【Important Notice】Japanese Nationality, Dual Citizenship, and Passport Renewal – Our Office Policy

【Notice】

Our Office Policy Regarding Japanese Nationality, Dual Citizenship, and Passport Renewal

Recently, we have received an increasing number of inquiries from individuals living overseas, such as:

“I want to obtain a Koseki Tohon so I can renew my Japanese passport.”
“I believe I still have Japanese nationality, but I have not renewed my passport for many years.”
“I have another nationality, but I want to keep my Japanese passport as well.”
“I want to confirm whether I still hold Japanese nationality.”

To avoid misunderstandings and ensure legal compliance, we are publishing this notice to clearly explain our office policy.

1. Our office strictly complies with Japanese law

Our office is operated by a licensed Administrative Scrivener (Gyoseishoshi),
a national legal qualification in Japan.
We have a legal obligation to strictly comply with the Nationality Act, Passport Act, and all related laws.

Therefore, we cannot accept requests that involve the following:

When the person’s current nationality status is unclear or contradictory
When someone actually holds another nationality but asks us to “treat them as Japanese”
Consultations aimed at “maintaining” a Japanese passport in ways that may conflict with the law
Requests to obtain documents as “Japanese” despite a high likelihood of having lost Japanese nationality
Asking our office to determine or confirm whether someone still holds Japanese nationality

An Administrative Scrivener cannot engage in any request that involves legal uncertainty or may be illegal.

2. Our office cannot determine whether you still hold Japanese nationality

Please understand the following clearly:

The only authorities that can judge your nationality status are
the Japanese Embassy/Consulate or the Ministry of Justice
An Administrative Scrivener has no authority to confirm, judge, or certify Japanese nationality
Having a koseki (family register) does NOT automatically mean that you still have Japanese nationality

There are real cases where a person’s koseki remains,
but their Japanese nationality has already been lost.

Therefore:

“Being able to obtain a koseki” does NOT mean
“Your Japanese nationality is still valid.”

3. You may lose Japanese nationality if you acquire another nationality

Under Japanese law, acquiring another nationality may result in the automatic loss of Japanese nationality, including cases such as:

Naturalization in another country
Acquiring a foreign nationality through marriage
Losing Japanese nationality after dual nationality at birth
Any other situation where a foreign nationality is obtained

Many individuals living abroad mistakenly believe:
“Because my koseki exists, I must still have Japanese nationality.”

This is incorrect in many cases.

4. Scope of services our office can provide

We can ONLY provide the following lawful services:

✔ Obtaining Japanese certificates

Koseki Tohon, Joseki Tohon, and Kaisei-gen Koseki
Certificates of Acceptance / Certificates of Recorded Matters
Other official Japanese documents

✔ Apostille and Authentication

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) apostille

❌ We CANNOT provide:

Any judgment or confirmation regarding Japanese nationality
Any guarantee that documents will be accepted for passport renewal
Any support based on hiding or withholding foreign nationality
Any actions that may violate Japanese law or place our office in a legally unclear position

5. About Japanese passport renewal

Even if our office succeeds in obtaining your Japanese certificate,
we cannot guarantee that the document will be accepted for Japanese passport renewal.

The final decision is always made by:

The Japanese Embassy/Consulate (for clients living outside Japan).

For this reason:

Please contact the Embassy/Consulate before requesting our services
if your purpose is passport renewal.

Our office cannot contact the Embassy or Consulate on your behalf,
nor provide any intermediary support regarding their decisions.

6. Summary (Important)

An Administrative Scrivener cannot determine whether you still hold Japanese nationality
We cannot accept any request that may violate Japanese law
Our services are limited to certificate retrieval and apostille procedures
For passport renewal, please consult your local Japanese Embassy/Consulate directly