Alien control laws in Japan

1. Required all Chosenese, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Nansei Islanders in SCAP-defined "Japan" to register their particulars and declare whether they desired to return to the locality of their place of principle registration (Korean peninsula, Republic of China, Taiwan, designated Kagoshima islands, or Okinawa).

2. Abolished on 28 April 1952 by Law No. 126 of 1952.

Established and promulgated in an "extra edition" (号外) of the "Osaka prefecture gazette" (大阪府公報) with the consent of the regional military government under the Supreme Commander for the Allied Forces.

Required Chosenese in Osaka prefecture to register and carry a bilingual 朝鮮人登録証 (Chosenese registration certificate) or "Korean Registration Certificate" with a photo on the front and boxes for prints of left and right index fingers on the back. The certificate was similar to US military ID cards.

1. Articles 2 defined "alien" as someone not possessing the nationality of Japan other than Allied Powers personnel and officials of foreign goverenments.

2. Article 3 defined "this country" in a manner consistent with SCAP's redefinition of "Japan" for Occupation purposes.

3. Article 11 defined "Taiwanese" and "Chosenese" as aliens for purposes of alien registration. There were no provisions for fingerprinting.

4. Replaced and abolished on 28 April 1952 by Alien Registration Law (Law No. 125 of 1952)

1. Established bureaucratic infrastructure for overseeing the entry and departure of all persons into and from Japan other than official Occupation personnel and their families.

2. Established an Immigration Control Department (外務省管理局) under Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3. Incorporated into, and abolished by, Immigration Control Order (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951).

4. Abolished on 1 November 1951 by Immigration Control Order (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951).

1. Restricted transit to "Japan" of persons with principle registers in Nansei Islands -- namely, the Tokara Archipelago and the Awami Islands of Kagoshima prefecture, and all of Okinawa prefecture.

2. Though Nansei Islanders had residual Japanese nationality, they were treated as quasi-aliens for purposes of immigration control.

3. "30 degrees" changed to "29 degrees" after return to Japan and Kagoshima prefecture of northernmost three islands of the Tokara Archipelago from 5 December 1951.

4. Abolished on 28 April 1952 by Law No. 126 of 1952.

1. Transformed Immigration Control Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs into an external Emigration-Immigration Control Agency.

2. Transferred alien registration functions from Attorney General's Office to MOFA's Immigration Agency.

1. Most articles came into effect from 28 February 1951. Some came into effect from 1 April 1951

2. Established procedures for deporting illegal entrants pursuant to Alien Registration Order (Imperial Ordinance No. 207 of 1947) and Temporary Measures Order (Cabinet Order No. 227 of 1950).

3. Before this law could be effectively enforced, it was incorporated into, and abolished by, the 1951 Immigration Control Order.

4. Abolished on 1 November 1951 by Immigration Control Order (Order No. 319 of 1951)

Between 1949 and 1952, the idea of requiring all nationals to give their fingerprints, to facilitate crime prevention and identification in criminal investigation, was seriously deliberated in the judicial affairs committees of both houses of the diet.

The idea was widely supported by law enforcement officials, some of whom made a public display of giving their prints. However, the National Fingerprint Law idea died in committees, partly because of public resistance in local polities where police had promoted fingerprinting of all residents, and partly because of concern among lawmakers about its practicality and cost.

1. Parts related to issuing visas enforced from 28 April 1952, when Japan recovered its sovereignty and, with it, the right to directly control its own borders and foreign affairs.

2. Article 2 defined "this country" and "alien" among several other terms. The definition of "this country" was deleted from the law when Okinawa was returned in 1972.

3. Paragraph 1 of Article 4 defined sixteen statuses of residence for aliens permitted to land in "this country" as it was defined by law. 4-1-14 denoted permanent residence. 4-1-16, which ended the list, was a catch-all for other persons as determined by Ministry of Foreign Affairs (later Ministry of Justice) orders.

