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Help: newly born baby for Japanese citizen and naming

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myjasonlee

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Dear All

I sincerely ask for the advice and help from anyone who knows the right way to name newly born baby for the Japanese citizenships.

My baby will soon be born in Japan. I am a foreigner and my wife is Japanese. So the question now is how to name the baby. I understand that I need to name the baby by following the mother's surname in order to be Japanese citizen.
I am not sure if this is true. If not please let me know if I can still give my baby a Japanese firstname while keeping my family surname(lastname).

If it is true that the baby must follow mum's Japanese surname, I wonder if Japanese passport or birth cert can allow alias. With the option of alias, I can name my baby using my surname at least. This is something I must do as respect to my ancestor.

I have a Malaysian citizenship so the baby should not have dual citizenship in such cases. Any input, please feel free to advise.

Kindly advise.

Thank you

best rgds
Jason
 
I'm not an expert in these matters, so please understand that what I write here is based on hearsay and information on the Web.

Your child is allowed to maintain dual citizenship (Malaysian and Japanese) until adulthood (I think it's age 20), provided that you and your wife are legally married both in Japan and Malaysia. (I think this can be done in Japan by registering the birth of your child at the Malaysian Embassy.) Until then, the child can keep Malaysian first and family names, as well as Japanese first/family names. This way, the child is free to use both Malaysian or Japanese names until then, therefore will be able to use your family name. After adulthood, the child will have to decide which name he or she wants.

In registering your child's name as a Japanese national, the common choice is to give the child a Japanese first name and the family name of your wife. However, I think this is only "common practice" and not a strict rule. On this issue, you'll need to ask the experts. I think you and your wife will be able to ask the local municipal government office in Japan regarding registration of the child's name as Japanese national. Free legal counseling should also be available at such government offices.

My best wishes for health and happiness for you, your wife and the soon-to-arrive baby!!
 
My family name is "Cash" and the family name of both my children is "Cash". They're both Japanese citizens, born and raised in Japan to a Japanese mother and a foreign father.

Of course you can register your kids with your surname. The choice of name has no effect at all on Japanese citizenship.
 
Unless specified otherwise (as Mike did) kids automatically take their mother's family name in Japan. In the majority of cases that would also mean having the same surname as their father since the mother probably changed her name when they got married - but that is not always the case these days.

AFAIAA you can call your child whatever you like - but if the name you register at the Malaysian embassy is different from the name on the Japanese birth certificate then you'll need your wife's signed consent (that's what happened when I registered my son 'Tomu' as 'Thomas' at the UK embassy).

My personal opinion is, especially if your child is a boy, give him a Japanese kanji name that works in Malaysia too. Then if you like register him/her with a standard Malaysian name at your embassy. You might have some family middle names that you want to incorporate.

In kindergarten or school registers my son's name looks just the same as everyone else. This might not really matter so much in the big cities, but out here in the sticks I think any little thing to help remind kids and adults alike that my son is Japanese helps. Kindergarten teachers have already felt the lash of my tongue for writing his name in katakana on his shoebox and clothes-peg (yes I checked that other kids' names had been written in hiragana).

--
 
I would stick with your family name...there is no need to use the mothers mainden name at all. Anyone that tells you otherwise is just bending to Japanese will. My kids have my last name, and are all Japanese citizens. No problems on this end. Of course, since you know that Cash already works, I suppose you could register them with Mike's last name!
 
mr.sumo.snr said:
Kindergarten teachers have already felt the lash of my tongue for writing his name in katakana on his shoebox and clothes-peg (yes I checked that other kids' names had been written in hiragana).
--
Click to expand...

I went to City Hall and raised holy hell with them for doing something similar when my son was born.

When the birth announcement appeared in our local paper, what should have been in kanji was rendered in katakana instead. I called the paper, and they told me they get the birth announcement info by telephone from City Hall each day and carefully confirm the exact kanji/kana rendition of each child's name....and that City Hall had given them my kid's name in all katakana.

