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What procedure should a Japanese-American family follow in order to live in Japan? (Part1)

I’m an American living in the United States. I have had two children with my Japanese-American husband. His maternal grandfather moved to Hawaii in the early 1900s. We don’t have any information about his family except the name of his grandfather and his mother, their dates of birth and the prefecture where his grandfather came from. We also don’t know the kanji characters for their names. We are not in contact with our Japanese relatives and we are not sure whether they are still alive. Please advise us about whether we can obtain visas to come to Japan as Japanese-Americans?

In your case there are two big problems. One is whether you can prove your husband’s status as a Japanese-American. The other is whether it is possible for you to obtain a visa under these circumstances considering that you do not know your relatives in Japan who may be able to invite you to Japan. I will explain a solution to the first problem here, and about the second problem in the Part 2.

First of all, please obtain either a copy of your grandfather’s family register or deleted family register. In order to do this, you will need to find out the kanji characters of his name and his legal domicile. Regarding the characters of his name, there is a possibility you will be able to find them in a reference room in Japan stocked with data about people who immigrated to Hawaii. Regarding the legal domicile it may be difficult to specify this, but there is one method: investigate the areas in the prefecture your grandfather came from and where lots of people immigrated to Hawaii from, and inquire at each town office. In order to ask city offices to cooperate with you, it is recommended that you consult with an expert as sufficient preparation is necessary.

Advisor: KUROKAWA Koji (Immigration Lawyer)

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