I am a Japanese national born to a Japanese mother and British father in the UK, living in the UK since birth. In the UK I go by my British forename & surname, however at birth I was also given a Japanese forename & surname, which I have used when visiting Japan since my childhood, and is the name on my Japanese passport. On my British birth certificate, both sets of names are present, however on my (Japanese) passport only my Japanese names are present.
I was wondering, is there any way for me to obtain proof that my British and Japanese names belong to the same identity, in a way that is accepted in Japan? Would the Japanese authorities recognise it if I present my British birth certificate with all of my names?
Up until now, this hadn’t caused me any significant problems, but I’m planning on travelling to Japan soon and when I was checking my covid vaccination pass it struck me the pass only has my British forename & surname, while my passport only has my Japanese forename & surname.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/12vcm7i/proving_my_japanese_and_british_names_belong_to/
4 comments
I’m told that after may 8th they will drop the evidence of vaccine requirement.. it’s on several sites in Japanese.
Can’t see it on the official sites which is frankly typical as they want to hold that stuff back to avoid “confusion”..
Just returned to Japan from abroad and, at least at KIX, there were no vaccine checks going on. Although the airport I left from(Australia) was convinced they were still happening.
Having both passports should be enough if the question comes up.
As you’re also Japanese, you would enter Japan using your Japanese passport.
I don’t know what the procedure with vaccination certificates is right now, but it would be the person checking that that would need to see your UK passport to verify your name.
The Japanese government should already know that you have two passports, with different names, as you would have had to declare that when you applied.
Source: Our two lads have both UK and Japanese passports.
“however on my (Japanese) passport only my Japanese names are present”
Not a solution to your problem but reason why your British last name was not included in your Japanese passport. This is due to the Japanese Family Registry (Koseki) system and passport requirements. Japanese passports are issued under the names recored in Koseki. Only Japanese citizens can have Koseki; thus, when your Japanese mother and British father married, your mother had to create her Koseki under her Japanese last name. Your father and mother’s marriage was recorded in her Koseki, but the Koseki was her’s not your father’s. As you are Japanese, you were also added to your mother’s Koseki with her last name. Thus, your JP passport does not include your father’s name.
When you visit Japan, you might want to visit a nearby passport center and ask them if they have any solutions to this. They might be able to add your U.K. name somewhere (you might need your UK passport and birth certificate). Something like Suzuki, Benedict (Cumberbatch).