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Marriage in Japan
If you wish to marry in Japan, you will do so according to Japanese law. Marriage in Japan consists of a civil marriage registration by the couple at a Japanese municipal government office.
Only this civil registration constitutes a legal marriage in Japan. Ceremonies performed by religious or fraternal bodies in Japan, while perhaps more meaningful for you, are not legal marriages.Consular officers unfortunately cannot perform marriages.
There are just a few things you'll need to do to get married. Let's get started!
Who Can Get Married in Japan? Article 731 to 737 of the Japanese Civil Code stipulates the following requirements:
 The male partner must be 18 years ofage or older and the female partner must be 16 years of age or older.
In addition, for Americans, you must be able to legally marry in your home state; if the legal age of marriage at home is 18, you cannot marry earlier than that in Japan.
A woman cannot get married within six months of the dissolution of her previous marriage. According to Japanese law, this is to avoid confusion as to the identification of a child's father if a birth occurs close in time to the end of the marriage.
Most people related by blood, by adoption or through other marriages cannot get married in Japan.
A person who is under 20 years of age cannot get married in Japan without a parent's approval.
For the American Partner...
Japanese law requires all foreigners who marry in Japan to first prepare a sworn Affidavit of Competency to Marry (Konin Yoken Gubi Shomeisho 婚姻要件具備証明書 )(the "scrambled text" displays the form's name in Japanese if your computer is set up with Japanese fonts), affirming they are legally free to marry, from their own country's embassy or consulate in Japan.
You can download a blank affidavit form.This form is for use with one American partner and one non-American, such as when an American man marries a Japanese woman. The form has two parts, one to be completed in English and the other to be completed in Japanese.
If your partner is also an American s/he must also complete a sworn Affidavit of Competency to Marry at the Embassy. Use this form in cases of two American people marrying one another. The form has two parts, one to be completed in English and the other to be completed in Japanese.
These forms are required by Japanese law, and are not a requirement of the U.S. Government. No registration of your legal marriage abroad is required by the U.S. Government, and your Japanese partner need not come to our offices.
 Acrobat Reader is required to view these forms and their instructions on your computer. The latest Acrobat software is available for a free download. The form is also available at our offices at no charge.
After completing the affidavit, please visit our offices with your valid U.S. passport and the
$30 notarial fee (we accept cash, US$ or Japanese Yen. We cannot accept checks at any of our
offices in Japan.
We cannot accept credit cards, except at the Embassy in Tokyo and at our Consulate in Osaka, where you may pay using your
VISA, Mastercard, Discover, Diners Club or American Express card.
For more information, including our opening hours, directions and phone and FAX numbers,
please locate the
office serving your part of Japan.
We're closed on both U.S. and Japanese
holidays).
Once signed and sealed at the Embassy or one of our Consulates, this affidavit is valid for
three months.
Other Things to Note
Members of the Armed Forces must obtain an Affidavit of Competency to Marry from U.S. Forces
Japan channels. U.S. citizen minors (please check marriage laws of your U.S. state of domicile
for relevant age) require a notarized letter of consent from their parents or legal guardian.
Under some circumstances Japanese authorities may require women who wish to marry in Japan to
wait six months after the termination of any prior marriage.
For the Japanese Partner...
The Affidavit of Competency to Marry you completed needs to be translated into Japanese, along
with your parents' consent, if you are underage. Your Japanese partner must also complete a
Japanese municipal government form called the Kon-in Todoke needed to register a marriage.
Two witnesses of any nationality over 20 years old must sign the Kon-in Todoke. Our staff cannot translate or prepare these documents.
Generally non-Japanese witnesses will sign in longhand, while Japanese, Korean and Chinese national witnesses may be asked for their seal (Inkan 印鑑 )
The Japanese Government and/or the local municipal office may also have other requirements for your partner; please check with the appropriate municipal office. Typically, Japanese citizens will require a certified copy of their family register (Koseki Tohon 戸籍謄本 ) or its extract (Koseki Shohon 戸籍抄本 ) issued within a month of the marriage.
Korean, Chinese or other nationals who are long-term permanent residents in Japan, or those who lack diplomatic or consular representation here, may be able to marry after obtaining a registration document (Gaijin Toroku Zumi Shomeisho 外国人登録済証明書) from a ward or city office. Contact the appropriate Japanese authorities for details.
