Marriage In Japan

10/25/2023

Marriage is a legal and social institution in Japan that is central to the family.

A marriage is recognized by law when a couple successfully submits the proper documents to the City Hall Registrar to change their status on their Family Registration Sheet "Koseki - 戸籍".

According to Japanese law, no ceremony is required. (Watch A Video On YouTube)

How Do I Register Marriage In Japan?

As a foreign national living in Japan, if you wish to get married under Japanese law, you will need to register your marriage at a municipal office at the current or legal address of the Japanese spouse’s residence.

You must fill out a Marriage Registration form (kon-in-todoke - 婚姻届) at the municipal office. The registration form is available at your local municipal office. The marriage registration form must be signed by two adult witnesses with signatures and Hanko.

Along with the registration, a foreign national must present a Certificate Of Eligibility For Marriage (kon-in-yoken-gubi-shomeisho - 婚姻要件具備証明書).

If you marry a Japanese national overseas, he or she may be required to present a certificate of marriage qualification (kon-in-yoken-gubi-shomeisho - 婚姻要件具備証明書), which is available at the Legal Affairs Bureau's regional branch office (地方法務局).

This certificate is issued by your home country to confirm that you meet the requirements to marry under the laws of your home country. The document can be obtained from your embassy.

General Requirements

The following are the general requirements for marriage under Japanese law:

A man must be 18 years of age or older and a woman has to be 16 years of age or older. (Article 731)
A minor “person under 20 years of age”, must obtain the consent of at least one parent to marry. (Article 737)
A person who is already married cannot marry again. Bigamy is prohibited. (Article 732)
A woman cannot get married within 6 months of the day of dissolution or cancellation of the previous marriage, except the case in which she both gets pregnant before the day and gives birth to the child. #1 (Article 733)
Lineal relatives by blood, collateral relatives within the third degree of kinship by blood #2, may not marry, except between an adopted child and their collateral relatives by blood through adoption. #3 (Article 734)
Lineal relatives by affinity may not marry. #3 (Article 735)
An adoptive parent or a lineal ascendant of an adoptive parent may not marry with an adopted child, their spouse, their lineal descendant, or a spouse of their lineal descendant. #3 (Article 736)