This article concerns individuals who acquired both Japanese nationality and one or more foreign nationalities at birth and who validly retained their Japanese nationality, where a nationality-retention notification was required.
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What Happens After a Person Turns 20?
Under Article 14 of Japan’s Nationality Act, a Japanese national who also holds a foreign nationality must select one nationality within the period prescribed by law.
A person who acquired both nationalities before turning 18 is required to make the selection by the age of 20. A person who became a multiple national after turning 18 must make the selection within two years of acquiring the additional nationality.
However, a person does not automatically lose Japanese nationality merely because they turn 20 or fail to complete the nationality-selection procedure by the statutory deadline.
The Minister of Justice may issue a written demand requiring the person to select a nationality. If the person fails to make the required selection within one month after receiving such a demand, they may lose Japanese nationality.
According to publicly available information, no actual case of such a nationality-selection demand being issued by the Minister of Justice has been identified since the present system was introduced in 1985.
Consequently, a person who acquired Japanese and foreign nationality at birth generally continues to hold Japanese nationality unless the person:
- renounces Japanese nationality;
- selects the foreign nationality under the law of that foreign country;
- voluntarily acquires another foreign nationality and thereby loses Japanese nationality; or
- loses Japanese nationality after failing to comply with a formal nationality-selection demand.
Nevertheless, a person who has passed the statutory deadline without selecting a nationality has not fulfilled the nationality-selection obligation imposed by Article 14.
Applying for a Japanese Passport Without Resident Registration in Japan
A Japanese national who lives abroad and is not registered as a resident in Japan generally has the following two options.
Option 1: Apply in Japan During a Temporary Visit
A person whose principal place of residence is outside Japan may, in certain circumstances, apply for a Japanese passport during a temporary visit to Japan without establishing resident registration in Japan.
This is generally treated as an application by a person temporarily returning from overseas, rather than an ordinary application based on Japanese resident registration.
The applicant must apply in person at the passport office having jurisdiction over the place where the applicant is temporarily staying. Advance consultation with the relevant passport office is strongly recommended because the required documents and the manner in which the application is handled may differ among prefectures and according to the applicant’s nationality history.
Documents that may be required include:
- a General Passport Application Form;
- a statement or application form relating to the applicant’s temporary place of stay;
- a recent certified copy of the applicant’s family register, or koseki tohon;
- a supplementary family register address record, or koseki no fuhyo, if requested;
- a passport photograph;
- the applicant’s foreign passport;
- documents proving lawful residence in the foreign country, such as a residence permit, permanent resident card, or visa;
- the applicant’s current or expired Japanese passport, if any; and
- a written explanation of the applicant’s nationality history and the circumstances leading to the application.
Additional documents may be requested if the applicant holds multiple nationalities, has never previously held a Japanese passport, has an expired passport, entered Japan using a foreign passport, or has an unusual family-register or nationality history.
Passport production in Japan commonly takes approximately two weeks after an application has been accepted. A multiple-nationality case may require additional examination. The applicant should therefore plan to remain in Japan for at least approximately three weeks and should not make non-refundable travel arrangements before confirming the expected collection date.
Where the applicant intends to enter Japan using a foreign passport because they do not have a valid Japanese passport, advance confirmation with both the relevant passport office and the Japanese immigration authorities is advisable. Immigration procedures and passport-issuance procedures are separate matters.
Option 2: Apply at a Japanese Embassy or Consulate
The applicant may instead apply for a Japanese passport through the Japanese embassy or consulate having jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence abroad.
For an online passport application from overseas, the applicant must have submitted an Overseas Residential Registration, known as a zairyu todoke, through ORR Net. If the original registration was submitted on paper, it may first need to be converted into an online registration.
The requirements for an in-person application may differ from those for an online application. Applicants should check the website of the embassy or consulate having jurisdiction over their current residence.
Typical documents may include:
- a General Passport Application Form;
- a recent passport photograph;
- the applicant’s current or expired Japanese passport;
- a recent certified copy of the applicant’s family register or, where accepted, an electronic family-register certificate code;
- evidence of the applicant’s lawful status in the country of residence;
- the foreign passport or foreign birth certificate of a multiple-nationality applicant;
- proof of the applicant’s current address; and
- any additional documents requested to confirm Japanese nationality or explain the applicant’s nationality history.
Applicants should apply well in advance. The Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles currently advises that the issuance of a new passport generally takes approximately one month from the application date, and a longer period may be necessary when additional examination is required.
Important Warning: Acquisition of Another Foreign Nationality
A particularly important distinction must be made between a foreign nationality acquired at birth and a foreign nationality voluntarily acquired after birth.
Under Article 11, paragraph 1 of Japan’s Nationality Act, a Japanese national automatically loses Japanese nationality when they voluntarily acquire the nationality of another country—for example, by applying for and obtaining naturalisation in that country.
The loss of Japanese nationality occurs when the foreign nationality is acquired. It does not depend on whether a nationality-loss notification has been filed in Japan or whether the person’s name remains recorded in a Japanese family register.
Accordingly, a person who voluntarily acquired an additional foreign nationality after birth may already have lost Japanese nationality and may not be eligible to apply for a Japanese passport.
A Japanese passport also ceases to be valid when its holder loses Japanese nationality. A person who has lost Japanese nationality must not continue using that passport and is required to return it to the appropriate Japanese authority.
The position may be different where an additional foreign nationality was acquired automatically by operation of foreign law, without an application or other voluntary act by the person or their legal representative. Whether an acquisition was voluntary or automatic can be a complex legal question and must be assessed on the basis of the relevant foreign nationality law and the precise facts of the acquisition.
Before Applying
Before submitting a Japanese passport application, a person with multiple nationalities should confirm:
- which nationalities were acquired at birth;
- whether Japanese nationality was properly retained following birth abroad;
- whether any additional foreign nationality was acquired after birth;
- whether that acquisition resulted from a voluntary application or occurred automatically by operation of law;
- whether the person has ever formally renounced Japanese nationality or selected a foreign nationality; and
- whether the information recorded in the Japanese family register accurately reflects the person’s nationality history.
All questions concerning foreign nationality on the Japanese passport application form must be answered accurately. The existence of a Japanese family register does not, by itself, conclusively establish that a person still holds Japanese nationality where a nationality-loss event may have occurred.
Because nationality status depends on the individual’s complete history and the laws of each country involved, applicants with an uncertain nationality history should obtain individual advice before applying for or using a Japanese passport.