Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act

The service of documents pursuant to the provisions of Article 22-4, paragraph (3) or (6) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 61-2-11, paragraph (2)) is effected by delivering the documents to the place of residence of the person to be served, by service by postal mail or by correspondence delivery prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Act on Correspondence Delivery by Private Business Operators (Act No. 99 of 2002) provided by a general correspondence delivery business operator prescribed in paragraph (6) of the same Article or a specified correspondence delivery business operator prescribed in paragraph (9) of the same Article (hereinafter referred to as "correspondence delivery"), or by personal delivery service.

Where the documents have been sent pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph by ordinary mail or by correspondence delivery, the postal item or the correspondence item prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (3) of the Act on Letter Service by Private Business Operators is presumed to have been served at the time at which they should have arrived under normal conditions.

The Minister of Justice must prepare a record sufficient to confirm the name of the documents, the name and address of the person who is to be served with the documents, and the date of service the documents, in the cases provided for in the preceding paragraph.

The personal delivery service is to be made by an immigration inspector or an immigration control officer to deliver the documents to the person who is to be served at the place where the delivery is to be made pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1); provided however, that if the person who is to be served has no objection, the document may be delivered to other places.

In the cases set forth in the following items, the personal delivery service may be made through the act prescribed in the respective item, in lieu of the delivery pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph:

if the person to be served with the documents at the place where the delivery is to be made cannot be met:the documents are to be delivered to a person living together with the recipient, who can be expected to deliver the received documents to the person who is to be served; or

if the person who is to be served with the documents or the person prescribed in the preceding item is not at the place where the delivery is to be made, or the person refuses to receive the documents without legitimate grounds:the documents are to be placed at the place where the delivery is to be made.

If the place of residence of the person to be served with documents that are to be served pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraphs is unknown, the Minister of Justice may effect service by public notice in lieu of that service; provided, however, that this does not apply to the service of documents pursuant to the provisions of Article 22-4, paragraphs (3) and (6) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 61-2-11, paragraph (2).

Service by public notice is effected by placing the title of the documents to be served, the name of the person to be served and a statement to the effect that the Minister of Justice will deliver the documents to the person to be served at any time (hereinafter referred to as the "particulars of the public notice" in this paragraph) in a state in which they can be viewed by an unspecified large number of persons by the method specified by Ministry of Justice Order, and by taking measures to post a document stating the particulars of the public notice on the bulletin board of the Ministry of Justice or to place the particulars of the public notice, as displayed on the screen of a computer installed at an office of the Ministry of Justice, in a state in which they can be viewed.

In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the documents are deemed to have been served when 2 weeks have elapsed from the day on which the measures pursuant to the provisions of the same paragraph were commenced.

If the foreign national is to perform an act set forth in the following items, they must perform it by appearing at the place prescribed in the respective items:

a notification pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-7, paragraph (1), Article 19-8, paragraph (1) or Article 19-9, paragraph (1); or receipt of the residence card to be returned pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-7, paragraph (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 19-8, paragraph (2) and Article 19-9, paragraph (2)):the office of the municipality of the place of residence;

notification pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-10, paragraph (1), application pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-11, paragraph (1) or (2), Article 19-12, paragraph (1) or Article 19-13, paragraph (1) or (3), receipt of the residence card issued pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-10, paragraph (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 19-11, paragraph (3), Article 19-12, paragraph (2) and Article 19-13, paragraph (4)) or Article 19-15-4, paragraph (3), or notification pursuant to the provisions of Article 44-6, Article 52-5 or Article 63-2, paragraph (2): a regional immigration services bureau; and

application pursuant to the provisions of Article 20, paragraph (2), Article 21, paragraph (2), Article 22, paragraph (1) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22-2, paragraph (4) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22-3)) or Article 22-2, paragraph (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22-3), or receipt of the residence card issued pursuant to the provisions of Article 20, paragraph (4), item (i) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 21, paragraph (4), Article 22-2, paragraph (3) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22-3) and Article 61-2-5, paragraph (3)), Article 22, paragraph (3) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22-2, paragraph (4) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22-3)), Article 22-6, paragraph (2), item (i), Article 50, paragraph (7) or Article 61-2-2, paragraph (2), item (i): a regional immigration services bureau.