4. Three articles (5, 6, 53) Exceptionally spoke of aliens as possessing the "nationality or citizenship" (国籍又は市民権 kokuseki mata wa shiminken) of another country. This phrasing, probably inspired by GHQ/SCAP usage, is in deference to variation in the use of these terms in the domestic laws of other countries. The terms "citizen" and "citizenship" are not defined used in Japanese domestic law, including other laws concerning aliens. In Japanese law, "shimin" (市民) is one of several municipal affiliations that equally embrace Japanese and aliens.

5. Incorporated and abolished Order Concerning Immigration Control (Cabinet Order No. 299 of 1949) and Illegal Entrant Deportation Procedure Order (Cabinet Order No. 33 of 1951).

6. Article 2 Item 4 and Article 6 Paragraph 1, concerning consular officials, came into force from 28 April 1952 when Japan regained full sovereignty hence control over its foreign affairs.

7. Given the efficacy of law from 28 April 1952 by Law No. 126 of 1952 (Article 4).

8. Name changed to "Immigration control and refugee recognition law" (出入国管理及び難民認定法 Shutsunyūkoku kanri oyobi nanmin nintei hō) by Law No. 86 of 1981, effective from 1 January 1982. However, law classification remains "Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951".

1. Most parts came into force from 1 November 1951.

2. Changed name of Immigration Control Department (出入国管理庁 Shutsunyūkoku kanri chō) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Immigration Control Agency (入国管理部 Nyūkoku kanri chō).

3. Clarified agency's responsibilities in implementing 1951 Immigration Control Order (Cabinet Order No. 319).

4. Given the efficacy of law from 28 April 1952 by Law No. 126 of 1952 (Article 4).

1. Revised and replaced Alien Registration Order (Imperial Ordinance No. 207 of 1947) in conjunction with enforcement of San Francisco Peace Treaty from 28 April 1952.

2. Defined this country, alien, and the nationality of aliens with two or more nationalities.

3. Required that all aliens register or be registered within sixty days of landing or thirty days of birth in Japan.

4. All aliens required to register, except aliens not yet 14 years of age, were required to provide photographs to carry an Alien Registration Certificate at all times.

5. Certificates had to be confirmed, updated, and replaced every two years.

6. Required fingerprinting.

Fingerprinting

This was the first law to mandate fingerprinting of alien residents nationwide.

Article 14 provided that aliens be fingerprinted. Article 18, Paragraph 1, Item 8 provided punishment for refusers.

However, the enforcement of these provisions were left to be determined by a cabinet order. Three subsequent revisions to this stipulation resulted in revised provisions coming into force from 1 April 1955.

Many other parameters of enforcement were changed before fingerprinting as a matter of alien registration was ended in 2000.

1. Article 1 redefined an "alien" in the Immigration Control Order (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951) as simply "a person who does not possess the nationality of Japan".

2. Article 2 specified who would be required to acquire a status of residence after Japan regained its sovereignty on 28 April 1952.

3. Article 2(1)3 and Article 2(6) [126-2-6, i.e., Law No. 126, Article 2, Paragraph 6] drew the line, among persons who were to lose their Japanese nationality when the 1952 peace treaty came into effect, between those who would be accorded special statuses of residence and those who would be treated as ordinary aliens. 126-2-6 gave those who qualified for special treatment the right to continue to reside in Japan until their status of residence could be determined. This was the origin of the category of aliens known as "Law 126 2(6)" [法126の2の6] aliens. A 1953 measure, Cabinet Order No. 404 (see below), further defined 4-1-16-2, in the 4-1-16 group of miscellaneous statuses of residence, for the offspring of 126-2-6 aliens (see below).

3. Article 3 assigned responsibility for overseeing the Immigration Control Order and the Alien Registration Order to the Immigration Control Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

4. Article 4 gave the efficacy of law to the Immigration Control Order (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951) and the Immigration Control Agency Establishment Order (Cabinet Order No. 320 of 1951).

