Finding a person’s address
QUESTION
I am Eric from Davao del Norte. I have a niece whose father is a Japanese. She’s in 2nd year high school. Her mother, who is my older sister, once worked in Japan as entertainer for several years. On that instance, she had a relationship with a man called Mr. Taraguchi. She got pregnant and decided to return to the Philippines. They had a smooth communication for the last three years, but after that my sister couldn’t contact him anymore. In the birth certificate, my niece is using my sister’s surname with an illegitimate notation.
I am now in Kobe studying for three months. I just arrived here last January. I would like to meet this Mr. Taraguchi, but I don’t know where to start?
ANSWER
Please find the following information, which I provided for you and the readers.
1. Difference of Identification registration/management in Japan and the Philippines
a) Japan
There is a system of Identification registration/management called a “Family Register System” in Japan. When anyone of Japanese produce and find the facts, such as birth, marriage, divorce, cognition, adoption, death, and transfer of domicile, he/she has a legal duty which certainly submits the notice on these facts to a municipal (city, ward, town, and village) public office. Those who neglected this notification duty or submitted the notice of falsehood, which is not based on the fact, are to be punished based on the Family Registration Law and a criminal code.
These notifications are to submit to a municipal office in which the person himself/herself lives now. In case of minor, the parents of minor must do it. The matters (birth, marriage, etc.) notified by the person are informed and reported to the person’s “permanent domicile” public office from the municipal office where he/she resides, and are finally described in his/her family register, which the public office of the person’s “permanent domicile” is keeping. Therefore, anyone can find the person’s identification and his/her change matters, which are the records from the person’s birth until now, clearly, if the copy of a family register currently kept at the “permanent domicile” public office is possible to see.
By the way, no matter what Japanese may always have his/her “permanent domicile.” It means that the permanent domicile is an address used as the person’s source. Therefore, there are two categories: One is that the permanent domicile and the present address are the same. And, the other person’s ones are different. For example, in case of mine, although my permanent domicile is Kokubunji Town, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, the present address is now 1-31-1, Kaidori, Tama City, Tokyo. Thus, Mr. Taraguchi whom you are now looking for also has the “permanent domicile” somewhere in Japan. In addition to this, it is necessary to obtain the copy of his “Family Register” first anyway in order to know where he lives now, in what kind of marital status and family relations.
However, anyone cannot ask and acquire the other person’s “Family Register” whenever he/she wants and likes since the copy of his “Family Register” is personal information based on the Personal Information Protection Law. Those who are acquirable are limited to the person himself/herself described in the copy of a family register and the authorized person provided in the Family Registration Law. Moreover, when charging the copy of his “Family Register”, he/she is obliged to show the certificate, which certainly proves his/her identification.
b) Philippines
As you know very well, the “Family Register System” does not exist in the Philippines. Instead, there is “Identification registration / management system” which is seen by many catholic countries.
First, everyone must submit the notice on birth, marriage, death, and adoption, etc. to LCR. LCR send this notice to NSO, which is located in Manila and are controlling the records of all citizens. In NSO, it keeps as a record individually. Although there is no divorce system like Japan, if the petition of marriage annulment is accepted at a Regional Trial Court based on the Article 26 of family law and is granted this petition by the Court, he/she is possible to become an unmarried person.
On the other hand, since there is no Personal Information Protection Law like Japan, it is possible to camouflage a marriage after he/she comes to hand unjustly the certificate of birth under the name of others, and there is no means, which prevent this fake marriage at present. Therefore, a considerable number of fake marriages have occurred and let it be an important subject to prevent these cases.
2. Solution
As you see, you can solve your sister’s case after you would visit to his house and talk/negotiates with him if you have already known his present address. Therefore, I would like to explain to you the solution in case you do not know where Mr. Taraguchi is now residing in Japan.
a) Check of his permanent domicile, full name and date of birth
In order to acquire a copy of his family register, his “permanent domicile”, “full name (name of Chinese character is better)” and “date of birth” are indispensable.
Please deduce these facts from the letter, other data, etc. sent by him.
b) Acquisition of his “family register”
I will request it to his permanent domicile public office based on the above-mentioned information and acquire his “family register”.
(As above-mentioned, your sister and you cannot ask and acquire it based on the Personal Information Protection Law.) In that case, I will ask and acquire it according to attorney’s power after I will receive the trust from you.
c) Acquisition of the “Residence history on a family register”
I will ask and acquire it based on his “family register”. Then, we can find his present address clearly by this. (As above-mentioned, your sister and you cannot ask and acquire it based on the Personal Information Protection Law. So, let me do it.)
d) His identification, present address, marital status, family structure, etc. are proved by the above-mentioned data.
e) Now, you can visit his present address based on these information, and negotiate/solve her problem with him directly.
Office name: Miyoshi International Legal Counsel Office
Telephone/Fax (Japanese/English): 042-339-8013(office), 090-14360-4107(Mobile phone)
E-mail: miyoshi@ipcworld.co.jp or joshua-galasha@mvg.biglobe.ne.jp (Japanese/English) OR p-digest@ipcworld.co.jp(English/Tagalog)
Website: www.phildigest.jp
Nearest station: Keio Nagayama by Keio line or Odakyu Nagayama by Odakyu line in Tama-city, Tokyo
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