My Husband and I are both foreigners in Japan, him Filipino and I American. We recently had our first child here, and as we are planning to live here forever and raise her here as we have already lived here for 8 years, have jobs and a set life here. We thought that giving her a first name in Japanese with Kanji and her middle name in English, she could fit in more with her peers growing up. Everyone here could say her name and it would be easier filling in forms, and back home everyone could call her by her middle name if saying her first was too difficult.
However, upon going to city hall to register her birth we were informed that foreigners (unless married to a Japanese person) cannot give their baby kanji names. If we were Chinese or Korean we could, but it would have to be the Japanese Kanji and not Chinese or Korean however. We informed the city hall worker that my husband is half Chinese, and has a Chinese name. They said that because his offical passport is Filipino and their language uses the roman alphabet that we still could not use Kanji. When asked if it was a law, the worker said it was and when asked what it was they disappeared for a while then came back and gave us a law number? I couldn’t find it on the internet so I really felt like it was fishy, but I’m not a lawyer so perhaps I just wasn’t looking in the right places.
Anyways, I had already filled out the paperwork in the hospital, where I gave birth to her in that very same city in Japan, and used the Kanji for her name. I felt so angry due to my post partum hormones and lack of sleep that when I heard all of this, I had to take a walk before I said something rude. While I was walking to cool down, my husband stayed behind and the city hall worker crossed out my kanji and wrote the katakana and then took my Mother’s handbook and crossed it out there too. I came back and it was already finished. I had firmly told my husband to not give my handbook, so I felt that it really violated my will. I still feel angry, disappointed, and ostrasized once again. I understand that I’m a gaijin – an outside person. However, knowing that my child is rejected from the day she’s born really makes me feel disappointed in Japan. I’m trying to soothe myself by saying atleast she’s still named a Japanese name, just in Katakana. (but that makes it even more painfully obvious that she’s foreign, she couldn’t even use hiragana as some Japanese people choose to giev their child instead of Kanji) When she’s older, she could naturalize and reject her American citizenship and change her name then. (after 18 years, kinda loses the point, and makes her choose between her identities) So somehow, I’m still not calmed over the matter. Was I silly for giving my child a Japanese name – should I just have given her two “English” names? Is this an actual law? I feel like a bad mom in all of this, and I feel sorry for my child. Could I have done something different?
by litfooled
24 comments
I’m not an expert on this, so someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the problem is the child will need an ID from the country of their citizenship. Since neither you nor your husband are Japanese, the child is not a Japanese national. Both the US and Philippines do not allow kanji on a government ID correct? You’ll have to register the birth with one of your home countries I imagine because the child cannot be stateless and her Japanese paperwork will need to match whatever that paperwork, be it US or the Philippines will say.
I don’t think they are trying to make you or your child feel ostracized, the ID just needs to match.
Looked into this out of curiosity some months ago. Wife and I live here too, both American and plan on having kids here. My own research in the past also said it’s impossible to give our children kanji names.
We had a couple ideas, but with that revelation we decided we’ll just give our kids western names after all. I share your disappointment since there’s some Japanese names with kanji we thought were really pretty too.
Your child is not a Japanese citizen so their official name must match their passport. The “katakana name” is the chosen reading of the Latin alphabet name, not the official name either. Sorry that you are so upset about this but it makes sense.
It is unfortunate but yes, it seems there is such rules. I guess that a way to make it in Kanji would have been that one of the parent had naturalized and the get the child double nationality, so as a Japanese citizen they could have kanji name.
I do not think it’s a bad idea to have a Japanese name or at least a name that also work in English, but I just find it interesting that you decided on the Japanese name based on the idea you want to live in Japan, yet you give the kid a middle name, that is not a practice done in Japan, so paperwork is not done to handle that. At least if the middle name is printed on the passport that become part of the used name in Japan. Anyway, do not know how you were able to handle that.
Personally glad that I am from a country where middle name is only written on birth certificate and nowhere else, so it never show on ID and Japan does not even have to know I also have a middle name (that I absolutely never use).
Japan is jus sanguinis and not jus soli. Meaning that your child will not be automatically Japanese for having born in Japan. One of the parents will have to be a Japanese citizen. Hence, you can’t use kanjis because either of your countries don’t allow kanjis in their names.
