Japan's police certificate arrives in a sealed envelope, and many applicants assume it must never be opened, which is the rule in some other immigration systems. For an online IRCC application the instruction is the opposite: "open the sealed envelope, scan the document and upload it to your file," keep the original, and do not order a translation, because "You do not need to have your certificate translated."
The rest of a Japanese file works the other way: what proves your case depends on which copy of the family register you order. Japan has no birth certificate in the Canadian sense. Its civil records live in the family register, the koseki (戸籍), and a single certified copy can cover a whole family's births, marriages, divorces and deaths. This guide covers which copy to order, how a translation should render it, era years, names, the police certificate and Canadian licence rules.
Do Japanese documents need a certified translation for IRCC?
Yes, apart from the police certificate. IRCC requires documents in other languages to be "accompanied by an official translation", with "all stamps and seals that are not in English or French" translated too. The translation comes from a certified translator, whose association seal shows a membership number, or, when a certified translator cannot provide it, from another translator who swears an affidavit of accuracy before a notary public or commissioner of oaths. You, your relatives and your representative may not translate. See IRCC translation requirements.
Documents already issued in English, such as the English-language certificates many Japanese universities provide on request, need no translation at all.
Koseki tohon or shohon: which one should you order?
| Koseki tohon (戸籍謄本) | Koseki shohon (戸籍抄本) | |
|---|---|---|
| Name on computerized registers | Zenbu jiko shomeisho (全部事項証明書) | Kojin jiko shomeisho (個人事項証明書) |
| Covers | Everyone in the register | One person |
| Best for | Marriage, sponsorship, parents and children | A single person's birth |
| Issued by | Municipality of the registered domicile (honseki) | Same |
For anything that has to prove a relationship, such as spousal sponsorship or a dependent child, order the full copy, which puts both people and their relationship on one certified page.
Getting one. Copies used to come only from the municipality of the registered domicile. The amended Family Register Act changed that on March 1, 2024: the holder, a spouse, parents and grandparents, or children and grandchildren may now ask any municipal office in Japan for full koseki and closed-register certificates, wherever the register is kept. There are conditions: the request is made in person with photo ID, never by mail or through a proxy; single-person and partial certificates are not available this way; and a few registers that were never computerized are excluded. From Canada, the practical route is a written request to the municipality that holds the register.
Older registers. Each time a koseki is rewritten, because the format changed or the domicile moved, some earlier entries may be dropped. When history matters, a prior marriage for example, ask as well for the closed register (joseki, 除籍) or the register as it stood before computerization (kaisei genkoseki, 改製原戸籍), and have each one translated.
What must a koseki translation include?
Everything on the certificate, in the same order. The certificate opens with the registered domicile and the name of the register's head. Below, every member gets a section: name, birth date, father and mother, position in the family (長男 is eldest son, 二女 second daughter) and a status block (mibun jiko, 身分事項) recording births, marriages, divorces, adoptions and deaths, each with its date and place and the date the notification was accepted. The closing certification, issue date and mayor's seal are translated as well.
Since May 26, 2025, the amended law has added the reading of each name (furigana) to the koseki; the notification period ended on May 25, 2026. Those reading fields are part of the certificate and are translated with it.
International marriages. A foreign national never gets a koseki of their own. According to the Ministry of Justice, marrying a Japanese citizen records the foreign spouse's name, birth date and nationality in the Japanese spouse's register, and if the Japanese spouse was not already its head, a new register is opened in their name. Because the foreign name is recorded in katakana, the translator takes the spelling from the foreign spouse's passport rather than sounding it out.
The Japanese spouse may also adopt the foreign partner's surname: a notification filed within six months of the wedding suffices, and after that the family court must approve. Check which surname each record uses.
How are Japanese era years converted to Gregorian years?
Take the year within the era and add a fixed number:
| Era | Written | Ran | Gregorian year equals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Showa | 昭和 | 1926 to January 7, 1989 | Showa year + 1925 |
| Heisei | 平成 | January 8, 1989 to April 30, 2019 | Heisei year + 1988 |
| Reiwa | 令和 | From May 1, 2019 | Reiwa year + 2018 |
Heisei 3 is 1991, and Reiwa 8, the current year, is 2026. Year one of an era appears as gannen (元年), and Showa 64 lasted only from January 1 to 7, 1989. Show both in the translation: "Heisei 3 (1991), June 14". Older handwritten registers may spell the year in kanji numerals, so 昭和五十五年 is Showa 55, or 1980.
How should Japanese names be romanized in the translation?
By copying the passport, never by romanizing the kanji afresh. Passports follow Hepburn rules: most long vowels get no extra letter (加藤 is KATO, 大野 is ONO), the syllable n turns into M ahead of B, M or P (三瓶 is SAMPEI), and a small tsu doubles the next consonant (吉川 is KIKKAWA). A holder can instead opt for forms such as OHNO or SATOH, and once a passport is issued its spelling generally stays.
