Item 4.D. Property, Plants and Equipment 49 ITEM 4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS 50 ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS 50 Item 5.A. Operating Results 50 Item 5.B. Liquidity and Capital Resources 72 Item 5.C. Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, Etc. 81 Item 5.D. Trend Information 81 Item 5.E. Off-balance Sheet Arrangements 81 Item 5.F. Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations 81 Item 5.G. Safe Harbor 81 ITEM 6. DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES 82 Item 6.A. Directors and Senior Management 82 Item 6.B. Compensation 85 Item 6.C. Board Practices 86 Item 6.D. Employees 88 Item 6.E. Share Ownership 88 ITEM 7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS 89 Item 7.A. Major Shareholders 89 Item 7.B. Related Party Transactions 90 Item 7.C. Interests of Experts and Counsel 90 ITEM 8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION 90 Item 8.A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information 90 Item 8.B. Significant Changes 91 ITEM 9. THE OFFER AND LISTING 91 Item 9.A. Offer and Listing Details 91 Item 9.B. Plan of Distribution 92 Item 9.C. Markets 92

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Item 9.D. Selling Shareholders 92 Item 9.E. Dilution 92 Item 9.F. Expenses of the Issue 92 ITEM 10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 92 Item 10.A. Share Capital 92 Item 10.B. Memorandum and Articles of Association 92 Item 10.C. Material Contracts 102 Item 10.D. Exchange Controls 102 Item 10.E. Taxation 104 Item 10.F. Dividends and Paying Agents 110 Item 10.G. Statements by Experts 110 Item 10.H .Documents on Display 110 Item 10.I. Subsidiary Information 110 ITEM 11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK 110 ITEM 12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES 112 Item 12.A. Debt Securities 112 Item 12.B. Warrants and Rights 112 Item 12.C. Other Securities 112 Item 12.D. American Depositary Shares 112 PART II 114 ITEM 13. DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES 114 ITEM 14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS 114 ITEM 15. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES 114 ITEM 16. [RESERVED] 115 ITEM 16A. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT 115 ITEM 16B. CODE OF ETHICS 115 ITEM 16C. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES 115 ITEM 16D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES 116 ITEM 16E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS 116 ITEM 16F. CHANGE IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT 116 ITEM 16G. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 116 ITEM 16H. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE 118 PART III 119 ITEM 17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 119 ITEM 18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 119 ITEM 19. EXHIBITS 120

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CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS ANNUAL REPORT

Except where the context otherwise requires or unless otherwise specified, and for purposes of this annual report on Form 20-F only:

• "daily active users" or "DAUs" refers to the number of user accounts that (i) accessed the LINE messaging application or any LINE Game through mobile devices; (ii) sent messages through the LINE messaging application from personal computers; or (iii) sent messages through any other LINE application from mobile devices, in each case at least once during a given day;

• "paid impression" refers to the display of an advertisement to a user while accessing our products and services for which we generate revenues;

• "Japanese yen," "yen" or "¥" refers to the legal currency of Japan;

• "Korea" refers to the Republic of Korea;

• "Korean won," "Won" or "￦" refers to the legal currency of Korea;

• "LINE," "we," "us," "our company," "the Company" or "our" refers to LINE Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries taken as a whole, as well as the messaging application and other products of LINE Corporation;

• "messages" refers to text messages, voice messages, Stickers and photo, video, voice and text files sent and received, as well as free voice and video calls made and received, in each case using the LINE messaging application from either mobile devices or personal computers or using any LINE Game or any other LINE application from mobile devices;

• "monthly active users" or "MAUs" in a given month refers to the number of user accounts that (i) accessed the LINE messaging application or any LINE Game through mobile devices; (ii) sent messages through the LINE messaging application from personal computers; or (iii) sent messages through any other LINE application from mobile devices, in each case at least once during that month;

• "monthly paying users" or "MPUs" in a given month refers to the number of user accounts that made (i) a payment for Stickers, Themes or LINE Out on the LINE messaging application through mobile devices or personal computers or (ii) a payment relating to any LINE Game through mobile devices, in each case at least once during that month;

• "platform partners" refers to application developers and other providers of content offered on the LINE platform;

• "stickers" refers to larger, cartoon-like emoticons that depict emotions and actions of characters, which are exchanged as part of chat messages on mobile messaging applications; and

• "U.S. dollar," "US$" or "$" refers to the legal currency of the United States.

