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How to obtain Japanese citizenship by the notification procedure

I am a Japanese man married to a Greek woman and now living in Fukuoka city, Kyushu. We have a child, but our marriage was officially recognized in Japan after this child was born. In fact, we married in Greece and submitted our marriage documents afterwards to Hakata Ward Office in Fukuoka city, but they were not accepted as the documentation was insufficient. The child was born while waiting to receive the documents from Greece. Can this child become Japanese?

There are three ways to become Japanese. These are, being born as a Japanese, the notification procedure, and the naturalization procedure. Your question involves the procedure by notification. This procedure is much easier than naturalization. In principle a child born between you (Japanese) and your wife (non-Japanese) cannot be born-Japanese unless you have recognized the child as yours before birth. However, in cases where the child was born before the Japanese father and non-Japanese mother married, and is recognized by the Japanese father as his child and meets the following requirements, the child can become Japanese by submitting the required documents to the Minister of Justice. I think your chances of success are very high.

1. The child is younger than 20 years old when documentation is submitted.
2. The father (you) is Japanese when the child was born.
3. When the father (you) notifies the Minister of Justice, the father must be Japanese
4. The child has never been a Japanese citizen before.

Ask about this procedure at Fukuoka local law office. About a week after submitting the documents, he will be able to become a Japanese citizen.

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