Procedures to Marry a Japanese Citizen

Although you may be looking for details on the procedures to get married to a Japanese, this page explains something more important first.  After marrying, be sure to get a copy of your spouse's Family Registration (koseki) with your marriage registered and your name on it as the spouse.  Should the worst happen, you have children and the divorce, you will may this.  Put it in a safe place where your spouse cannot get it.  If you have children, make sure that each child is also reported to the Japanese government along with your name as the other parent.  Then get another copy of the Family Registration and put it in the same safe place.

Next, see our essay entitled Just Married to a Japanese Citizen - Insurance Against The Unthinkable.

How To Get Married to a Japanese Citizen Outside of Japan

Japanese can be married outside Japan.  But they are required to register the marriage at the Japanese consulate or embassy, or at the appropriate government office here, within three months of the original wedding date. Fail to do so, and your marriage may not be considered valid in Japan, leaving your spouse the option of bigamy and you without the legal protections (such as a spousal visa) that marriage affords.

How To Get Married to a Japanese Citizen Inside Japan

If you wish to marry in Japan, you will do so according to Japanese law. Marriage in Japan consists of a civil marriage registration by the couple at a Japanese municipal government office.  The only place you can get legally married in Japan is at a ward or city office.  Some people recall "being married" at the Embassy or Consulate in the past.  While they may have done some paperwork there, it was not a marriage ceremony. Consular officers unfortunately cannot perform marriages. Only this civil registration constitutes a legal marriage in Japan. Ceremonies performed by religious or fraternal bodies in Japan, while perhaps more meaningful for you, are not legal marriages.  

The Japanese government requires foreigners who wish to marry in Japan to obtain a Certificate of Competency to Marry (Konin Yoken Gubi Shomeisho 婚姻要件具備証明書) from your Embassy or Consulate, affirming they are legally free to marry in their country.  Just getting it will not make you married in Japan.  The certificate only enables you to get married in Japan at a city or ward office.  Korean, Chinese or other nationals who are long-term permanent residents in Japan, or those who lack diplomatic or consular representation here, may be able to marry after obtaining a registration document (Gaijin Toroku Zumi Shomeisho 外国人登録済証明書) from a ward or city office.  Contact the appropriate Japanese authorities for details.

The only official record of your marriage is the one issued to you by the Japanese ward or city office at the time of your marriage, and copies can only be obtained from that issuing office.  Your Embassy or one of Consulates cannot obtain such documents on your behalf.)  If both partners are non-Japanese, these records are maintained at the city or ward office for 50 years.  If one of the partners is a Japanese citizen, marriage documents will only be kept at the city or ward office for one month or one year. They are kept one month if the Japanese partner registers his/her marriage at his/her office of permanent domicile, and one year for other cases.  After that, marriage records are forwarded to the nearest Legal Affairs Bureau, where they are kept for 27 years. 

If your partner is a Japanese citizen, then the facts of a marriage or divorce in Japan are also recorded on their Family Registration (koseki).  This record is kept in the ward or city office where the Japanese Citizen is permanently domiciled, and can only be obtained directly from that office.  The Embassy or one of Consulates cannot obtain these documents on your behalf either, but you can often obtain them by mail, or from a Japanese Embassy or Consulate in your country.

Your Japanese partner must also complete a Japanese municipal government form called the Kon-in Todoke needed to register a marriage.  Two witnesses of any nationality over 20 years old must sign the Kon-in Todoke. Generally non-Japanese witnesses will sign in longhand, while Japanese, Korean and Chinese national witnesses may be asked for their seal (Inkan 印鑑)

The Japanese Government and/or the local municipal office may also have other requirements for your partner; so please check with the appropriate municipal office. Typically, Japanese citizens will require a certified copy of their family register (Koseki Tohon 戸籍謄本) or its extract (Koseki Shohon 戸籍抄本) issued within a month of the marriage. (This is their "proof of eligibility to be married.")

Now comes the part of this whole procedure that actually makes you and your partner "married."

Once all the paperwork above is completed, proceed to the appropriate Japanese municipal government office to turn in the paperwork.  Once the marriage procedures are completed, the municipal government office issues a Japanese language  "Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage" (Kon-in Todoke Juri Shomeisho 婚姻届受理証明書) as proof of marriage.　Your marriage will also be recorded on your Japanese partner's Family Registration (koseki).  Get a copy of this after your marriage and keep it in a safe place.  Write down the name and address of the municipal government office that registered your marriage, and the "honseki" from the Family Registration, as you'll need to contact them directly in the future to obtain proof of your marriage.

You will be given a choice of two versions of the "Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage".Both versions are legal proof of your marriage. The large version, which many people find more attractive, should cost about Y1500. The smaller version, about A4 size, should cost about Y350.

Whether or not you need to register your marriage at your Embassy or Consulate depends on the laws of your country. 

Finally, note that the Japanese Civil Code stipulates the following requirements for marriage:

• The male partner must be 18 years of age or older and the female partner must be 16 years of age or older.
• A woman cannot get married within six months of the dissolution of her previous marriage. According to Japanese law, this is to avoid confusion as to the identification of a child's father if a birth occurs close in time to the end of the marriage.
• Most people related by blood, by adoption or through other marriages cannot get married in Japan.
• A person who is under 20 years of age cannot get married in Japan without a parent's approval.
• A child must be born at least 200 days after the parents marry to be considered legitimate under Japanese law.   That is, unless the child would be deemed legitimate under the laws of your country, in which case it's not a problem... Confusing?  See our section on Birth Out of Wedlock in Japan for more information.
• A woman must wait 6 months after divorce before remarrying.  There is no such restriction on a man.
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