>When she’s older, she could naturalize and reject her American citizenship and change her name then. (after 18 years, kinda loses the point, and makes her choose between her identities)
This one honestly on her, perhaps she will choose to live in US and will drop Japanese citizenship. Feels like you already deciding that she will be living in Japan for rest of her life (or at least you want to, but then think about how you ended up in different country from where you were born, life can be unpredictable). Only the time will tell about this one.
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>I understand that I’m a gaijin – an outside person. However, knowing that my child is rejected from the day she’s born really makes me feel disappointed in Japan. I’m trying to soothe myself by saying atleast she’s still named a Japanese name, just in Katakana. (but that makes it even more painfully obvious that she’s foreign, she couldn’t even use hiragana as some Japanese people choose to giev their child instead of Kanji)
I can understand the frustation, but as other person mentioned it is more about paperwork and parent’s citizenship than anything. You can’t really get kanji (or other non local alphabet) written names in other countries too, especially in formal documents. Some countries do allow characters that are not find within local alphabet, but that’s case by case.
However, I would like to touch other aspect of this. “However, knowing that my child is rejected from the day she’s born really makes me feel disappointed in Japan.”
Even if she had Japanese name, fully spoken natural Japanese, she will still be a foreigner. Yes, it has somewhat negative connotation to it in Japan, as it is believed someone who is not Japanese cannot be fully accepted as Japanese (I totally disagree with that, but will not go further about it). However, she will never be Japanese and that’s okay, afterall she is born in international (Filipino and America) family, so why embrace Japanese/Japan? In this situation could be said, why not embrace Korean? German? and other cultures as non of them have much more connection, besides place of residence (which can always change). Eventually, she might be interested to learn more about her American, Filipino roots and heritage or completely other culture/country as she might move there.
Instead of fully embracing and pushing Japanese culture, wouldn’t it be better to focus on the multicultural aspect (both Filipino , American, to the certain degree japanese one too, and how you can navigate the multicutural environment) that she is born in the multicultural family, which is an amazing thing on its own.
Nevertheless the fact is that it doesn’t matter how much she will be pushed to become “Japanese” by others, she might never be one and that might cause more identity issues, rather than explaining the multicultural aspect of someone being born in mixed culture family and living in different society all together. You can’t change Japan (although it does change slowly), it will still sometimes, in some cases, will not accept her as Japanese, but at the same time, when the time comes, I would say it is wiser to explain this aspect of sometimes not being accepted and the nature of being a “foreigner” in the society, while embracing the multicultural roots.
As other said the rule is there to protect your child citizenship from parents who don’t do much research, albeit they should explain it to you better.
You tried slipping one in huh.
It’s really an unfortunate situation and I can understand and sympathize with your frustration.
I found this site, which explains the procedures about naming your child. Perhaps it will be useful to others who will be in a similar situation in the future.
https://www.kifjp.org/child/threeprocedure_eng
I also found a reference to the regulations in a response to an inquiry submitted to the House of Representatives. (In Japanese)
https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_shitsumon.nsf/html/shitsumon/b195066.htm
The regulation is based on Article 49 of the Family Register Law 戸籍法（昭和二十二年法律第二百二十四号）第四十九条.
Here’s the law in English, but you’ll notice the regulation of script is not explicitly mentioned. Most likely comes from clarification of iii and iv. Elsewhere on the internet the regulation is said to have originated with this law and clarified in a directive by the Ministry of Justice. Couldn’t find that directive tho.
https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/ja/laws/view/4409#je_ch4sc2at1
Personally, I don’t think you’re silly for giving your child a Japanese name. (But I’m just some idiot on the internet…) I’ve always been afraid that my two children won’t be accepted here, but in my experience where we live people seem very open to non-traditional Japanese. I feel that younger generations are being taught to accept that Japan is more diverse now and will be even more diverse in the future.
For children whose parents are both from foreign countries, I wonder how those children form their identities as they grow up. I know people in similar situations who raised children in Japan, but I’m not sure what their children decided to do in terms of their nationality. I do know that they are still in Japan and they both seem like amazing people. They went to regular Japanese schools and speak Japanese well, but also speak English well and seem well versed in three cultures. Amazing really.
My kid was also born in Japan, I’m a foreigner wife is Japanese and they wouldn’t let me give him my last name.
