A koseki (戸籍) is a Japanese family registry. Japanese law requires all Japanese households (ie) to report births, acknowledgements of paternity, adoptions, disruptions of adoptions, deaths, marriages and divorces of Japanese citizens to their local authority, which compiles such records encompassing all Japanese citizens within their jurisdiction. Marriages, adoptions and acknowledgements of paternity become legally effective only when such events are recorded in the koseki. Births and deaths became legally effective as they happen, but such events must be filed by family members.
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A typical koseki has one page for the household's parents and their first two children: additional children are recorded on additional pages. Any changes to this information have to be sealed by an official registrar.
The following items are recorded in the koseki. (Law of Family Register, (戸籍法), article 13.)
Introduced in the 6th century, the original population census in Japan was called the kōgo no nen jaku (庚午年籍) or the kōin no nen jaku (庚寅年籍). This census was introduced under the ritsuryō system of governance.[1]. During the Bakufu, there were four major forms of population registration: the ninbetsuchō (Registry of Human Categories), the shumon aratamechō (Religious Inquisition Registry), the gonin gumichō (Five Household Registry) and the kakochō (Death Registry). The shūmon ninbetsuchō was created around 1670 and was going to last almost 200 years: it combined social and religious registration, and date was renewed every six years. Several categories of outcasts were not registered at all under this system, or were registered in specific registers, for instance the Eta[2]. The modern koseki, encompassing all of Japan's citizenry, appeared in 1872, immediately following the Meiji Restoration. This was the first time in history that all Japanese people were required to have family names as well as given names. Although all previous social categories were abolished and almost all Japanese people were recorded as heimin (commoners), some minorities became labelled as "new commoner" or "original eta" (shinheimin or motoeta)[2], and discrimination went on. Problems happened also at the edge of the national territory, for instance in the Ogasawara Islands.[2]
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Japanese government actually created a dual system of koseki: an external (gaichi koseki) (based on the preexisting Hoju) and a domestic family registry (naichi koseki).[2] This institutional discrimination among Japanese citizens accounts for the deprivation of Japanese citizenship for several thousands of people residing in Japan after the war.
In 2003, the "GID Law" was enacted, enabling people with gender identity disorder (GID) to change their gender on their koseki provided they meet certain conditions. Persons diagnosed with GID must seek an official diagnosis with letters of support from two independent psychiatrists in order to change their koseki gender.[3]
Information provided in koseki is detailed as well as sensitive and makes discrimination possible against such groups as burakumin or illegitimate children and unwed mothers, for example. As the burakumin liberation movement gained strength in postwar Japan some changes were made to family registries. In 1974 a notice that prohibited employers from asking prospective employees to show their family registry was released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. In 1975 one's lineage name was deleted and in 1976 access to family registries was restricted. As of April 2007, anyone interested was eligible to get a copy of someone else's koseki. However, on May 1, 2008, a new law was implemented to limit the persons eligible for a copy to the persons whose names are recorded in a given koseki and those who need such a copy to exercise their due rights (debt collectors, executors of wills).[4][5] Anyone who is listed on a koseki, even if their name has been crossed off by reason of divorce and even if they are not a Japanese citizen, is eligible to get a copy of that koseki.[4] One can obtain a copy in person or by mail. Lawyers can also obtain copies of any koseki if a person listed is involved in legal proceedings.[6]
Only Japanese citizens may be registered in a koseki, because koseki serve as certificates of citizenship. Non-Japanese may be noted where required, such as being the spouse of a Japanese citizen[7] or the parent of a Japanese offspring, however they are not listed in the same fashion as Japanese spouses or parents.[8]
Note that the koseki system is different from the jūminhyō residency registration, which holds current address information.
The koseki simultaneously fills the function of birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, and the census in other countries. It is also based on family rather than each individual. This might seem to be in conflict with Article 13 of the Japanese Constitution that states "All of the people shall be respected as individuals".[9]
For married couples, only one family name may appear on the koseki, which means that one person has to abandon his or her family name when he or she marries. Usually it is the woman.[2]
More generally, the koseki system is based on family values from the 19th century; it is possible that it does not reflect all societal changes which occurred since its creation.
A similar registration system exists within the public administration structures of all East Asian states influenced by the ancient Chinese system of government. The local pronunciations of the name of the household register varies, but all are derived from the same Chinese characters as that for koseki (in traditional Chinese: 戶籍). These states include People's Republic of China (hukou), Republic of China (Taiwan) (hukou), Vietnam (Hộ khẩu), and North Korea (hoju, hojeok, hojok). In South Korea, the hoju system was abolished in 2008.
In September 2010 the Japanese government completed research into 230,000 "missing" persons aged 100 years old or more. Some journalists claimed koseki is an antiquated system, and enabled younger family members to receive the pensions of deceased elderly relatives.[10][11]