Japan’s Ministry of Justice will start allowing the indication of geographical names in the nationality column of family registers starting from May. This means that Taiwanese individuals can now officially register “Taiwan” in the nationality column of their family registers. Previously, the Japanese government only recognized country names, so Taiwanese individuals had their nationality listed as “China” in the family registers. However, considering Taiwanese people’s identity, they will now have the option to change “China” to “Taiwan”.
According to a report by Nikkei, under the current system in Japan, even if a foreigner marries a Japanese citizen, they are not able to register their family register in Japan; only the Japanese citizen’s family register is recognized, with the foreign spouse’s name and nationality being recorded in the Japanese citizen’s marriage information.
For foreigners who naturalize in Japan or become adopted as a Japanese, they are allowed to register their family register, with their nationality of origin being recorded in their family register.
The Ministry of Justice in Japan will modify the nationality column of foreign individuals in family registers to “Nationality‧Region”. This modification is necessary to accommodate the addition of the pronunciation of names in Japanese characters to be added to the family registers starting in May, and this will require significant changes to the system.
The indication on family registers is based on a notice issued by the Ministry of Justice in 1964, before Japan severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan (Republic of China) in 1972. At that time, the nationality indication was changed from Republic of China to “China”.
The Ministry of Justice stated that the issue of how to indicate the nationality of individuals from China (People’s Republic of China) who did not have formal diplomatic relations with Japan at the time was a major challenge. Since Japan did not recognize the People’s Republic of China as a country, the nationality could not be listed as “People’s Republic of China,” but the Ministry of Justice considered it inappropriate to register it as “Republic of China.” As a result, Taiwan and China were both registered as “China”.
Following the modification by the Ministry of Justice, those who wish to change the indication from “China” to “Taiwan” can request the alteration.
According to reports, statistics released by Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior regarding marriage show that approximately 800 to 1,000 Taiwanese individuals marry Japanese citizens each year.
Currently, both Taiwanese and Chinese nationals have their nationality listed as “China” on family registers in Japan. Some Taiwanese individuals, in order to maintain their identity, have requested the Japanese government to allow the indication of “Taiwan” in the nationality column. Some perspectives suggest that this does not align with the common international recognition of Taiwan as a “region.”
Japan issues residence certificates and resident cards (equivalent to identity cards) to foreign residents who have been in Japan for a certain period of time, allowing the indication of geographical names in the place of birth section. The registration in family registers is also aligned with these official documents.
Starting from 2012, Japan designed the nationality column on residence certificates as “Nationality‧Region”. The resident cards managed by the Immigration Control Agency also began to acknowledge the registration of geographical names in the same year. Prior to this, the words “China” were marked on the “Foreigner Registration Card”.
The Ministry of Justice in Japan has recognized a special case where the indication of “Palestine” in family registers is officially accepted under the ministry’s decree. As for North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), the Ministry of Justice’s decree does not address this, and “Korea” will continue to be indicated.
(Source: Central News Agency)