City Hall Procedures(市役所での手続き）

When foreigners with residence cards are moving to Hikone to live in, they are all required to register as a resident of Hikone within two weeks after their initial arrival in Hikone. This procedure is called “Jumin Toroku (Resident registration)” in Japanese. You must bring your residence card and passport to complete the resident registration at the city hall. Your name written on your residence card is your official name in Japan. (You cannot register your name in Katakana alone.) You can receive a wide range of services from the city upon the completion of your resident registration.

You are required to come to the City Hall of Hikone to change your registered address within Hikone or to move out of Hikone. For this procedure, please bring your residence card with you. For those who are moving out of Hikone, the city will issue a moving-out certificate called “Tenshutsu Shomeisho” in Japanese. You have to hand over this certificate to a local government office in your next city within two weeks. For more details, please contact the Life Service Division of Hikone City Hall.

You must report to the city hall about your departure and complete necessary procedures. If you fail to come to the city hall for the procedures to leave Japan, the information of your tax payments, national health insurance, etc. will be compromised, and you might face penalties when you come back to Japan next time.

Once you complete your resident registration, you will be able to apply for a resident certificate (called “Jumin Hyo” in Japanese). This certificate shows your basic residence information based on your resident registration and verifies your residence in Hikone. For more information, please contact the Life Service Division of Hikone City Hall.

Registered foreign nationals may adopt an alias, also known as a second legal name. To register an alias, you must provide documents showing that it is already used in public, such as mail, bills, or similar documents issued under that name.

Please note that once an alias is registered, it is very difficult to change.

Once you register your name in Katakana, you will see your name in Katakana appear in the remarks column of your resident certificate. For more information, please contact the Life Service Division .

Hikone residents aged 15 and older can register their Inkan. However, each person can register only one Inkan. Once the Inkan registration process is completed at city hall, an Inkan registration card will be issued. This card is required whenever you request an Inkan registration certificate from the city. An Inkan registration certificate is generally required for transactions such as purchasing a house or a car. If you have registered an alias or Katakana name, you may register an Inkan using that alias or Katakana name.

Effective 2015 October, all residents of Japan are given the individual 12-digit number (so-called My Number), regardless of nationalities. This individual number will not change for keep except for a few exceptions, so please keep your My Number card safe and handy.

Your My Number is written on the paper-based card. Please keep it safe.

You need to fill out and submit an application form to receive this plastic My Number card. You can use it as your ID card, but you need to renew the card before its expiration date at the city hall.

Once you get hold of your own plastic My Number card, you can get the local-government-issued certificates (see below) at stores, such as SEVEN ELEVEN, LAWSON, Some HEIWADO franchise Stores and FAMILY MART.

• Residence Certificate
• Inkan Registration Certificate
• Tax・Tax Payment Certificate (the one for Child Allowance included)

You must complete a birth registration within 14 days after your baby is born. These procedures can be completed even outside the regular hours of Hikone City Hall.
*If you need to register the birth with the Immigration Services Agency, you are required to submit a photocopy of the birth registration form and complete the necessary procedures within 30 days after the baby is born.

This is the procedure to report a deceased person to the city.

Within 7 days of receiving a death notification signed by a doctor, please report the person’s death to your local government office. These procedures can be completed even outside the regular hours of Hikone City Hall.

Please note that requirements and procedures may differ depending on the nationality. Therefore, you are advised to contact the Hikone Life Service Division well in advance.

Please note that requirements and procedures may differ depending on the nationality.

Therefore, you are advised to contact the Hikone Life Service Division well in advance.

Your Koseki certificate may be required when renewing your visa.

Under Japan’s revised Family Registry System, you can apply for a family registry certificate at your local government office, regardless of where your family registry is registered.

Please note the following:

・Traditional handwritten family registries and removed family registries that are not connected to the network cannot be issued.

・Ichibu Jiko Certificates and Kojin Jiko Certificates cannot be issued under this system.

・Applications by mail or through a proxy with a letter of attorney are not accepted.

・It may take several days or longer to issue a family registry certificate.

For more information, please contact the Hikone Life Service Division.

When having your car and/or motorbike inspected, you may need a temporary license plate. These can be rented from the Life Service Division. (Please note: branch offices of Hikone City Hall do not provide temporary license plate services.)

Inquiries in Japanese：Life Service Division  0749-30-6111

Hikone Foreign Residents Support Center (Human Rights Policy Division) 0749-30-6113