Note: In 2002, the paper-based family register system was discontinued. Juki Net, the computerized registry of Japanese citizens, is now used to track Japanese families. Therefore, the following information is only of historical interest.
For over a millennium, the Japanese
government has recorded the milestones in the lives of all families in
Japan.
Shortly after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the current family
register system was adopted.
At present, the Ministry of Justice uses family registers to track
births, marriages, deaths, criminal convictions, etc.
To avoid a fine, each family must report such changes to the local
government office where their record is kept.
Moreover, unreported events are not acknowledged by the government.
Because Japan is a patrilineal society, a newly married woman usually adopts her husband's surname. However, about 2% of husbands choose instead to adopt their wife's surname. Hyphenated and middle names are not allowed in a koseki.
A child born out of wedlock is recorded as such in the koseki. To avoid confusion about paternity, women are not allowed to remarry for six months after a divorce.
Ostensibly private, the information in a family register is routinely requested by potential employers and go-betweens (nakodo) arranging a marriage. The information is readily available to lawyers working on legal cases. Detectives, too, have access to the information.
Until recently, foreign names could not be recorded in a family register, so residents unwilling to adopt a Japanese name were denied citizenship.
Even if only one parent is a Japanese citizen, the parents' children automatically become Japanese citizens. Their births must be reported to a local government office so that it can be recorded in the family register.
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