Getting married in Japan (2016)

I am Irish and this is my experience of getting married to a Japanese woman in Japan. When I searched the Internet for info, I couldn't find any, so I thought I'd share my experience. I hadn't previously entered into a marriage (which would require different paperwork that what's in this post).

On February 23rd, 2016 we went to our local village hall in Akita Prefecture to ask what documents we'd need to get married. They were not used to foreigners getting married, so they looked it up and a day later we were told that we'd need:

Certificate of Freedom to Marry

My fiancée's koseki

Completed marriage form (婚姻届) with 2 witnesses signatures

Form to change name (外国人との婚姻による氏の変更届). As a foreigner there are 3 options; neither person changes their surname, the bride takes the husband's surname, or the the groom takes the wife's surname.

Certificate of Freedom to Marry (aka. Certificat de Coutume)
This is the most time consuming document to obtain.

Visit the Embassy of Ireland in Japan's webpage and complete the online questionnaire, known as the MP1 form. You'll need both your passports, and your long form birth certificate at hand. You also need to write the date you intend to marry. Save the pdf file when completed, and print off the form. This form has you application number on it.

After you complete the MP1 form you will be instructed to download and print the MP2A form. This has 2 pages. You will complete the first page with your names, addresses, date of births, and your name as it appears on your birth certificate (my passport doesn't have my middle name, but my birth certificate does).

MP2A - page 1

MP2A - page 2

The second page of the MP2A indicates that it should be completed by a notary public (公証人), a commissioner for oaths (公証人), a solicitor (事務弁護士), or a diplomat (外交官). The reason for going to such a person is to have them prove that you are who you say you are. I went to a notary public in Noshiro, Akita, as recommended by a lady from the Irish Embassy in Tokyo. There are notary publics all around Japan. The guy I went to asked that I fax him the forms with a translation before I went to him. So I asked the Irish Embassy for a translation. Strangely, they didn't have a translation of the current form but gave me a translation of an older version, which is quite different.

Old MP2A - page 1 - Japanese

Old MP2A - page 2 - Japanese

Understandably, the notary public refused to sign my MP2A form because he doesn't speak English and didn't know what the form said. Instead he gave me his own form in Japanese, and a translation in English (an English translation is required). This was perfectly acceptable (and expected) by the embassy. The form cost ¥11,000 and the translation was ¥6,000. So a total of ¥17,000 (about €140). After speaking with the Embassy they told me it is normal that notary publics use their own forms, not the MP2A! However if I was able to go to the embassy, with an appointment, the cost would have only been ¥5,700 (about €45).

Letter from notary public

notary public letter translation

Submitting my application
I enclosed the signed MP1 form, with the 1st page of the MP2A form, the 2 notary public forms, and my original long form birth certificate (on the back of your birth certificate you must write the capital letter "A" and sign your name) in an envelope with €9,100 (¥8,600 for the cert and ¥500 for return postage). This envelope was sent to the embassy via cash registered mail (現金書留; genkin kakitome). I also included a note stating that the date I wished to get married was March 16, and asked that my application be processed in time. I posted it on February 29. On March 13 I received the Certificate of Freedom to Marry. I now needed to translate it for the village hall who told me that it didn't need to be an official translation.

Certificate of Freedom to Marry

Below is my translation. I know it's not perfect, but it was accepted by the village hall. I included the English too, as there are 5 different languages (unfortunately no Japanese!) on the cert. If you have any suggestions to make it better, please leave a comment below: ===================================

The Embassy of Ireland certifies, according to documents produced to it and according to a solemn declaration made by this person, an Irish citizen, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by Irish law,

Surname:   Cunningham  
Forenames:  Owen
Born:    _______
Passport:   xx1234567
Address:   _______

that this person is not bound by the ties of a valid marriage or civil partnership under the laws of Ireland, and is therefore free to contract a marriage or civil partnership.

Date: 8 March 2016
___________
Authorised person

This document is valid for 120 days from date of issue.

===================================

アイルランド大使館は、同大使館に対して提出された文書に基づき、厳粛な宣言に従い、アイルランドの法律の下に規定されている手順を使用し、

氏:　   カニングハム　
名:　   オーエン
生年月日:   西暦19xx年xx月xx日
パスポート番号:   xx1234567
住所:   秋田県xxxxxxxxxxx

同人がアイルランドの法律の規定することに従い、証拠を付して行なった申告に基づき、アイルランドの法律による有効な婚姻及びシビル・パートナーシップ（法的に承認されたパートナーシップ関係）の存在によって拘束されるものではなく、
適法の婚姻を結び得るものであることを証明する。

日付:　　2016年3月8日
___________
参事官

この資料は発行日から120日間有効です。

===================================

On March 16, we brought our completed marriage form (example), the Certificate of Freedom to Marry, and the change of name form, similar to this. There was no charge. The lady checked our forms, accepted them, and said congratulations.

We are now officially married!