Rules are rules. This is the country you want to permanently live in…
As a person who was given a kanji in America and unable to officially register it as my name since none of my official US documents show the name in kanji, I registered my kanji name as a “nickname” at my city office, so I can use my kanji on official papers in Japan. That is a decent workaround. I believe I have my nickname with kanji on some of my id cards.
at this point, just naturalize already if you are planning to settle in japan.
you get kanji name, husband get kanji name, children get kanji name. everyone is happy.
Hey op. Filipino citizen here with Chinese lineage. We have unofficial Chinese names in our families but none of these are in any official documents. So unless that’s changed or your country will allow a kanji name in official documents, I don’t think you can give your kid an official kanji name.
I also have a daughter with an American. Our 5 month old has an official English name but we have also chosen an unofficial kanji name for her if someday she wants to apply for Japanese citizenship and change her name to a Japanese one. Something like Noa (希空). It’s not official, but it’s there if she wants it someday.
>My Husband and I are both foreigners in Japan, him Filipino and I American. We recently had our first child here, and as we are planning to live here forever and raise her here as we have already lived here for 8 years, have jobs and a set life here.
It is definitely possible that your daughter may move out of Japan once she’s an adult, just a thought.
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>We thought that giving her a first name in Japanese with Kanji and her middle name in English, she could fit in more with her peers growing up.
The fact that she has a middle name would already make her stand out and having foreign parents will already make her different. That isn’t always a bad thing but having a Kanji name won’t really fix that.
I don’t know if this was said in another comment, but if that helps make you feel better, I personally have japanese friends (I used to live in Japan) who also write their names in katakana or hiragana (names given by the parents, purposefully written that way). 😮 So it’s not that out of the ordinary to see a japanese person who has a name without kanji. I encountered more than one, I can tell you that. 🙂
I’m Canadian. Had a first generation Japanese-Canadian friend move to Japan permanently. She has a fully Japanese name (valid Kanji equivalent and everything) but has a Canadian passport. Guess what, her name is also registered with katakana in Japan. It’s not about your ethnicity, it’s about your nationality.
You can always naturalize or use a 通名.
Really? That’s the dumbest shit I ever heard. Should be able to name your child anything you want. This is proof enough to me that we don’t really own ourselves at all (which is obvious). Just sucks to see it in actuality. And yeah, I know some folks will abuse it and name their children some super wild shit. So be it. It’s 2024! Tradition and conformity makes life less interesting.
Could you give your child an alias (通称) in kanji? When I (Australian) got married to my husband (half Japanese), I was informed that I wasn’t allowed to register my new last name in kanji as It had to match my Australian ID, but I was able to register my last name in kanji as an alias.
My cousin who is second Japanese American married a Japanese woman and live in Japan but he had to Katana his Japanese name last made. lol. So he’s マツモト.
I dont think blaming Japan or looking through the lens that it is malicious in intent is proper. It is simple governmental bureaucracy at work Kanji names and western alphabet name are hard to give documents for. Reminds me of a case of arabic parents wanting to name their daughter a name using arabic letters and the hospital not being able to accommodate. The they were not forced but highly advised to give the name in katakana for all japanese paperwork so the kid could be registered.
Just use her Japanese name socially.
You’ll be fine
I think having a middle name isn’t helping anybody. Better to choose a name that is ambiguously Japanese and American, of which the are at least several. Erica, Luna, Maria, Anna, etc.
FWIW, I have foreign friends who gave their children katakana first names (no kanji) even though they could have, and I have yet to hear reports on that causing any trouble.
I don’t think you’re silly for giving your child a Japanese name, but tbh, whether they are seen as foreign or not will not hinge on their name. My son has a kanji name but looks very white to Japanese people, and I get comments on it a lot (practically each time I show a picture of him). They’re all positive in nature, but still very othering.
>but that makes it even more painfully obvious that she’s foreign
… She is. Sorry, but your daughter is objectively a foreigner in Japan. There is nothing you can do about that, even if you say you want her to naturalize – she is not going to be ethnically Japanese (unless you are actually ethnically Japanese without Japanese citizenship for some reason). Whether you want that to become a huge problem or not of course depends on the environment you are in as well – but mostly on you and your attitude.