Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — most clients come to us knowing their goal, not the exact document name. Tell us what you are trying to accomplish (a visa, a wedding, a citizenship application, an inheritance) and where the document will be submitted. We will identify the exact records required and confirm in our reply, at no charge and no obligation.

Under Japanese law, family registers and similar records can be requested by the registered person themselves, their direct relatives, or someone holding a valid power of attorney (inin-jo). We send you a simple POA form to sign and return by email — in most cases, no notarization or consulate visit is required. This authorizes us to submit the request to the relevant municipal office on your behalf.

No. The entire process — from initial contact to final delivery — is handled remotely. You communicate with us by email in English, sign the power of attorney and return it by email, and receive the original documents at your overseas address by international courier.

The honseki (本籍) is the municipality in Japan that holds your family register. All koseki requests must go to that specific office. If you know your honseki, share it when you contact us. If you don't, tell us whatever information you have — a childhood address, a parent's name, an old Japanese passport number — and we will help identify it before submitting the request.

A koseki-tohon (謄本) is a full certified copy of an entire register page, showing every person listed and their complete history. A koseki-shohon (抄本) is a partial extract listing only the individual(s) you specify. For most overseas purposes, the tohon is required. See our koseki-tohon guide for more detail.

A joseki-tohon (除籍謄本) is a certified copy of a removed or closed register page — one that is no longer active. Because Japan has periodically reformed its registration system, records from older generations are held as joseki rather than active koseki. For ancestry tracing or citizenship applications that go back several generations, joseki-tohon are almost always required alongside current koseki-tohon.

We work with municipal and ward offices, tax offices, and schools and universities nationwide. Koseki records are tied to the honseki — the registered municipality — rather than a last-known address, and we handle requests regardless of which prefecture that is in.

If a requested record genuinely doesn't exist — for example, if records were lost, destroyed, or never registered — we will tell you as soon as we confirm this with the relevant office, and refund the fee for that specific document. We only charge for documents we successfully obtain.

Yes. We provide certified English translation as part of the same engagement. Translations are prepared by a professional translator and accompanied by a signed translator's certification statement, accepted by immigration authorities, foreign registrars, and courts in English-speaking countries.

It depends on the country where you will submit the document. For any of the 125+ Hague Convention member countries — including the US, UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, and most of Europe and South America — a Ministry of Foreign Affairs apostille is the standard authentication method. For non-Hague countries, consular legalization may be required instead. See our apostille guide for more detail.

No — Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not charge a government fee for issuing an apostille, which is unusual compared to most countries. Our quoted fee covers the agency handling, but there is no separate government stamp fee.

A single koseki-tohon with certified translation and apostille typically takes 2–3 weeks from when we receive your signed power of attorney. Multi-generation requests for citizenship applications take 4–6 weeks. Expedited processing is available for an additional fee — let us know your deadline when you contact us.

Originals, certified translations, and apostilles are shipped together by international courier (DHL, FedEx, or equivalent) to your address. Courier costs are passed through at cost and included in your confirmed quote. Tracking information is shared when the shipment is dispatched.

We accept credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express — international cards accepted), PayPal, and Wise. Payment is 50% deposit at the start of the engagement, with the remaining 50% due after you have reviewed copies of your obtained documents.

Before work begins: full refund. After work begins but before the document is obtained: refund minus actual costs incurred. After the document is obtained but before copies are sent to you: refund minus actual costs and work fees. After international dispatch: non-refundable. Full details are in our Terms of Service.

Yes. Family registers and personal records are sensitive. Your information and documents are handled with care and kept strictly confidential throughout the process. We do not share your data with third parties beyond what is required to fulfill your specific request. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

The power of attorney authorizes us to request the specific document(s) you have commissioned — and nothing beyond that. We explain the scope of the POA in plain English before you sign, and you can ask questions about it at any time. A POA used to request a koseki-tohon does not grant any other authority over your records or affairs.