5. Article 5 abolished the Chosenese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Nansei Islander Registration Order (Welfare, Interior, Justice Ministerial Order No. 1 of 1946) and the Temporary Measures on Transit of Nansei Islanders (Cabinet Order No. 227 of 1950).

1. Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of the order defined 4-1-16-2, in the 4-1-16 group of miscellaneous statuses of residence, for the offspring of 126-2-6 (Chosenese and Taiwanese) aliens, as defined by Law No. 126 of 1952 (see above). The 4-1-16-2 status of residence had to be renewed every three years.

2. From 1 January 1982, this status subsumed the 4-1-16-4 status similarly defined in 1953 for children born to Awami islander 126-2-6 on or after 26 December 1953, after the Awami Islands were returned to Japan (see below).

3. The inclusive 1982 status was available to "One who was born in this country on or after the enforcement of Law No. 126 of 1952 [28 April 1952] as the child of a person who falls under Article 2 Paragraph 6 of the same law, or one who was born in this country on or after the enforcement of the same law as the child of a person who falls under Article 14 of Cabinet Order No. 404 of 1953" (my translation). Some Immigration Bureau literature imprecisely paraphrases this as "A person who was born in our country on or after 29 April 1952 as the child of a Chosenese [or] Taiwanese continuously residing from before the war" (my translation).

The Attorney General's Office (法務府 Hōmufu) becomes the Ministry of Justice (法務省 Hōmushō). The Immigration Agency (入国管理部 Nyūkoku kanrichō) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (外務省 Gaimushō) becomes the Immigration Bureau (入国管理部 Nyūkoku kanri kyoku) of the Justice Ministry.

All border control and alien registration functions, which had been under the jurisdiction of Foreign Affairs, are transferred to Justice, which now oversees the immigration control and alien registration laws and related legislation.

Paragraph 1 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Alien Registration Law (No. 125 of 1952) originally stipulated that the provisions concerning fingerprinting were to be enforced on a day to be determined by cabinet order within one year of the day of enforcement of Law No. 125.

The following three laws changed this provision as the Diet dealt with resistance to the fingerprinting provisions.

Article 6 revised Paragraph 1 of Supplementary Provisions of Alien Registration Law from "within one year" to "during period up to 1 June 1953".

Revised Paragraph 1 of Supplementary Provisions of Alien Registration Law (No. 125 of 1952) from "during period up to 1 June 1953" to "within two years".

Revised Paragraph 1 of Supplementary Provisions of Alien Registration Law (No. 125 of 1952) from "within two years" to "within three years".

1. Paragraph 2 of Article 14 defined attributed 126-2-6 status to persons as defined by Law No. 126 of 1952 (see above), residing on Awami Islands from 2 September 1945, and to their children born by midnight 25 December 1953.

2. The same order defined 4-1-16-4, in the 4-1-16 group of miscellaneous statuses of residence, for offspring born on or after 26 December 1953 to Awami islander 126-2-6 aliens. One somewhat inaccurate Immigration Bureau says "A person born in our country on or after 26 December 1953 as the child of a Chosenese [or] Taiwanese continuously residing in the Awami Islands from before the war to 25 December 1953" (my translation). The 4-1-16-4 status of residence had to be renewed every three years.

3. The 4-1-16-4 status was merged into the 4-1-16-2 status from 1 January 1982 (see below).

3. Article 14 of the 1953 cabinet order was deleted by Law No. 71 of 1991 -- Special law concerning, inter alia, the exit-entry-country [immigration] control of persons who based on the Treaty of Peace with Japan separated from the nationality of Japan -- which consolidated all treaty-based special statuses of residence into a single Special Permanent Resident status.

This order facilitated implementation of Article 14 and related provisions in Article 18 concerning fingerprinting.

Order established rules for which fingers were to be printed, and how prints were to be taken and retaken.

