This Act has the purpose of establishing the system of the basic resident register, under which records concerning residents are kept accurately and in a unified manner, in order to serve, in a municipality (including a special ward; the same applies hereinafter), as the basis for the certification of the relationship of residence of residents, the registration of the pollbook, and other processing of affairs concerning residents, and to simplify notifications, etc. concerning the addresses of residents, while also ensuring the proper management of records concerning residents, thereby increasing the convenience of residents and contributing to the rationalization of the administration of the State and local public entities.

The State and prefectures must take legislative and other measures necessary to ensure that notifications and other acts made to the mayor of the municipality (including the head of a special ward; the same applies hereinafter) or another executive body of the municipality, concerning a change in the address, household, or householder of a resident of the municipality, and any resulting change in the rights or obligations of the resident, or any other change in status as a resident (referred to collectively in paragraph (3) of the following Article and Article 21-4 as a "notification of a change in status as a resident"), are all carried out by a single act, and that the processing of affairs concerning residents is all carried out based on the basic resident register.

①The mayor of the municipality must always endeavor to maintain the basic resident register and ensure that accurate records concerning residents are made, and must endeavor to take the measures necessary to ensure that the management of records concerning residents is properly carried out.

②The mayor of the municipality and other executive bodies of the municipality must manage or execute affairs concerning residents based on the basic resident register, and must endeavor to rationalize the processing of affairs concerning notifications and other acts by residents.

③A resident must always endeavor to accurately make a notification of a change in status as a resident, and must not make a false notification or engage in any other act that would impair the accuracy of the basic resident register.

④Any person must endeavor to respect the fundamental human rights of the individual, when using matters learned through the inspection of the partial copy of the Basic Resident Register prescribed in Article 11, paragraph (1), or the issuance of a copy of a certificate of residence or a certificate of items stated in resident register prescribed in Article 12, paragraph (1), a copy of a removed certificate of residence or a certificate of items stated in removed certificate of residence prescribed in Article 15-4, paragraph (1), a copy of the family register supplement prescribed in Article 20, paragraph (1), a copy of the removed family register supplement prescribed in Article 21-3, paragraph (1), or any other document issued under the provisions of this Act.

The provisions of laws and regulations concerning the address of a resident must not be interpreted as establishing an address with a meaning different from the address of a resident prescribed in Article 10, paragraph (1) of the Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947).