Special Act on the Immigration Control of, inter alia, those who have lost Japanese Nationality pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan

• A descendant who comes to stay in Japan without going through the landing procedure — by being born there, for instance — becomes a special permanent resident with the permission of the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁長官), who must grant it if the application is made at the municipal office within 60 days of the birth or other event. One of the group staying under a status of residence (在留資格) in Appended Table II of the Immigration Control Act other than Permanent Resident must also be granted the permission on applying to the Commissioner, and the status and period of stay (在留期間) they held then cease to have effect.(Art. 4(1), Art. 4(2), Art. 4(3), Art. 5(1), Art. 5(2), Art. 5(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The Commissioner issues each special permanent resident a special permanent resident certificate (特別永住者証明書) showing, among other things, their name, date of birth, sex, nationality or region, place of residence (if they have one), and the certificate's number and expiry date, with a photograph unless they are under an age a Ministry of Justice Order sets. It is valid until the tenth birthday after the notification or application it was issued on, or the fifth for someone under 18 that day; on renewal the birthdays count from the old certificate's expiry, and it is the tenth again if that expiry falls on or after the 18th birthday. The holder must apply through the municipal office to renew it between three months before it expires and the day it does, or earlier if they expect an unavoidable reason to keep them from applying then.(Art. 7(1), Art. 8(1), Art. 8(3), Art. 9(1), Art. 12(1), Art. 12(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Within 14 days, the holder must notify their place of residence at its municipal office after settling in or moving there, handing in the certificate (a notice under the Basic Resident Registration Act (住民基本台帳法) made with the certificate counts), must notify a change of name, date of birth, sex or nationality, and must apply for a new certificate after losing it, counted from learning of the loss or, if abroad then, from first returning to Japan. The holder must take the certificate when it is issued or handed back, and must show it — and let its electronic record be checked — when an immigration inspector, immigration control officer, police officer, coast guard officer or other official a Ministry of Justice Order names asks for it in their duties.(Art. 10(1), Art. 10(2), Art. 10(4), Art. 10(5), Art. 11(1), Art. 13(1), Art. 17(1), Art. 17(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A special permanent resident can be deported under Article 24 of the Immigration Control Act only on one of four grounds. They are a sentence of imprisonment (拘禁刑) or heavier for a crime of insurrection or foreign aggression in the Penal Code (刑法), unless the whole sentence is suspended or the crime is only following along with or joining an insurrection riot; a sentence of imprisonment for a crime concerning diplomatic relations; a sentence of imprisonment or heavier for a crime against a foreign head of state, diplomatic envoy or legation that the Minister of Justice (法務大臣) finds has harmed Japan's significant diplomatic interests; or a sentence of life imprisonment or of more than seven years for a crime the Minister finds has harmed Japan's significant interests.(Art. 22(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 24, Penal Code Part 2 Chapter 2, Penal Code Part 2 Chapter 3, Penal Code Part 2 Chapter 4, Penal Code Art. 77(1)(iii)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A re-entry permit (再入国の許可) for a special permanent resident can be valid for up to six years from the day it takes effect rather than five, and, where the Commissioner finds good reason the holder cannot return in time, extended on their application by up to a year at a time to no more than seven years rather than six. One who leaves Japan with a valid passport and their certificate, stating they will come back, is deemed to hold a re-entry permit (みなし再入国許可) valid for two years from departure, unless a Ministry of Justice Order requires a full permit of them, and this deemed permit cannot be extended.(Art. 23(1), Art. 23(2), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 26(3), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 26(5), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 26-2(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 26-2(2), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 26-2(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A certificate stops being valid when its holder stops being a special permanent resident, when it expires, when the holder leaves Japan without re-entry permission or leaves with it and does not come back while it is valid, when a new one is issued, or on the holder's death. The holder must then return it to the Commissioner: within 14 days where they stop being a special permanent resident, it expires or they do not come back in time; at once where they leave without re-entry permission or are issued a new one (through the municipal office, for a new one); and within 14 days of finding a lost certificate that has since stopped being valid.(Art. 15(1), Art. 16(1), Art. 16(2), Art. 16(3), Art. 16(4)) (the provisions it rests on)

• 14 June 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, etc.