In general, as when registering for the first time or when periodically renewing registration, only the left index finger was printed. However, when applying for reissuance of a lost or stolen registration certificate, prints of all ten fingers were required.

Prints were impressed on the alien registration master record, on a fingerprint master card, and on a page in the Alien Registration Certificate (then a pocket-sized booklet).

Abolished on 8 January 1993 by Law No. 339 of 14 October 1992.

Like most other enforcement regulations, these were determined by the competent ministry, meaning the ministry entrusted with the enforcement of the law. As such, they were easily revised by the ministry to facilitate implementation of the law, and to solve administrative and other problems that arose in the course of implementation.

Most registered aliens were required to provide prints of the tip of their left index finger at municipal offices as part of their alien registration.

Article 6 (Ten finger prints) required rolled prints of each of the fingers of both hands, and flat prints of the unspread fingers of each hand (all fingers except the thumb).

Abolished on 8 January 1993 by Minister of Justice Order No. 36 of 27 November 1992.

1. Enforced by cabinet order issued within six months of promulgation.

2. Articles 8-11 replaced by new articles.

3. Article 11 of Alien Registration Law (Law No. 125 of 1952) revised to require renewal of alien registration within 30 days of elapse of three (rather than two) years from last issuance of Alien Registration Certificate.

4. Paragraph 1 of Article 14 slightly revised and three paragraphs added. Paragraph 4 stipulated that Paragraph 1, which requires fingerprints of aliens, does not apply to aliens who are not yet 14 years old. The age stipulation was a clarification, in the law, of an understanding already established by enforcement regulations.

The term "alien" in Paragraph 1 of Article 14 (Fingerprinting) of Alien Registration Law (Law No. 125 of 1952) was changed to "alien 14 years old or above".

Newly added Paragraph 2 stipulated that fingerprints would not be required of aliens who did not have a status of residence of one or more year, or who would otherwise not be in Japan for one or more year.

Japan: Treaty No. 28 of 1965
Republic of Korea: Treaty No. 164
Signed in Tokyo on 22 June 1965
Ratifications exchanged in Seoul on 18 December 1965
Japan: Promulgated on 18 December 1965
In effect from 17 January 1966

1. Gave qualified ROK nationals in Japan the right to obtain Agreement Permanent Residence among other assurances.

2. Qualifications stipulated 15/16 August 1945, rather than 2/3 September 1945, as the dates of residence/birth in "Japan" as defined after the imperial government's formal surrender and acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration on 2 September 1945.

3. Article 1(1) gave Agreement Permanent Residence to ROK nationals who had been resident in Japan as of 15 August 1945, and offspring born and raised in Japan between 16 August 1945 and 16 January 1971 -- i.e., up to five years after the agreement came into effect.

4. Article 1(2) gave Agreement Permanent Residence to the children of those covered by Article 1(1) -- i.e., those born from 17 January 1971 -- if application made within 60 days of birth.

5. Other nationalities, including aliens of residual Chosenese status, did not qualify.

This law, which implemented the status agreement, provided that all qualified Japan-resident ROK nationals would receive Agreement Permanent Residence upon filing notification at municipal offices.

The agreement mandated the Minister of Justice to approve an application so long as particulars bearing upon the qualification of the applicant were correct.

Agreement Permanent Residence followed in the vein of 126-2-6 (see above) in that it was not a status-of-residence as such. Since it was grounded in a treaty that operated beyond the reach of the Immigration Bureau, it was superordinate to the Immigration Control Law and Alien Registration Law. The status of Special Permanent Resident that became available from 1991 (see below) inherited this quality.

Printing of all ten fingers abolished. Only rolled print of index finger required.

This Ministry of Justice instruction eliminated the requirement that local registrars make another fingerprint master card when aliens renewed their alien registration, if the fingerprints collected on other renewal documents appeared to be the same as those previously taken.

The Ministry of Justice thus eliminated the work of having to receive and file confirmation cards. In trials of some fingerprint refusers, MOJ officials testified that the ministry did not actually use the fingerprints it had been collecting, and that its clerks were not able to classify prints.