If your partner is neither Japanese nor American, s/he should also contact his/her Embassy for the marriage procedures needed in their own country. Some countries require back-home records checks and waiting periods; call in advance of your planned wedding day.
Get Married
This is the part of this whole procedure that actually makes you and your partner "married."
Once all the paperwork above is completed, proceed to the appropriate Japanese municipal
government office. To avoid any disappointment, be sure to confirm local marriage procedures and
rules directly with municipal government officials.
Once the marriage procedures are completed, the municipal government office issues a Japanese language "Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage" (Kon-in Todoke Juri Shomeisho) for 350 yen each.
Keep Records
The Japanese language "Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage" (Kon-in
Todoke Juri Shomeisho 婚姻届受理証明書 ) is your only proof of marriage. We maintain no
record of marriages in Japan and, under Japanese law, cannot later retrieve marriage records
from a municipal government office.
Write down the name and address of the municipal government office that registered your
marriage, as you'll need to contact them directly in the future to obtain proof of your marriage.
You will be given a choice of two versions of the "Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage".Both versions are legal proof of your marriage. The large version, which many people find more attractive, should cost about Y1500. The smaller version, about A4 size, should cost about Y350.
Translating Your Marriage Certificate While proof of your marriage in Japan is shown by the Japanese-language marriage certificate you get at the ward or city office, many times (such as when applying for an immigrant visa, or a social security card for your spouse in his/her married name) an English language document is handy.
What most couples choose to do is to translate their Japanese-language marriage certificate using our fill-in-the-blanks forms. You or your spouse may do the translation; there is no need to hire a professional.
If you chose the large marriage certificate, use this form to translate it.
If you chose the smaller-sized marriage certificate, use this form to translate it.
Once translated, the translator should bring the finished document to our offices), along with
his/her passport and the fee of US$30. We will certify the translation and return it to you
in just a few minutes.
Am I Really Married?
Yes.
If you legally marry in Japan you are also married in the U.S.
Marriages legally performed and valid in a foreign country are also legally valid in the U.S.A marriage certificate properly issued in a foreign country where the marriage involving a U.S. citizen is considered proof of that marriage. You don't need to do anything else.
Going to the U.S.?
Visiting the U.S.
If you and your Japanese spouse wish to simply visit the U.S. for no more than 90 days, generally no visa is required. You can learn more here about the visa waiver program.
Visitor visas may be required by non-Japanese spouses; we have more information about visas.
Living in the U.S.
To live in the U.S., your non-American Citizen spouse needs an immigrant visa (also known as a "green card" [the old ID cards used to be printed on green paper], or "legal permanent residence" [LPR]). The visa is sometimes known by its number designators, IR-1 or CR-1. IR-1 is for couples who have been married more than two years, while CR-1 is for couples married less than two years as of the day you file the petition.
The requirement that your spouse have an immigrant visa to live in the U.S. applies to all non-American Citizens, including Japanese.A foreign spouse has no automatic right to a U.S. visa, entry or residence.Though we'll talk only about spouses here, the same procedures and rules also apply to the parents and children (under 21) of American Citizens.
An immigrant visa allows your spouse to live, work or study in the U.S. indefinitely. Entering the U.S. with an immigrant visa and establishing a residence there is the first step toward naturalization (when your spouse can become an American citizen).
Obtaining this visa involves a series of steps, culminating in an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Because the immigrant visa process can take as long as four to six months from start to finish, it is important to begin early and to not make firm travel plans until your spouse's visa is actually in hand. Processing will likely take longer if your spouse is not Japanese but is applying for a visa in Japan.
Immigration procedures start when you, the U.S. citizen spouse, files an immigrant petition (I-130) for your foreign spouse.Since the I-130 does not expire, we urge couples to start as soon as possible after their marriage, even if you do not have any immediate plans to live in America.
Follow this link to learn more about the immigrant visa process.
Oops! Actually interested in fiancee visas?Follow this link for fiancee visa information.
That's it-- Congratulations!
For more information, including our phone and FAX number, please contact the
office serving your part of Japan.
The U.S. Embassy and our Consulates are closed on both U.S. and Japanese holidays.
This is an official source of U.S. Government information on the Web. Inclusion of Non-U.S. Government links or information does not imply endorsement of contents.
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