  出入国管理及び難民認定法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 59 of 2024The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 14 June 2026

  The text on this site

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. to Respond to Advances in Information and Communications Technology, etc.

  情報通信技術の進展等に対応するための刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 39 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 21 May 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. to Respond to Advances in Information and Communications Technology, etc.

  情報通信技術の進展等に対応するための刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 39 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

  Read the law as it stood until 13 June 2026

• 22 July 2025

  Act on the Implementation of Agreements Between Japan and Other Contracting States Concerning the Facilitation of Reciprocal Access and Cooperation Between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Armed Forces of Other Contracting States

  日本国の自衛隊と我が国以外の締約国の軍隊との間における相互のアクセス及び協力の円滑化に関する日本国と我が国以外の締約国との間の協定の実施に関する法律

  Act No. 26 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 June 2025

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.

  刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律

  Act No. 68 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 23 May 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. to Respond to Advances in Information and Communications Technology, etc.

  情報通信技術の進展等に対応するための刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 39 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 21 June 2024

  Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, etc.

  出入国管理及び難民認定法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 59 of 2024The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 10 June 2024

  Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the Special Act on the Immigration Control of, Inter Alia, Those Who Have Lost Japanese Nationality Pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan

  出入国管理及び難民認定法及び日本国との平和条約に基づき日本の国籍を離脱した者等の出入国管理に関する特例法の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 56 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 November 2023

  Act Partially Amending the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the Special Act on the Immigration Control of, Inter Alia, Those Who Have Lost Japanese Nationality Pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan

  出入国管理及び難民認定法及び日本国との平和条約に基づき日本の国籍を離脱した者等の出入国管理に関する特例法の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 56 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 17 June 2022

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.

  刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律

  Act No. 68 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

  Read the law as it stood until 31 October 2023

All 12 amendments already in force

• The Immigration Control Act's rule that a foreign national in Japan must always carry a passport does not apply to special permanent residents, nor do its penalties.(Art. 17(4), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 23(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A special permanent resident returning with a re-entry permit is examined on landing only for a valid passport (and a visa, where one is needed), not for the grounds for refusing landing in Article 5(1) of the Immigration Control Act.(Art. 20(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 7(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Someone who became a special permanent resident by holding permanent residence under the former Japan–Korea Special Act cannot be deported for an act done before that Act came into force, even if it falls under one of the four grounds.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 3(1), Art. 3(1)(i)(b)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A certificate issued before 14 June 2026, when Act No. 59 of 2024 came into force, keeps the period of validity of the wording it was issued under. For a holder under 16 on the day it was issued, other than on renewal, that is the day before the 16th birthday, or the 16th birthday itself for a certificate issued before 1 November 2023, when the change by Act No. 56 of 2023 took effect; for anyone else, it is the seventh birthday after the notification or application, or on renewal after the old certificate's expiry.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 3(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1), Art. 9(1) until 13 June 2026, Suppl. Prov. Art. 22(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1)(i), Art. 9(1) until 31 October 2023) (the provisions it rests on)
• Renewal follows the earlier wording in two cases: a certificate issued before 1 November 2023 must be renewed between two months before it expires (six months, where it expires on the 16th birthday) and the day it does, and a certificate issued before 14 June 2026 that expires the day before the 16th birthday must be renewed between six months before and that day. The certificate issued on renewing the latter runs to the sixth birthday after the old one's expiry, not the fifth. A holder renewing a certificate issued before 1 November 2023 on their 16th birthday is treated as under 16, so a cohabiting relative applies for them.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 22(1), Art. 12(1) until 31 October 2023, Suppl. Prov. Art. 3(2), Art. 12(1) until 13 June 2026, Suppl. Prov. Art. 3(3), Art. 9(1)(i), Suppl. Prov. Art. 22(2), Art. 19(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The holder of a certificate issued before 14 June 2026 is under the earlier duty to show it, which asks them to show the certificate when an official requests it but not to let its electronic record be checked.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 3(4), Art. 17(2) until 13 June 2026) (the provisions it rests on)
• A special permanent resident who was under 16 when Act No. 79 of 2009 came into force and still holds a registration certificate (登録証明書) of the former Alien Registration Act (外国人登録法) has it treated as their special permanent resident certificate until their 16th birthday — for the rules on notifying a move, renewing, re-issue, lapse and return, showing it and the deemed re-entry permit, and their penalties, but not for notifying a change of name or other details. Its renewal follows the rule before 1 November 2023, which opens the window six months before the 16th birthday.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 28(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 28(2)(i), Suppl. Prov. Art. 22(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 22(4), Art. 12(1) until 31 October 2023) (the provisions it rests on)

