The deadline for submitting furigana for family registers is May 2026, 5. If no notification is submitted, the mayor of the city, town or village will enter the furigana at his discretion.

On September 2024, 9, the revised Family Register Act will require furigana to be included in family registers.¹The Cabinet has decided that the implementation date will be May 2025, 5. This will allow full-scale preparations to begin recording furigana in family registers.

Background and purpose of the amendment

The main objective of this legal reform is to

1. Promoting the development of infrastructure for digitalization of government administration
2. Use as identity verification information
3. Preventing evasion of various regulations

XNUMX points.

In current family registers, the pronunciation of names is sometimes unclear, causing inconvenience in administrative procedures and identity verification.

Overview of the new system

From May 2025, 5, family registers will begin to include furigana in katakana. The main changes are as follows:

1. In the case of newborns, the furigana listed on the birth notification will be reflected in the family register.
2. Even if your name is already listed in your family register, you will need to submit a notification of your name in furigana.
3. There are certain standards for furigana.

Notification method and deadline

1. You must submit a "furigana notification" within one year of the start of the system.
2. The head of the family register can report their full name, and other people can report their names in furigana.
3. Notification can be made in writing or through My Number Portal (planned).

Warnings

1. If you do not notify us, the mayor of your city, town or village may enter the furigana at his/her discretion. There is a possibility that the reading registered may be different from the reading you are currently using.
2. Furigana must be a commonly accepted pronunciation. In other words, fancy names are not allowed. On the other hand, if you are currently using a pronunciation other than the common pronunciation, you will be able to register it by presenting proof such as a passport or bankbook.
3. As a transitional measure, the furigana can be changed once without the permission of the family court.

Responses by local governments

In preparation for implementation, local governments are taking the following steps:

1. Accurate and prompt notification: As a prerequisite for the mayor of the city or town where you have your permanent domicile to write the furigana of your name in the family register, we will ensure that you have an opportunity to recognize the furigana of your name that will be written in the family register. Specifically, the mayor of the city or town where you have your permanent domicile will notify you of information regarding the furigana of your name, based on information held by the city or town for convenience in the resident record for administrative purposes. This notification will be sent without delay from the date the revised law comes into effect (May 26, XNUMX).
2. Combining online and analog: Notification of name pronunciation must be made to the municipal office of the person filing the notification, but it can be done in person at a counter or by mail. We are also currently considering a method of using My Number Portal.

This change in the system will clarify how furigana is handled in family registers, and is expected to improve the efficiency of administrative procedures and the accuracy of identity verification. Citizens must remember to report their furigana within one year of the system's launch in order to adapt to the new system.

For more information, see the Ministry of JusticeSite .

[Added on June 9th]

From the Ministry of Internal Affairs and CommunicationsPublication of the Resident Records System Standard Specifications [Version 5.1] etc.had

Reiwa 6/9/11

Publication of the Resident Records System Standard Specifications [Version 5.1] etc.

The Study Group on Standardization of Municipal Systems, etc. (Study Group on Standardization of Resident Record Systems, etc.) (chaired by Masahiko Shoji, professor at the Faculty of Sociology, Musashi University) has compiled the Standard Specifications for Resident Record Systems [Version 5.1] and the Standard Specifications for Family Register Attachment Systems [Version 3.1], and hereby announces these documents.

Public information

- Summary of amendments to the Resident Records System Standard Specifications [Version 5.1] etc. (PDF)
- Resident Records System Standard Specifications [Version 5.1]
- Family Register Attachment System Standard Specifications [Version 3.1]

* The Standard Specifications for the Resident Records System [Version 5.1] and the Standard Specifications for the Family Register Attachment System [Version 3.1] will also be published on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications website below.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Top > Organization Guide > Research Groups, etc. > Municipal Systems Standardization Study Group
https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/kenkyu/jichitaishisutemu_hyojunka/index.html

1. On June 22, 224, the "Act to partially amend the Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify Specific Individuals in Administrative Procedures, etc." (Act No. 48 of XNUMX) was enacted, which includes a partial amendment to the Family Registration Act (Act No. XNUMX of XNUMX).