- Jūminhyō
A jūminhyō (住民票) is a registry of current residential
address es maintained by local governments inJapan . Japanese law requires each citizen to report his or her current address to their local authority, which compiles the information for tax, national health insurance and census purposes.When proof of address is required, as in starting a telephone account or registering for a local school district, one may need to obtain a copy of this record from the local government.
This is different from the
koseki , where one's entire family is registered. One can have a koseki in one location, while one is currently living in another where the jūminhyō is registered.A typical jūminhyō is a handwritten record name and address. Once registered with the local government, one can obtain national health insurance forms and other social services. Jūminhyō registration is also required before a Japanese citizen can register a name seal (
inkan ), which functions as one's signature.Only Japanese citizens are listed on a jūminhyō; Japanese residents from other countries are recorded in a separate alien registration system. A non-Japanese married to a Japanese person may request to be listed in the "bikōran" (remarks) section. This is a source of controversy within the foreign community in Japan. If a Japanese person is living in a residence where a non-Japanese is the householder, that person may be listed as the "setainushi" (head of household). An example of this would be where a foreign national married to a Japanese is the registered owner of the couple's house.
After leaders of the
Aum Shinrikyo sect were arrested for a Sarin gas attack, members of the group successfully complained that local authorities in several areas had refused to allow them to register, effectively preventing them from receiving government services, in order to discourage them from settling there.Fact|date=February 2008Honorary Jūminhyō
On
February 12 ,2002 , Nishi Ward office inYokohama issued an honorary jūminhyō toTama-chan , an arcticbearded seal who took up residence in the rivers of Yokohama andTokyo and became a national celebrity. This prompted a group of non-Japanese residents to paint whiskers on their faces and stage a protest march to demand their own jūminhyō.There have been other instances where local authorities have issued honorary jūminhyō to animals, as well as to statues, snowman and fictional characters. For example,
Niiza, Saitama has issued an honorary jūminhyō forAstro Boy .External links
* [http://www.debito.org/juuminhyouupdate.html Problems to the foreign community of not being listed on the jūminhyō.]
* [http://www.crnjapan.com/references/en/jyuuminhyou.html Information on obtaining a jūminhyō.]
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