Japan's legal view of residency is particularly xenophobic. Unlike other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, Japan requires that all people classified as residents (juumin) have Japanese citizenship-meaning that even a foreigner who lives here forever never formally resides here unless he or she naturalizes.

This distinction between a legal resident and somebody legally residing here may sound semantic. After all, non-Japanese are registered at ward offices, have visas, and pay residency taxes (juuminzei). If they marry a Japanese and/or become permanent residents (eijuusha), they can get bank loans and buy land.

But legal problems arise. Non-Japanese are officially registered under a system that effectively makes them invisible, with potentially dangerous consequences for long-termers.

Japan has two systems of identification: the family registry (koseki touhon), and the Residency Certificate (juuminhyou). The former establishes Japanese citizenship, the latter official residence. When Japanese marry, they alter their koseki. When they move, they get a new juuminhyou from local authorities. Unlike the koseki, the juuminhyou follows a person everywhere, thus it is the primary source of identification.

The problem is that under Japanese law, only those with koseki get juuminhyou, so foreigners (issued a gaikokujin tourokuzumi shoumeisho for identification) are not juumin. In the case of marriage, although listed on the Japanese spouse's koseki, a non-Japanese cannot be recorded on a mate's juuminhyou because, after all, she or he is not a resident. Unnaturalized spouses-including ethnic Koreans and Chinese-not only remain legally separate, but also become invisible in some instances. This loophole has subtle adverse effects.

International Marriages are Demeaned

Having a non-juuminhyou-ed husband makes a Japanese wife appear a single mother with illegitimate children. Cases abound where local welfare officers call to advertise benefits, only to discover an unexpected spouse. Zealous neighborhood association bosses (chounaikaichou) have even demanded that non-Japanese, with no legal basis of residence, vacate the premises.

In one extreme case in the Nagoya courts, an embittered Japanese wife is claiming her foreign ex-husband did not father her children. There is, after all, no record of their marriage on her juuminhyou, thus no link and no visitation rights. She will probably lose her case (due to the koseki), but suffice it to say, under this system, reality is not reflected.

Unreflected Reality

Anywhere else in the OECD, residents (regardless of current nationality) whose incomes support their families are seen as the head of household (setai nushi). Not in Japan; without citizenship, you cannot legally be setai nushi since, again, you do not legally reside here. To resolve this, the bureaucracy proclaimed in 1967 that a gaikokujin who is the breadwinner may be recorded on a Japanese spouse's juuminhyou as the actual head of the household (jijitsu jou setai nushi).
The System is Dangerous
Japan is a land of natural disasters-eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami and typhoons. When calamity strikes, the government must know who is where. However, under this bifurcated registration system, some could fall through the safety net. Japan's refusal to put all residents in one database invites tragedy.

Do Something About It

Government Ordinance No. 292 was issued in 1967. It indicated that gaikokujin could be recorded in the remarks column as married and "actual head of household" (jijitsu jou no setai nushi). Your ward office may tell you that such listing is impossible, but demand that they check their records. After they research it, you should be able to amend your spouse's juminhyou to show that you exist.
The ordinance, a public document, is sold at any government publications store.