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Renewing Your Child's Japanese Passport

I just renewed my son's Japanese passport and thought I would pass along my experiences to other AFWJ mothers with small children in need of Japanese passports. For locations & directions to one of the 4 Japanese Passport offices in the Tokyo area (Shinjuku Stn West Exit just west of Keio Plaza Hotel, Yurakucho Stn Kyobashi Exit, Ikebukuro East Exit, Tachikawa Stn Floor 9 of the Lumine/Station Building), you can call or check the webpage as follows.

Contact info for Japanese passport agencies in Tokyo
Tel. 03-5783-3399
Hours: Mon-Wed 9am-7pm, Th/Fri 9am-5pm
http://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.jp/index1.htm (Japanese only)

What to bring to apply
When applying to renew or apply for a new passport for your child, it is helpful to take:

• An official copy of your Koseki [family registry] from the Kuyakusho or Shiyakusho [ward or city office]
• Your Gaikokujin Toroku Shomeisho [Alien Registration Card] — especially if it includes your husband's name
• Your Hokensho [National Health Insurance Card], if you have one, or your husband's if it lists you on it
• A passport-sized (50x50mm or 45x35mm) photo of your child
• Your child's old passport, if you have one
• A blank, self-addressed, stamped postcard for them to notify you

Forms for Japanese Passport
You can see a sample Japanese passport application form online at:
http://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.jp/issuance/index.html
Below where you attach the photo to the form, there is a box where you write your child's name in English. Below your child's name, in the small space marked by a dotted yellow line is a very small, limited space to write 'By "YourName", (Mother)'. To avoid having to rewrite the whole form, you must write very small to fit “By YourName, (Mother)” below the dotted line and totally within the box.
It is helpful to be able to write your child's name, address, and the address of an emergency contact person (日本国内の緊急連絡先), as well as your own name and “By mother: HahaDaiHitsu 母代筆" next to your name in Japanese.
*If your family name is different from your spouse's, you can also ask to have your name appear on the passport as HahaDaiHitsu (母代筆) which requires an additional but simple form.

Processing, Cost & Expiration
Until age 19, children's passports are only valid for 5 years. Processing takes 2-4 weeks. The cost of a 5-year passport is 10,000 yen, due when you take your child to pick it up. You must take your child in person to pick the new passport up (and you can take them on Sunday 9am-5pm as well as Mon-Fri), but it is not necessary to take them to apply.

Submitted by T.R.