• The Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁長官) grants the special permission for permanent residence (特別永住許可) and issues the permission document (特別永住許可書) and the certificate. An application for the permission after a birth or other event, and the certificate's notifications, renewals and re-issues, are made in person at the office of the municipality (市町村) where the person lives, unless someone acts for them as the Act allows; for the application for the permission, the mayor checks that the applicant lives there and that the documents are genuine, and passes them on. An application by someone holding an Appended Table II status is made in person at a regional immigration services bureau (地方出入国在留管理局).(Art. 4(3), Art. 4(4), Art. 6(1), Art. 6(2), Art. 7(1), Art. 18(1), Art. 18(2), Art. 19(1), Art. 19(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A descendant who comes to stay in Japan by birth or another event without the landing procedure may stay without a status of residence for 60 days from that event, running to the day after a local government holiday where the 60th day is one. Staying on past that without the special permission for permanent residence, or a status of residence acquired under Article 22-2 of the Immigration Control Act, is an offence under Article 70(1)(viii) of that Act, punished with up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 3 million yen, or both.(Art. 21(1), Art. 4(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 22-2(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 70(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 70(1)(viii)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The Commissioner may order a holder whose certificate is badly damaged or soiled, or whose electronic record is damaged, to apply for a new one, and the holder must then apply within 14 days. An official who asks to see a certificate must carry identification and show it when asked.(Art. 14(2), Art. 14(3), Art. 17(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Two of the four grounds for deportation turn on a finding by the Minister of Justice, and before finding that a crime against a foreign head of state or envoy harmed Japan's diplomatic interests the Minister must consult the Minister for Foreign Affairs (外務大臣). The steps of the Immigration Control Act's deportation procedure that turn on its grounds for deportation, or on who is subject to deportation — investigating a violation, detention, examination and special permission to stay among them — are read, for a special permanent resident, as turning only on those four grounds.(Art. 22(1)(iii), Art. 22(1)(iv), Art. 22(2), Art. 22(3), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 27(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 39(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 45(1), Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Art. 50(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• In applying the re-entry permit rules to special permanent residents, the Commissioner must respect this Act's aim of contributing to the stability of their life in Japan.(Art. 23(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Forging or altering a special permanent resident certificate or its electronic record in order to use it, using one so made, or handing it over or receiving it to be used, is punished with 1 to 10 years' imprisonment (拘禁刑), as is unlawfully making the electronic record to mislead someone's handling of affairs, and attempts are punished. Holding a forged certificate to use it brings up to 5 years' imprisonment or a fine (罰金) of up to 500,000 yen, and preparing equipment or materials for the forgery up to 3 years or 500,000 yen.(Art. 26(1), Art. 26(2), Art. 26(3), Art. 26(4), Art. 26(7), Art. 27(1), Art. 28(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Using another person's certificate, handing over, receiving or holding one to use it, or handing over one's own to be used, brings up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 200,000 yen. The offences in Articles 26 to 29 are punished even when committed outside Japan, as Article 2 of the Penal Code (刑法) does for the crimes it lists.(Art. 29(1), Art. 30(1), Penal Code Art. 2(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A false notification of residence or of a change, failing to renew the certificate, failing to apply for a new one after losing it or when ordered to, failing to take it when issued, or refusing to show it or to let its electronic record be checked, brings up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 200,000 yen. A holder who fails to notify the place of residence or a change, or to return their certificate when required, faces a fine of up to 200,000 yen; a relative or cohabitant who does not return a dead holder's certificate faces no penalty. Someone who collects the permission document for another person but does not also collect that person's certificate, and a family member who must act for a holder under Article 19(2) and does not, face a non-criminal fine (過料) of up to 50,000 yen.(Art. 31(1), Art. 32(1), Art. 16(5), Art. 33(1), Art. 34(1)) (the provisions it rests on)