Gyro

Procedures for other purposes

1.How do I register a birth?

2. How do I register a death?

3. How do I register a marriage?

4. How do I register a divorce?

5. What is the naturalization system?

How do I register a birth?

When a child is born in Japan, you are required to register the birth. A child can be registered by the father or mother, legal guardian, doctor or midwife at the municipal office in the city, town or village where the child was born or the reporting person resides.

Necessary documents are (1) A copy of the birth certificate (available at most hospitals) (2) Mother-Child Health Handbook. (3) Health insurance card if you have one. As a rule the Report of a Birth should be written in Japanese. If the certificate is written in a foreign language, a Japanese translation should accompany the documents. If the child was born in the absence of a physician, please consult your local health center (See Contacts).

The following registration is also necessary for newborn children. (1) Registration at the embassy of your home country here in Japan. (2) Application for acquisition of status of residence and period of stay at the Immigration Office within 30 days of the Birth (Sendai Immigration Office Tel. 022-256-6076 or 6077) (See Residential Status and and other Visa Inquiries) (3) Application for alien registration at the city, town or village office (See Contacts) within 60 days (See Alien Registeration)

Children born in Japan can acquire Japanese citizenship if either parent is a Japanese citizen.

How do I register a death?

Regardless of the nationality of the deceased, the bereaved family must report the death to the city, town or village office within 7 days after the death. The report form must be attached to a certificate of death prepared by a doctor. When the deceased has died in an accident or the cause of death is questioned, the police will become involved in the procedures.

Reporting of Death
(1) Period: Within 7 days of death
(2) Person responsible: Relative, cohabitant, landlord, or caretaker of the house or land
(3) Office: Municipal office for the locality where the reporting person resides or where the death occurred.

Necessary documents are Notification of Death (a Death Certificate prepared by a doctor must accompany the Notification of Death) and Foreign Registration Certificate. As a rule, Notification of Death should be written in Japanese. If the certificate is written in a foreign language, a Japanese translation should accompany the documents.

When you wish to cremate or bury the body in Japan, you must obtain permission for cremation or burial. If you want to bury the body in your home country, contact your own country's embassy or consulate in Japan.

How do I register a marriage?

According to Japanese law, for a marriage between a Japanese and a foreigner to be legally effective, each of them must fulfill the necessary marriage conditions required by the law of his/her country and the marriage procedure must be based on the law of the country where the marriage takes place. When a marriage takes place in Japan, they must register their marriage at a municipal office for it to be legally approved.

When reporting the marriage at the municipal office, the following documents are required:
(1)Marriage registration form (witnessed by two adults with their signatures and name seals).
(2)Copy of the family register of the Japanese spouse
(3)Affidavit of competency to marry (be submitted by the foreign spouse)
This is a document providing that the person who is going to marry fulfills the marriage conditions (age, single, etc.) according to the law of his/her country. This document may differ from country to country. For example, those from Korea and Taiwan where the family register system exists, can submit their family registration papers, while an American can get the document issued by taking an oath before the consul swearing that he/she fulfills the marriage conditions.
(4) Certificate of alien registration

The documents must be submitted to the municipal office of your region or where the spouse's family register is kept.

Remember also to register your marriage with the embassy of your home country here in Japan. Necessary procedures differ according to nationality, so you should contact your own country's embassy in Japan.

How do I register a divorce?

Japanese law is applied when either husband or wife is a Japanese permanently residing in Japan.
In other cases:
(1) When the nationality of the husband and wife is the same, their country's law is applied.
(2) When the laws of the husband's and wife's countries of origin are different, the law of the place where they reside is applied.
(3) When you come under neither (1) nor (2) the law of the place where they have resided longest is applied.

Where Japanese law is applied
In Japan there are two types of divorce, mutually agreed divorce, where both partners agree to the divorce, and judicial divorce where the divorce is determined in court. In the case of a mutually agreed divorce, the divorce is finalized once the documents below have been submitted to the municipal office of your local residence or where the spouse's family register is kept.
a) Divorce Registration Form (witnessed by two adults with their signature and name seals)
b) A copy of the Residents Card and Family Register of the Japanese spouse and a copy of the Alien Registration Certificate of the foreign spouse

A judicial divorce will be awarded by a family court if one of the partners fulfills any of the conditions given below.

1) infidelity
2) failure to support spouse/family
3) whereabouts unknown
4) serious mental illness
5) any other serious reason

Even if your divorce is accepted under Japanese law, your country's law might not recognize it, so please contact your own country's embassy for information.

What is the naturalization system?

Naturalization is the system whereby the Japanese Ministry of Justice grants Japanese nationality to an applicant who wishes to obtain it. The following are general conditions for naturalization:

(1) The fact that an applicant has continuously resided in Japan for 5 years or more is taken into account in practice.
(2) The applicant must be 20 years old or over (and is acknowledged as a capable person in the eye of the law in his/her own country.)
(3) The applicant must be of good conduct.
(4) The applicant needs to have sufficient assets or ability to make an independent living.
(5) The person who wants to obtain Japanese nationality is required to give up his/her original nationality (The Japanese Government does not accept dual nationality as a rule). However, there are exceptions to the rule.
(6) A person who in word or deed tries to overthrow the Government by violence will not be accepted as a Japanese national.

However, it should be noted that fulfillment of the above conditions does not mean automatic permission for naturalization as permission is left to the discretion of the Justice Minister.

These conditions may be eased for those who have some Japanese ancestry.

For inquiries concerning naturalization, please contact the Legal Affairs Bureau which has jurisdiction for the locality where you reside. For further information: the Fukushima Regional Legal Affairs Bureau (1-46 Kasumi-cho, Fukushima-Shi Tel. 024-534-1111)