How to find the Japanese husband/father who abandoned us
QUESTION #1
My name is Mary. I am married to a Japanese national and we have children together. I have a residence card that is good for three years. In 2016, I got sick and am now disabled. My husband had to leave his job to take care of the family. After we used up all our savings, we applied for the government’s program, seikatsu hogo. My question is, does being under the welfare system compromise my chance of getting permanent residency? Thank you.
ANSWER #1
First of all, you should perform an investigation whether your husband had already been submitted the “marriage report” with you, and the “birth report” with his child from birth to the municipal office in Japan or Japanese Embassy in Manila based on the Japanese Laws. The best and quickest way is acquiring his family register and censoring the written content in it. There are three kinds of method when you would like to acquire his family register. These are as follows:
1) You can acquire it by yourself from the municipal office where his domicile permanent address is located.
2) You can acquire it through your husband or his relatives.
3) You can acquire it through a lawyer who you would trust and pay for the necessary expenses.
As a result of investigating his family register, if your child has been recorded as his child by birth, your child can go back to Japan at any time since he is a Japanese. Moreover, you can acquire a special visa as a “real mother of those who have the Japanese national” and can enter into/reside in Japan. On the other hand, when nothing is described in his family register, it means that there is no “paternal relation” between your husband and your child. In that case, you should search his present address. You also can take out the same methods as above-mentioned. When you can find his present address clearly, you have to consult with him regarding to your child’s identification/status. Because it’s absolutely necessary that your husband must recognize his child by birth based on the Japanese Law if your child does want to enter and reside in Japan as a “Japanese national.”
Moreover, your child can acquire the Japanese national through the procedure of the “Acquisition report of Japanese national” at the Legislative Bureau, Ministry of Justice. Of course, you can enter a country and reside as the mother of your child. For your information, when you would like to trust a lawyer in order to acquire a Koseki-Tohon (family register), you must inform the following information to a lawyer and pay for the necessary expenses.
1. Full name
2. Date of birth
3. Permanent domicile
I hope you would find the best solution.
QUESTION #2
Hello, I’m writing to request your guidance and assistance with my nanny’s situation with her Japanese/Filipino child. She lives and works for us as a nanny in Cambodia while her children remain in Davao in the Philippines. She specifically is asking how her son can obtain Japanese citizenship or any other assistance for him. My Filipina nanny (who has been working for us in Cambodia for the past year) recently told us that her 14-year-old son’s father is a Japanese, and she showed us his Philippines birth certificate with his name and signature on it. The father supported them after her son was born but then stopped contact and support about 8 years ago. The father now lives in Japan and my nanny Rose has not been able to contact him on the phone, but she still has an address for him, although we’re not certain if it’s still current or not. Can we find out your guidance and information on what steps we need to take to find his father and try to get him recognized by the Japanese government? My nanny has three young children – including him, and it would be great if we could help him to get recognized and which could be his path to a better life. Thank you, any information is highly appreciated.
– Angela Harley
ANSWER #2
As I have already announced to the readers of Philippine Digest through my column, it is absolutely necessary to be given the following information to a lawyer when a lawyer would acquire a Japanese Koseki-Tohon (family register).
1. Full name (If possible, it’s better in Chinese character)
2. Date of birth
2. Permanent domicile
I am sure I can find his family register only if she can inform me the above-mentioned three elements. It’s the best way to send me a copy of his family register even if it’s old. In addition to this, she is also required to pay for me the necessary expenses. When she would remit it to me, there are three ways as follows:
1) You by yourself, pay directly when you’d visit to Japan.
2) Your relative, friend or acquaintance who is now residing in Japan would pay me as your representative.
3) You can pay me which uses the system of “International Postal Money Order” through the Post Office abroad.
I will set to my work immediately upon confirming the payment and necessary information. If she would like to look for the residence of her son’s father, please hand a copy of the family register to a detective and ask for him/her to find out her son’s father since I am not a detective, but a lawyer. A detective can find her son’s father based on his family register since it is a kind of work for detectives to discover people.
Office name: Miyoshi International Legal Counsel Office
Telephone/Fax (Japanese/English): 0463-61-
E-mail: miyoshi@ipcworld.co.jp or joshua-galasha@mvg.biglobe.ne.
Website: www.phildigest.jp
Address: Kanagawa-ken, Naka-gun, Oiso-cho, Higashikoiso 716-2
Nearest station: Oiso station by Tokado Line
Working hour/day: 09:00-18:00/Monday-