The requirement to make a new fingerprint master card each time an alien renewed registration was reinstated from 1 October 1981, after the start of the anti-fingerprint movement.

Provided "Special Measure Permanent Residence" (Tokurei PR) for 126-2-6 aliens and their qualified offspring (4-1-16-2 and 4-1-16-4) who had not qualified for Agreement Permanent Residence (Kyōtei PR) under the 1965 agreement with ROK, which applied only to 126-2-6, 4-1-16-2, and 4-1-16-4 aliens who were ROK nationals (see above). Such aliens had a five-year window (until 1987) during which they could obtain general permanent residence upon notification and vetting of their qualifications.

Like Agreement PR, Special Measure PR was regarded as a status "acquired" through consideration of effects of postwar treaty settlements, rather than as a status "permitted" on a discretionary basis. However, whereas Agreement PR was a separate status of residence, Special Measure PR was an "exceptional measure (tokurei sōchi) for facilitating the acquisition of 4-1-14 or "general" PR status. Because it was an "acquired" rather than a "permitted" status, though, the usual 8,000 yen 4-1-14 application fee was waived for Special Measure PR applicants.

While annual PR acquisition and permission data may differentiate Special Measure PR from General PR applications and approvals, Alien Registration data, and departure and arrival ("immigration") data, show only 4-1-14 inclusive of Special Measure and General PR. Agreement PR figures, of course, are differentiated from 4-1-14, except in "Total PR" tallies, which may also include 126-2-6, 4-1-16-2, and 4-1-16-4 aliens (merged into 4-1-16-2 from 1 January 1982).

1. Changed title of Immigration Control Order to Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law. However, the law continues to be indexed as "Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951".

Paragraph 3 of Article 18-2 allowed immigration officers to place conditions on the movements and activities of aliens permitted to land for provisional protection, and to fingerprint them if necessary. The discretionary authority to fingerprint an alien seeking asylum remains in the present law though the provision has been somewhat revised and renumbered.

Aliens with re-entry permits allowed to take their Alien Registration Certificate out of Japan. Until this revision, even aliens with re-entry permits had to surrender their certificates when departing Japan. The Immigration Bureau returned the certificate to the issuing municipality, and the alien, after returning to Japan, applied at the municipal hall for return of the certificate, which established the fact the same alien had returned to the same municipality.

Required two photographs instead of three for alien registration.

1. Increased age from which photographs and fingerprints required from 14 to 16 years of age.

2. Extended Alien Registration Certificate renewal period from three years to five years.

3. Maximum fine for offenses stipulated in Article 18 increased from 30,000 to 200,000 yen. However, some offenses were moved from Article 18, which also provided an option for a prison sentence up to one year, to Article 18-2, a new article which provided for a similar fine but no option of penal servitude or imprisonment.

Penalties for failure to carry certificate

Until this revision, failure to carry or refusal to present one's Alien Registration Certificate qualified for either a prison sentence or fine. After the revision, refusal to present continued to be subject to either a sentence or fine (Article 18), but failure to carry became subject to only a fine (Article 18-2).

Penalties for refusal to provide fingerprints

Offenses related to fingerprints remained under Article 18.

Justice Ministry ordinance allows aliens renewing their registration to simply press the inked pad of the distal phalanx of the left index finger flat against documents without rolling the finger.

This law and related revisions to enforcement regulations effected a number of changes in alien registration, including the following.

1. Shifted primary control of alien registration records from municipalities to Immigration Bureau and computerized such records.

2. Replaced the Alien Registration Certificate, until then a booklet created and issued by municipal offices, with a laminated card produced by machines at Immigration Bureau offices.

3. Required fingerprinting only at time of first registration of aliens aged 16 or older (or when reaching 16 in the case of younger registered aliens).

