Submitting your Last Will 遺言書

The other day I went to the legal affairs bureau to submit my will.
Instead of hiring a lawyer to do the work for me, I decided to take it upon myself as it would only cost ¥3900 to submit one.

First off, the will must be hand written. You can do it yourself if you can write Japanese well and follow the example online. Hiring a Scribe to write on your behalf or submit in English with an official translation are also acceptable.

You must also include copies of the 1st page of your bank books and of any online banking info. If you own property, you must submit a copy of the ownership.
Also bring a current copy of the Certificate of Residence.

After that, you make a reservation with the Legal Affairs Office.

Upon arrival, be prepared to sit for over an hour while they look over your documents and point out errors or discrepancies. Be prepared to cross out/hanko those areas and write out what was changed at the bottom of the document.

The person looking over your document may make arbitrary decisions so be prepared to inquire/recommend ways that make sense to both you and the clerk. (In my case, I was asked to write my English and Japanese name on another page but the clerk didn’t explain in reference to which page so clarification was needed.)

The person looking over your documents may do some head-scratching things such as take out a ruler and adamantly check that the margins are clear 3cm on all side when it’s quite obvious the margins are clear. It’s best to just let it go as it is part of their job.

Please make scans/copies of your will before handing it over. You will not see it again and requesting to have the document pulled from the archives will cost additional money. Changes to the Will in the case of change of address and other addendums are free/don’t cost much.

After submission, they may ask you to wait about an hour for finalization and come back with tax stamps totaling ¥3900. Once the tax stamps are applied and everything signed and ready to go, you will receive an official form that would be used for future retrieval of the Will.

I wanted to share my experience so those of you staying long term could consider doing the same. Investing your time into making one will ensure your assets in Japan are distributed accordingly.

Also, here’s a thread from 5 years ago about Last Will and Testament. Most likely the info provided hasn’t changed:
https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/80au3y/last_will_and_testament/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf