Pass name

Alien registration (外国人登録, gaikokujin tōroku) was a system used to record information regarding aliens resident in Japan. It was handled at the municipal level, parallel to (but separately from) the koseki (family register) and juminhyo (resident register) systems used to record information regarding Japanese nationals.

Foreigners staying in Japan for more than 90 days (excluding military personnel under a Status of forces agreement and diplomatic personnel) were required to register within 90 days of landing in Japan. The applicant was required to provide a completed application form, passport (for applicants 16 years old or older) and two identification photos. The system was voluntary for shorter-term visitors.

Alien registration was a prerequisite to many activities in Japan, such as purchasing a mobile phone, opening a bank account or obtaining a driver's license.

As described below, the alien registration system was replaced with a foreign residents' registration system on July 9, 2012. The new system of foreign resident registration was passed from the local municipal level to the national level.

The information stored in the alien registration system included:

This information was recorded in a physical document called a tōroku genpyō (登録原票), kept by the municipality in which the subject lived. Any changes in registered information had to be reported to the municipal office.

If a resident alien moved within Japan, they were required to report their move to the new municipality of residence, which then took possession of the tōroku genpyō. The tōroku genpyō was closed when the alien left Japan without a re-entry permit, and was then kept in an archive at the Ministry of Justice. Any subsequent entry to Japan by the same person required a new registration which was kept on a new tōroku genpyō.

After a person registered as an alien, they were issued a photographic identity document called a Certificate of Alien Registration (外国人登録証明書, gaikokujin tōroku shōmeisho), abbreviated (as is common in Japan) to gaitōshō (外登証), and colloquially referred to in English as an "alien registration card" ("ARC") or "gaijin card." All aliens in Japan were required to carry their passport or ARC at all times. The issuance of an ARC generally took about two weeks from the filing of the application.

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Wikipedia