4. Changed re-confirmation period from every five years to every fifth birthday.

This order was one of three related to amnesties and restorations of rights granted by the government on the occasion of the death of Hirohito on 7 January 1989. The orders were enforced from the day of his funeral on 24 February.

Item 5 of Article 1 specifically concerned violations of the Alien Registration Law.

Amnesty was granted to those who had committed offenses covered by Article 18-2, which was added by Law No. 75 of 1982 (see above). The offenses in this category warranted only a fine.

Amnesty granted to some fingerprint refusers

Amnesty was not granted to those who had committed offenses covered by Article 18 -- which warranted either a prison sentence or a fine, were not covered by the amnesty -- exception those falling under 18(1)8 before revisions made by Law No. 75 of 1982 and Law No. 102 of 1987.

18(1)8 pertained to fingerprint offenders. Amnesty was specifically limited to "those involved in acts that would not have been offenses had they been carried out after enforcement of the [1987] revision law" which came into effect from 1 June 1988 (my translation).

This law, recommended by the Cabinet on 28 March 1989, passed by the Diet on 8 December and promulgated on 15 December the same year, revised some parts of the Immigration Control Law, particularly the statuses under which aliens were permitted to reside in Japan. Restricted-activity (visas) status were listed in Appended Table 1. Unrestricted-activity (non-visa) statuses (non-visa statuses) were listed in Appended Table 2.

Table 2 included Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of Japanese National, Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident, and Long Term Resident. The later included various categories of refugees, war strandees, and some foreign-born alien children and grandchildren of Japanese emigrants.

This notice was one of several published in Kanpō (Official Gazette) in time to facilitate the enforcement from 1 June 1990 of revisions in the Immigration Control Law. It concerned the so-called "Long Term Resident" status in Appended Table 2, which itemized unrestricted-activity (non-visa) statuses.

The provisions of this first notice have been revised by MOJ notices No. 371 of 21 November 1991, No. 496 of 28 September 2005, No. 172 of 29 March 2006, and No. 37 of 25 January 2010.

This law consolidated the 126-2-6, 4-1-16-2, Agreement Permanent Residence (Kyōtei PR), and Special Measure Permanent Residence (Tokurei PR) statuses into a single status.

The law mandated the Minister of Justice to permit any qualified treaty-affected resident alien to acquire the status of Special Permanent Resident upon notification at the municipal office having jurisdiction over the alien's register.

The status of Special Permanent Resident, unlike earlier treaty-related statuses, perpetuates to descendants who are born and continually reside in Japan.

Qualifications for this status stipulate 2/3 September 1945 as dates of residence/birth in Japan. These dates are less restrictive than 15/16 August 1945, which defined the Agreement Permanent Residence status 25 years earlier.

15/16 August 1945 accommodated ROK's view of 15 August 1945 as the day "Chosen" was liberated as "Korea". This day had inspired the founding of ROK on 15 August 1948.

2/3 September 1945 reflects the formal change of Japan's status from an empire that included Taiwan and Chosen, to an Occupied Japan reduced to 46 prefectures.

1. Article 14 revised to exempt Permanent Residents and Special Permanent Residents from fingerprinting obligation.

2. Article 14-2 added requiring that Permanent Residents and Special Permanent Residents 16 years old and older provide signatures. Item 8-2 added under Item 8 of Paragraph 1 of Article 18, concerning punishments, providing punishments for signature refusers.

3. Day of enforcement stipulated in a cabinet order. Only Article 5 of Supplementary Provisions came into force from day of proclamation. Article 5 was a transitional measure to deal with Permanent Residents and Special Permanent Residents who would reach age 16 between the day of promulgation and the day before the day of enforcement.

Article 2 of Supplementary Provisions abolished "Cabinet order concerning fingerprints in Alien Registration Law" (Cabinet Order No. 26 of 1955).

Article 2 of Supplementary Provisions abolished "Alien Fingerprinting Regulations" (MOJ Order No. 46 of 1955), thereafter referred to as "Old fingerprint regulations".

