 The Japanese angelshark was described by Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker in an 1858 volume of the scientific journal "Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neerlandicae".The type specimen is a male long, collected off Nagasaki, Japan, hence the specific epithet "japonica".Other common names for this species include change angel shark, change canopy shark, Japanese angelfish, and Japanese monkfish.