It was quite a scene, since when I am indignantly outraged I like to make sure everyone in the building can hear it.

The paper, bless them, printed a correction the next day.
 
Thank you to all the kind souls out there!

Dear Epigene, Mike Cash, Mr Sumo Snr & Doctor P,

I am so happy and rejoice to hear and see your kind replies.
I feel so much benefited from your advice and support. Truly grateful to you.
At this moment, I can't think of much now.
Based on the postings from you, I am discussing with my wife and then with the local authority to see how they can align with me for using my surname.

I do not mind taking any names but I need to pay respect to my ancestor, my wife, baby and for the baby's future.

Let me go on witht the discussion here at my side. I will keep you all updated and enquire again if I am stuck somewhere.

I thank you all for your generousity and kindness to share with me your experiences and knowledge

I wish you all well and be blessed.

best rgds
Jason
 
Unless specified otherwise (as Mike did) kids automatically take their mother's family name in Japan.
Click to expand...

My son has my wife's last name (as she's not changed hers to mine for confusing reasons) as his middle name, and my last name, on ALMOST everything. There is one form we just gave him her last name to avoid some lame formality.

@mike:
I assume your kids have kanji's for their names? Are they foreign-ish names?
 
My kids have foreign-ish names, with the first names being rendered in katakana and their middle names being in kanji, though the pronunciation differs but very little from the English versions of their middle names.

And, no, my son isn't named "Ken". I figured there are enough kids in his situation with that name already.
 
Thanks Mikes Mike & GaijinPunch

Dear Mike & GaijinPunch

Thanks a lot for the messages.
Please hear from me next week after my trip down to the local office.

Cheers
Jason
 
Further seeking advice

Dear Epigene, Mike Cash, Mr Sumo Snr & Doctor P & GaiJin-Punch,

I have some updates here and wish to further seeking your advice.
Today my wife went to the local office to register the birth and name of our baby.
It turned out that the officer said in order to be registered as a Japanese citizen, the baby need to have her mother's surname. However, the baby can change the name in the court later on if we wish to (of course I want to).
So I am wondering if anyone there went thru this type of procedure?

Based on what I have understood from the messages you posted, I thought the naming should be done today without issue. But I met the obstacles.
Kindly advise me what is the next wise move to go.

I do not mind to go back to the local office on Tuesday for some reasoning once I reach Tokyo.
It seems unreasonable when I seeing the kind folks here can do it well but the officer does not allow me to go the same way.

Kindly advise for those who know well the ways to deal with this.

Thank you so much!

best regards
Jason
 
So your wife didn't change her surname when the two of you got married?

I'm not sure about the procedure then because I don't know from Mike's post if his wife change her name to 'Cash' when they got married.

All the foreign man/Japanese woman married couples we know decided to keep their respective family names and their children all have the mother's surname. The three foreign woman/Japanese man couples we know: the wife changed her name to her husband's Japanese family name and the children use that name.

--
 

Leave it to me to mess things up. Not taking my family name would have been a deal breaker. That little item got very short discussion at the time. So did her suggestion that we live in California, which received a response of "I love you, but not that much. If it has to be California, I'm not marrying you."
 
For the benefit of myjasonlee it therefore sounds like it's not possible for your child to have a family name, other than the mother's 'current' name, here in Japan.

Then again, since you were happy for your wife to keep her Japanese family name I would suggest that you regard the naming of your child in a similar manner.

Your child can have a Japanese name and a Japanese birth certificate and also a Malaysian name and a Malaysian birth certificate. He can also have two passports.

I just spent the last six hours clearing out closets and cupboards all over my house looking for my son's UK birth certificate. Finally found it completely by accident mixed in with assorted congratulation cards and presents that he received almost four years ago when we last visited the UK for his baptism ceremony. No immediate necessity but I had half-promised myself to organize his first British passport when we visit the UK next week for a very 'ohisashiburi' trip. With any luck his grandparents will foot the application fee!

