Starting May 2025, the Japanese Ministry of Justice will allow residents to select “Taiwan” in the the “nationality” section in their family register, known as koseki (戸籍), as reported by Nikkei on Feb. 17. Previously only “China” was allowed.
Taiwan, an island governed as the Republic of China, is politically separate from the communist “People’s Republic of China” on the mainland. In order to maintain official relations with the PRC, most countries — including Japan and the U.S. — follow some version of the “one China policy,” whereby they recognize Beijing over the ROC, while maintaining informal relations with Taipei.
The Justice Ministry’s upcoming change is significant for Taiwanese people resident in Japan as they will able to use “Taiwan” as their nationality, rather than “China,” which is commonly associated with the communist regime.
Also on Feb. 17, spokesman Guo Jiakun for the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a complaint in regards to the Japanese Justice Ministry’s rule change, warning Japan against “gimmicks on the Taiwan question, and … not [to] send any conflicting or wrong signals.”
Japan’s justice minister Suzuki Keisuke dismissed the PRC’s concerns, saying that there was “no need to respond” to them given that his ministry’s decision was a matter of Japan’s internal political affairs.
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