Changing OHNO to ONO, or adding a macron, makes the translation disagree with every IRCC form. Japanese documents give the surname first, so the translation labels the parts: Surname: KATO, Given name: YUKA.
How do I get a Japanese police certificate for IRCC?
Wait for IRCC to ask. IRCC's Japan page says "We will send you a letter requesting a Certificate of Criminal Record, if required," after you apply for permanent residence, citizenship or some temporary resident programs. With that letter:
- In Japan, apply in person at the identification section of the prefectural police headquarters where you live; your fingerprints are taken there.
- Outside Japan, apply at a Japanese embassy or consulate, where fingerprints are taken when you apply.
The certificate is handed to you, or to a representative you name, in a sealed envelope. For an online application, open it, scan it and upload it, and keep the original in case IRCC asks; for a paper application, send the original to the processing office. No translation is needed. Japanese citizens applying through International Experience Canada do not provide a Japanese certificate with their application. See our police certificate translation guide.
Other documents and Canadian offices
- Juminhyo (住民票): a residence certificate. It shows where a person is registered as living and does not replace the koseki as a birth record.
- Certificate of acceptance of notification (juri shomeisho, 受理証明書): issued for events notified in Japan, and the usual record where a foreign national, who has no koseki, married or had a child there.
- Seals: Japanese certificates are authenticated by seals, from the mayor's official seal to a registered personal seal (jitsuin). The translation describes each: "[Seal: Mayor of Setagaya Ward, Tokyo]".
- Driver's licences: Japan is on Ontario's licence exchange list, motorcycle classes excluded. In Quebec, the SAAQ says a valid Japanese licence needs no translation but "you must obtain a certificate from the Consulate of Japan"; an expired one must be translated by a member of OTTIAQ, the Association of Legal Court Interpreters and Translators or an association in the Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council. The Consulate-General of Japan in Toronto's application form lists a driver's licence extract certificate (自動車運転免許証抜粋証明) for Ontario licence applications. See driving licence translation by province.
- Quebec immigration (MIFI): translations must come from a member of OTTIAQ, ATIO, STIBC or CTINB, an embassy or consulate translation department or, abroad, a member of a professional order or an official translation department. Official Translations is not a member of those associations, so use a qualifying translator for the MIFI stage. See Quebec immigration documents.
Why Japanese files get returned
- A juminhyo submitted to prove a birth.
- A single-person shohon used to prove a marriage or a parent and child link.
- A wrong Gregorian year, typically around the January 1989 change from Showa to Heisei.
- A foreign spouse's katakana name sounded out instead of copied from the passport.
- A Japanese name romanized from the kanji rather than taken from the passport.
- Seals and the closing certification missing.
- A previous marriage missing because the current koseki was rewritten and no closed register was ordered.
Checklist for Japanese documents
Questions people ask
Which koseki copy does IRCC need, the tohon or the shohon?
Usually the tohon, now issued as the zenbu jiko shomeisho. It lists every member of the register and how they are related, while the shohon covers one person and can show a birth yet cannot link spouses, or parents and children. When unsure, order the full copy.
Does the Japanese police certificate need a translation for IRCC?
No. IRCC's Japan page states that you do not need to have your certificate translated. Request it only after IRCC sends you a letter asking for it, then submit it as the page directs.
Can I open the sealed envelope my Japanese police certificate came in?
For an online application, yes. IRCC tells you to open the sealed envelope, scan the document and upload it, and to keep the original in case IRCC asks to see it. For a paper application, send the original to the processing office.
Is a juminhyo enough to prove my birth?
No. The juminhyo is a residence certificate: it shows the address where a person is registered. Births, parents and marriages are recorded in the koseki, which is the document to translate.
How do I turn a Japanese era year into a Gregorian year?
Add 1925 to a Showa year, 1988 to a Heisei year and 2018 to a Reiwa year. Year one of each era is written gannen, and the translation should give the era year with the Gregorian year beside it.
Will the translation spell my name the way my passport does?
It should, letter for letter. Japanese passports normally follow Hepburn romanization but can carry chosen forms like OHNO or SATOH; the translator therefore copies the passport rather than romanizing the kanji.
Do I need a translation to exchange my Japanese licence in Canada?
It depends on the province. In Quebec, the SAAQ needs no translation of a valid Japanese licence but asks for a certificate from the Consulate of Japan, and an expired licence must be translated by a member of an approved association. Ontario accepts translations from approved translators, including consulates, dated within six months.
How much does a koseki translation cost, and how long does it take?
Official Translations charges CA$39.95 per page of up to 300 words, and the sworn affidavit IRCC accepts adds CA$24.95 per document. A one-page extract normally arrives as a signed PDF within 24 hours; longer full copies and closed registers need one to three business days.