Any discrepancies in any table between the totals and the sums of the amounts listed are due to rounding.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report contains forward-looking statements with respect to our current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those statements using words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continues," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "project," "aim," "plan," "likely to," "target," "contemplate," "predict," "potential" and similar expressions and future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "might," "can," "may," or similar expressions generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us, speak only as of the date hereof and are based on our current plans and expectations and are subject to a number of known and unknown uncertainties and risks, many of which are beyond our control. As a consequence, current plans, anticipated actions and future financial position and results of operations may differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements in this annual report. You are cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements when evaluating the information presented and we do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that might affect us include, but are not limited to:

• our ability to attract and retain users and increase the level of engagement of our users;

• our ability to improve user monetization;

• our ability to successfully enter new markets and manage our business expansion;

• our ability to compete in the global social network services market;

• our ability to develop or acquire new products and services, improve our existing products and services and increase the value of our products and services in a timely and cost-effective manner;

• our ability to maintain good relationships with platform partners and attract new platform partners;

• our ability to attract advertisers to the LINE platform and increase the amount that advertisers spend with LINE;

• our expectations regarding our user growth rate and the usage of our mobile applications;

• our ability to increase revenues and our revenue growth rate;

• our ability to timely and effectively scale and adapt our existing technology and network infrastructure;

• our ability to successfully acquire and integrate companies and assets;

• our future business development, results of operations and financial condition;

• the regulatory environment in which we operate;

• fluctuations in currency exchange rates and changes in the proportion of our revenues and expenses denominated in foreign currencies; and

• changes in business or macroeconomic conditions.

You are urged to read the sections "Item 3.D. Risk Factors", "Item 4. Information on the Company" and "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" of this annual report for a more complete discussion of the factors that could affect our performance and the industry in which we operate.

iv LIMITATIONS OF USER METRICS

We review a number of metrics, including MAUs, DAUs and MPUs, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate business plans and make strategic decisions. Our MAUs, DAUs and MPUs are calculated using our internal data. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring usage of our products and services across large online and mobile populations around the world. For example, each LINE account is linked to a mobile phone number, and there may be multiple LINE accounts held by the same person if the person carries multiple smartphones and has chosen to download the LINE messaging application on each smartphone. In addition, our data regarding user geographic location for purposes of reporting the geographic location of our MAUs, DAUs, and MPUs is based on the mobile phone number associated with the account when a user initially registered the account on LINE. The phone number may not always accurately reflect a user's actual location at the time of user engagement on our platform. See "Item 3.D. Risk Factors — Certain of our user metrics are subject to inherent uncertainties in measurement, and real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business."

We regularly review and may adjust our processes for calculating our internal metrics to improve their accuracy. Our measures of user growth and user engagement may differ from estimates published by third parties or from similarly-titled metrics of our competitors due to differences in methodology.

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PART I

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Managers and Advisers

Not applicable

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not applicable

Item 3. Key Information

Item 3.A. Selected Financial Data

The consolidated statement of financial position data as of December 31, 2015 and 2016 and the consolidated statement of profit or loss data for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this annual report. The consolidated statement of financial position data as of December 31, 2012 and 2013 and the consolidated statement of profit or loss data for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes not included in this annual report. These audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB.

The information set forth below is not necessarily indicative of the results of future operations.

