Certified Translations For Japanese Documents

Since almost all Japanese civil documents are written entirely in Japanese, citizens of Japan who wish to come to the USA should have Japanese to English certified translation of their documents. As per USCIS rules, the person translating the documents must certify that the Japanese to English translation is both accurate and complete. The translator should also certify that he or she is competent to translate from Japanese to English.

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Japanese Koseki (Family Registry)

Koseki is the Japanese family registry which is also a proof of citizenship. According to the Japanese Family Register Act (“Kosekihō”) Japanese families should have key family milestones recorded in their Koseki or family registry. These milestones include birth of a child, paternity acknowledgement, adoptions, marriages, divorces and death. Article 13 of the Family Register Act (“Kosekihō”) specifies that the following particulars should be recorded in the Koseki: • Person’s name and family name • Birth details including date of birth, place of birth, the date birth was registered • Full Names of father and mother; if adopted, names of adopted parents • Permanent address • Date of records of marriages (date, spouse’s name, place of marriage), divorces and death • In case transferred from another Koseki, then information on the earlier Koseki

The Koseki is the de facto birth certificate, marriage certificate and death certificate of a Japanese citizen. Content of the Koseki is available in two formats; “Koseki Touhon” (copy of Koseki) and “Koseki Shouhon” (extract of Koseki).

Japan also maintains a “Jyuminhyou” register which records the current address of a citizen.

Japanese Marriage And Divorce

Part IV of the Japanese Civil Code (“Minpō”) is the main family law of Japan. Articles 731 to 737 of the Civil Code cover Japanese marriages. As per this law, in order to marry the minimum age for a man is 18 years and 16 years for a woman. Those under the age of 20 must have the consent of at least one parent. Bigamy is not allowed. Blood relatives cannot marry, nor can adopted family members. Only a civil marriage that is recorded in the family registry (Koseki) is considered a legal marriage. The marriage registration form is called “Konintodoke”. 98% of married Japanese women adopt their husband’s name.

The Japanese Civil Code allows four types of Japanese divorces (Rikon) – divorce by agreement (Kyōgi Rikon), divorce by mediation in a family court (Chōtei Rikon), divorce by decision of the family court (Shinpan Rikon) and divorce by judgment of a district court (Saiban Rikon).

Japanese Family Courts (“Katei Saibansho”) are entrusted with the handling of family disputes such as divorce and child custody.

Persons Of Japanese Origin

There are approximately 2.6 million persons of Japanese origin outside of Japan. Most of these are in two countries – Brazil and USA. In the US, the largest Japanese American communities are in the states of California and Hawaii.