Japanese Documents for USCIS and NVC: Koseki Tohon vs Shohon, Juminhyo, Era Dates and Names

Japan does not issue a birth certificate the way the United States does. It keeps a family register, the koseki (戸籍), and one certified copy of it can show a birth, a marriage, a divorce, an adoption and a death at once. That is why the right koseki extract, translated in full, often replaces three or four separate American-style certificates in an immigration file.

It is also why the wrong extract causes trouble. Order the short version for a marriage case, or let a translator romanize your name from the kanji, and the file no longer proves what it needs to.

This guide covers which koseki to order and how to get it, what the translation must show, era dates, names, seals and the other Japanese documents US agencies ask for.

Does a koseki need a certified translation for USCIS?

Yes. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), any foreign-language document submitted to USCIS must come with a full English translation that the translator certifies as complete and accurate, plus a certification of the translator's competence. The State Department applies the same requirement to immigrant visa documents. Notarization is not part of the federal rule; see USCIS certified translation requirements.

Koseki tohon or shohon: which one does USCIS need?

The State Department lists both and notes that the register generally covers current information on birth, adoption, marriage, divorce and death. For anything involving a relationship, such as an I-130 for a spouse or child, the full tohon is the safer choice because it shows both people and the link between them. See the marriage-based immigration checklist.

How to get one

The koseki is held by the municipal office of the registered domicile, which is not necessarily where the person lives. Since March 1, 2024, under the amended Family Register Act, the person, their spouse, and their lineal ascendants and descendants can request koseki certificates at any municipal office in Japan.

The Ministry of Justice sets the limits: requests must be made in person at the counter with photo ID, mail and proxy requests are not allowed, individual-matters and partial certificates are excluded, and some older non-computerized registers cannot be issued this way. From abroad, the usual route is a mail request to the municipality of the registered domicile.

Old and closed registers

A koseki is rewritten when the format changes or when someone moves the registered domicile, and earlier entries do not always carry over. The State Department notes that the current register sometimes omits the place of birth, in which case an extract from the canceled register (joseki, 除籍) is needed. The pre-computerization register (kaisei genkoseki, 改製原戸籍) can also hold events the current copy no longer shows, such as an earlier marriage.

What does a koseki translation have to show?

A computerized koseki is printed in horizontal sections. The top shows the registered domicile and the head of the register. Each person then has a block with name, date of birth, parents, relationship to the head (such as 長男, eldest son, or 二女, second daughter), and a mibun jiko (身分事項) section listing events: birth, marriage, divorce, adoption, death, change of domicile, each with the date, the place and the date the notification was received.

The translation reproduces this structure, keeps every event line, and translates the certification at the bottom, including the mayor's official seal and the issue date.

When a Japanese citizen marries a foreign national, no koseki is created for the foreign spouse. According to the Ministry of Justice, the marriage is entered in the Japanese spouse's koseki together with the foreign spouse's name, date of birth and nationality, and a Japanese spouse who is not already head of a register gets a new one.

The foreign name is written in katakana, and the translation renders it to match the foreign spouse's passport, not phonetically back from the katakana.

How do you convert Japanese era years?

Add the era's base number to the era year. Japanese official documents date events by imperial era (gengo, 元号):

So Showa 63 is 1988, Heisei 2 is 1990 and Reiwa 7 is 2025. The first year of an era is written gannen (元年), not 1, so Reiwa gannen is 2019. Watch the transitions: Showa 64 covers only January 1 to 7, 1989, and Heisei 31 ends on April 30, 2019. Older handwritten registers may use kanji numerals (昭和五十五年 for Showa 55). Good practice gives the original and the conversion: "Heisei 2 (1990), March 14".

How are Japanese names spelled in the translation?

Exactly as in the passport. The koseki records names in kanji, and since May 26, 2025 the amended Family Register Act also adds the reading of each name in kana (furigana). People had until May 25, 2026 to notify their reading; where they did not, the municipality records the reading it had notified. Neither shows a romanized spelling, so the translator needs the passport.

Japanese passports use Hepburn romanization with specific rules. Long vowels are not marked: 大野 is ONO, 佐藤 is SATO. N becomes M before B, M and P: 本間 is HOMMA, 難波 is NAMBA. Double consonants are doubled: 服部 is HATTORI.

Passport holders can also choose non-Hepburn long-vowel spellings such as OHNO or SATOH, and people with foreign-origin names can use the foreign spelling with proof. Once a passport is issued, the spelling generally cannot be changed. So the only reliable source is the person's own passport: a translation that "corrects" OHNO to ONO, or writes Ōno with a macron, creates a mismatch.

Japanese documents show the surname first. The translation labels each part (Surname: SATO, Given name: HANAKO) so US forms are filled consistently. A Japanese spouse can also take the foreign spouse's surname by simple notification within six months of the marriage, or later with family court permission, so check which surname each record shows. For name differences across records, see name changes and foreign documents.

Seals instead of signatures

Japanese certificates are authenticated by seals: the mayor's red official seal, the municipal office seal, and on private documents the registered personal seal (jitsuin, 実印) or everyday seal (mitomein). The translation describes each seal and what it says, for example "[Seal: Mayor of Setagaya Ward, Tokyo]". An untranslated seal is the most common omission in Japanese translations.

Other Japanese documents you may need

• Certificate of acceptance of notification (juri shomeisho, 受理証明書). For foreign nationals, who have no koseki, records are normally issued in this form. The State Department notes it is not valid without the municipal office seal, and that retention periods vary, in Tokyo as short as ten years.
• Juminhyo (住民票). A certificate of residence. The State Department says it is not acceptable in place of the family register or the certificate of acceptance of birth notification. It proves an address, not a birth.
• Police certificate (hanzai keireki shomeisho, 犯罪経歴証明書). Issued by the records section of the prefectural or Metropolitan police headquarters, or through the nearest Japanese consulate for applicants abroad, in a sealed envelope. See police certificates for immigrant visas.
• Adoption. The State Department notes that US immigration purposes require an irrevocable termination of the biological parents' ties. A regular adoption does not sever them; a special adoption (tokubetsu yoshi engumi, 特別養子縁組) does.
• Court records. A certified copy of a judgment (hanketsu tohon, 判決謄本) comes from the relevant District Public Prosecutor's office, in person.

Why Japanese translations get rejected

• Juminhyo submitted as a birth certificate.
• Shohon submitted for a relationship case, showing only one person.
• Era year converted wrongly, often at the Showa to Heisei boundary.
• Names romanized from kanji instead of copied from the passport.
• Seals and the certification block left out.
• Police certificate envelope opened before the interview.

Checklist for Japanese documents

Questions people ask