--
 
Furthe discussion

Dear Mr Sumo and Mike

Thanks again for the response.
So for Mike's case, did your wife change to your surname in Japan in order to keep your surname in your kids' name?
I am sorry to reconfirm with you.

If you did not have your wife's surname to follow yours, how did you make it happen for your kids then?
Kindly share with me your input.

Thank you so much once again

best rgds
Jason
 
My wife changed her surname to mine because I am old-fashioned and can not comprehend the idea of a wife not taking her husband's surname. If she had insisted on keeping her original surname, I wouldn't have married her. (You can imagine my opinion of hyphenated surnames)

Naturally, the idea of my children not having my surname was even more unacceptable to me.

So my wife changed her surname for the purpose of getting married, not for the purpose of future children's names.
 
Wow...what an interesting thread !!

My last name is Carter. . . (yes, I do like peanuts but have nothing to do with Jimmy. . .) Now, for lack of time back at a time when not having enough time would have cost a lot of money, my wife legally changed her last name to Carter. Until that point in time, our first son had been on the family register as 'Matsuzawa'--to the best of my recall. We were going to the USA, and he had been on his mother's passport (3 yrs. old).

Now, once the wife's name had been changed, it cannot be changed back. Our three sons are 'Carter' carriers now. However, my middle son is registered here in the family tree as . . .well, he has three names (first, middle, and last) unlike the other two sons. His middle name is Matsuzawa. . . and that kept the wife's family name. His first name is very non-Japanese, and is written in katakana.

Our first son's name is written in kanji, and is very Japanese. Our third son's name is written in two kanji but also sounds like a fairly common English name.

I wish you luck in getting what both you and your wife and your child can eventually be satisfied with.
 
That`s clear thanks

Dear Mike and Mars

I just saw your replies. I fully comprehended.
So this means I need to bear with it for my baby`s surname using my wife`s family`s. That will changed until my wife update her surname using mine.

So here comes the questions, should my wife change her surname at court or the local office?
Kindly give some pointers here.
I really appreciate you all and your help

Cheers
Jason
 

I think it'll depend on how long you've been married. I think there's a six-month 'free' period after which it costs money.

--
 

Yeah, I'm kind of with you here, despite the fact that I'm not old fashioned, and pretty liberal (people often tell me I look a lot like Jesus... not that they've seen him lately). With all that, once we got married, my wife never got off her duff and did the name-changing process, so, here we are: a married couple w/ two different names. My son has my last name though, and her last name as his middle name.
 
still find it unbelievable

Mr Sumo

Seems you are right. I need to pay some money then since it has been 3 years after my marriage registration. This will be another plan after I get my 1st job in Tokyo


Dear GaijinPunch
I am still find it a surprise that you could get your last name in your baby:s name even though your wife do not follow your surname.
Since i cannot do it your way. I need to go to the court and eventually request the change of surname of my wife.
In order to be fair, I would want her surname to be the middle name in the baby`s and also for herself .

To All: Any opinion if this would work?

Thank you for the help

best rgds
Jason
 

Hi - just to recap:

Your wife's name is
Mrs <kanji name> Cash (in romaji)

and you children's are
<katakana name> <kanji name> Cash

Is this correct?

I ask because I'm currently having a related discussion with my partner. Are there any definitive rules/regulations on the net that I can show her?

Thanks
 
I echo what epigene said.

I think 20 is correct.

Our son was born In Australia, so he is an Aussie (Australian Citizenship)

He has been registered in Japan (Japanese Citizenship) I may add, only one parents siganture was needed for this.

He is fully entitled to dual life citizenship in Australia.

Unfortunately, Japan is a different kettle of fish, although, really, it is difficult for anyone to renounce their countries citizenship.

Because my wife registered his birth in Japan, his name will go on the family register Koseki Tohon.

We don't have this in Australia and each individual has their own Birth Certificate which is yours for life, whereas in Japan, you must obtain a new one each and everytime it's needed.. Basically boils down to a pain in the ***!

Hope this helps somewhat.
 
I would take my wife's surname and then pass it to my children, but that's just me.
 
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