If a foreign national is under 16 years of age, if a foreign national makes an application pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-11, paragraph (1) or receives the residence card issued pursuant to the provisions of Article 19-10, paragraph (2) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (3) of the same Article and the date of the application or the date of receipt is the foreign national's 16th birthday, or if a foreign national is unable to perform the act set forth in item (i) or (ii) of the preceding paragraph in person due to illness or any other reason, the act must be performed on behalf of the foreign national by a person set forth in the following items (excluding persons under 16 years of age) who lives with the foreign national, in the order of those items:

spouse;

child;

father or mother; or

a relative other than those set forth in the preceding three items.

In addition to the cases prescribed in the preceding paragraph, for an act set forth in paragraph (1), items (i) and (ii), if a person set forth in any item of the same paragraph (except for a person under 16 years of age), who is living with the foreign national is to perform on behalf of the foreign national upon the request of the foreign national or in other cases prescribed in Ministry of Justice Order, the foreign national is not required to appear in person and perform the act, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1).

Where the legal representative of the foreign national is to perform an act set forth in paragraph (1), item (iii) on behalf of the foreign national or in other cases prescribed in Ministry of Justice Order, the foreign national is not required to appear in person and perform the act, notwithstanding the provisions of the same paragraph.

The Minister of Justice is to formulate a basic plan for the immigration and residency management of foreign nationals (hereinafter referred to as the "Basic Plan for Immigration and Residency Management"), in order to promote impartial control over immigration.

The Basic Plan for Immigration and Residency Management is to provide for the following particulars:

particulars related to foreign nationals' entry into and residence in Japan;

particulars related to guidelines for the control of entry and residence of foreign nationals; and

particulars necessary for implementation of the control of the entry and residence of foreign nationals, beyond what is provided for in the preceding two items.

Prior to the formulation of the Basic Plan for Immigration and Residency Management, the Minister of Justice is to consult with the heads of the related administrative organs.

The Minister of Justice is to announce the outline of the Basic Plan for Immigration and Residency Management without delay, when it has been formulated.

The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs apply mutatis mutandis to changes in the Basic Plan for Immigration and Residency Management.

The Minister of Justice must endeavor to manage the entry and departure and the residence of foreign nationals fairly based on the Basic Plan for Immigration and Residency Management.

If any person has knowledge of a foreign national whom they consider to fall under any of the items of Article 24, that information may be reported.

If an official of the government or of a local public entity becomes aware of a foreign national set forth in the preceding paragraph through the execution of their duties, that information must be reported.

In cases of a foreign national set forth in paragraph (1) who is serving a sentence and is to be released due to completion of the sentence, stay of the execution of the sentence or for any other reason (except for release on parole), or in cases the foreign national is to leave a juvenile training school after receiving the disposition prescribed in Article 24, paragraph (1), item (iii) of the Juveniles Act or in Article 64, paragraph (1), item (ii) (limited to cases in which the decision set forth in Article 66, paragraph (1) of the same Act has been made; the same applies in the following paragraph) or item (iii) of the same Act (except for leaving on provisional release or discharge (limited to discharge by the decision set forth in Article 47-2 of the Offenders Rehabilitation Act (Act No. 88 of 2007); the same applies in the following paragraph)), the head of the correctional institution must immediately notify the fact.

In the case of making a decision to grant release on parole, provisional release or discharge to a foreign national set forth in paragraph (1) who is serving a sentence or who is in a juvenile training school under a disposition prescribed in Article 24, paragraph (1), item (iii) or Article 64, paragraph (1), item (ii) or (iii) of the Juveniles Act, the regional parole board must immediately notify the fact.

The notification set forth in the preceding paragraphs must be submitted, orally or in writing, to an immigration inspector or immigration control officer in charge.

An official of the national government or a local government who, in the performance of their duties, comes to know of a foreign national whom they consider to fall under any of the items of Article 22-4, paragraph (1) may report that information.

The provisions of paragraph (5) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the report set forth in the preceding paragraph.