1 Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss Data

For the year ended December 31, 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (in millions of yen, except share and per share data) Revenues and other operating income: Revenues ¥ 6,414 ¥ 39,586 ¥ 86,366 ¥ 120,406 ¥ 140,704 Other operating income 94 69 296 474 5,892 Total revenues and other operating income 6,508 39,655 86,662 120,880 146,596

Operating expenses: Payment processing and licensing expenses (1,878) (9,606) (20,598) (28,742) (29,781) Employee compensation expenses (3,929) (8,490) (18,289) (35,572) (39,445) Marketing expenses (599) (17,202) (18,069) (16,596) (11,833) Infrastructure and communication expenses (383) (2,537) (4,492) (7,712) (7,770) Authentication and other service expenses (1,058) (4,914) (7,874) (12,133) (14,394) Depreciation and amortization expenses (805) (1,330) (2,370) (3,733) (5,100) Other operating expenses (1,282) (3,313) (8,555) (14,432) (18,376) Total operating expenses (9,934) (47,392) (80,247) (118,920) (126,699) Profit (loss) from operating activities (3,426) (7,737) 6,415 1,960 19,897 Finance income 70 67 86 71 87 Finance costs (73) (39) (137) (106) (65) Share of loss of associates — (243) (167) (205) (833) Gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions, net 234 (373) 66 (520) (43) Other non-operating income — 7 — 157 9 Other non-operating expenses (37) — — (1,887) (1,062) Profit (loss) before tax from continuing operations (3,232) (8,318) 6,263 (530) 17,990 Income tax benefits (expenses) (14) 648 (7,151) 146 (8,904) Profit (loss) for the period from continuing operations (3,246) (7,670) (888) (384) 9,086 Profit (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax 2,832 1,279 2,892 (7,588) (1,982) Profit (loss) for the period ¥ (414) ¥ (6,391) ¥ 2,004 ¥ (7,972) ¥ 7,104

Attributable to: The shareholder of the Company (214) (764) 4,207 (7,582) 6,763 Non-controlling interests(1) (200) (5,627) (2,203) (390) 341

Earnings per share: Basic profit (loss) for the period attributable to the shareholder of the Company ¥ (1.36) ¥ (4.36) ¥ 24.05 ¥ (43.33) ¥ 34.84 Diluted profit (loss) for the period attributable to the shareholder of the Company (1.36) (4.36) 22.14 (39.12) 31.48 Earnings per share from continuing operations Basic profit (loss) from continuing operations attributable to the shareholder of the Company (19.33) (11.67) 7.52 0.04 45.05 Diluted profit (loss) from continuing operations attributable to the shareholder of the Company (19.33) (11.67) 6.92 0.03 40.70 Earnings per share from discontinued operations Basic profit from discontinued operations attributable to the shareholder of the Company 17.97 7.31 16.53 (43.37) (10.21) Diluted profit from discontinued operations attributable to the shareholder of the Company 17.97 7.31 15.22 (39.15) (9.22)

Basic weighted average shares outstanding 157,565,943 174,992,000 174,992,000 174,992,000 194,083,995

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding 157,565,943 174,992,000 190,024,846 193,797,566 214,874,008 ______(1) For each of the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, the non-controlling interests were mainly held by Corporation, our shareholder.

2 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position Data

As of December 31, 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (in millions of yen) Cash and cash equivalents ¥ 7,153 ¥ 13,362 ¥ 20,254 ¥ 33,652 ¥ 134,698 Trade and other receivables 7,961 11,625 24,223 27,248 28,167 Property and equipment 7,504 8,102 9,656 10,501 9,029 Total assets 33,085 46,522 85,664 122,159 256,089 Total liabilities 13,148 34,206 73,153 104,626 95,066 Total shareholder's equity 19,937 12,316 12,511 17,533 161,023 Equity attributable to the shareholder of the Company 19,855 10,727 12,496 17,743 160,834 Equity attributable to non- controlling interests 82 1,589 15 (210) 189

The table below sets forth, for the periods and dates indicated, the noon buying rate in for cable transfers in yen as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, expressed in yen per US$1.00. We do not intend to imply that the yen or U.S. dollar amounts referred to herein could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or yen, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all.

Noon Buying Rate Period Average (1) Period End High Low (¥ per US$1.00) 2012 80.10 86.64 8