Naturalized Japanese citizens who are originally from Taiwan will be able to list Taiwan instead of China as their place of origin in their family register from May 26, following a revision to a Justice Ministry ordinance allowing people to list regions, not just countries.
Since only Japanese citizens have family registrations, the change will mainly apply to naturalized citizens. But it will also impact foreign spouses and foreign children adopted by Japanese nationals, as their nationality and relationship are reflected in their Japanese spouse’s or adoptive parent’s register.
Currently, family registers include a nationality field for those with foreign origins. As Japan does not officially recognize Taiwan as a country, those from the self-ruled island had been required to list China as their original nationality.