1. Fingerprinting of all (non-permanent as well as permanent) resident aliens abolished.

2. Article 14, which had required fingerprints, now requires signatures, and Article 18-1(8) now provides punishment for refusing to give the required signatures.

3. Period for renewal of Alien Registration Certificate for Permanent Residents and Special Permanent Residents changed from five to seven years.

4. Article 18-2 Paragraph 4 revised to exempt Special Permanent Residents from penalty for failure to always carry their Alien Registration Certificate.

5. Day of enforcement stipulated in a cabinet order. Only Article 5 of Supplementary Provisions came into force from day of proclamation. Article 5 was a transitional measure to deal with resident aliens who would reach age 16 between the day of promulgation and the day before the day of enforcement.

Requires most aliens, when entering Japan, to provide digital scans of tips of their left and right index fingers, and a digital photograph of their face, for identification and anti-terrorist screening.

Exempts only diplomats, aliens under 16 years of age, Special Permanent Residents, Status of Forces Agreement personnel, and a few others.

Resident aliens with re-entry permits may pre-register their prints and photograph. Pre-registered aliens may use semi-automated departure and re-entry gates at Narita Airport. This will quicken their exit and entry if lines at other gates are long.

The enforcement of the 2009 law was facilitated by the following government order, promulgated on 26 December 2011 as Cabinet Order No. 421 (政令第421号 Seirei Dai 421 gō)

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等の法律の施行に伴う関係政令の整備及び経過措置に関する政令

[1] Shutsunyūkoku kanri oyobi nanmin nintei hō oyobi [2] Nihonkoku to no Heiwa Jōyaku ni motozuki Nihon no kokuseki o ridatsu shita mono tō no shutsunyūkoku kanri ni kan suru tokurei hō no ichibu o kaisei suru tō no hōritsu no shikō ni tomonau kankei seirei no seibi oyobi keika sōchi ni kan suru seirei

Cabinet order concerning preparations and transitional measures of cabinet orders concomitant with the enforcement of the law, inter alia, revising parts of [1] the Immigration control and refugee recognition law and [2] the Special law concerning, inter alia, the exit-entry-country [immigration] control of persons who based on the Treaty of Peace with Japan separated from the nationality of Japan.

The 2009 law, which revised parts of the two numbered laws, had 60 articles plus a number of supplementary provisions.

Article 1 of the supplementary provisions stipulated that, with the exception of several provisions itemized in a proviso to the article, that "This law will be come into force from a day to be determined by a Government (Cabinet) Order within a period not to exceed 3 years computed from the day of [its] promulgation.

この法律は、公布の日から起算して三年を超えない範囲内において政令で定める日から施行する。

The revision law abbreviated the two major laws that were being revised as follows.

[1] 出入国管理及び難民認定法（以下「入管法」という。）
[2] 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（以下「特例法」

The "new" versions of the [1] "Immigration Control Law" (入管法) and the [2] "Special law" (新特例法) were dubbed the "New Law" (新入管法 Shin-Nyūkanhō) and the "New Special Law" (新特例法).

The "Special Permanent Residents" (SPRs) defined by the "New Special Law" continued to be referred to as "Tokubetsu eijūsha" (特別永住者).

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 （平成三年法律第七十一号）に定める特別永住者（以下「特別永住者」という。）

The revision law abrogated the Alien Registration Law effective when the major provisions of the "New Law" came into effect. In the revisions, it refers to the "Alien Registration Law" (外国人登録法) as the "Old (Former) Alien Registration Law" (旧外国人登録法旧).

Ministry of Justice description of 2009 law fully implemented in 2012

The following texts are slightly reformatted versions of texts that were published in the form of 6-page brochures, and also posted by the Ministry of Justice, shortly after the revision law was promulgated. The versions shown here were retrieved on 6 July 2014. The [bracketed numbers] in the Japanese and English texts are mine. The quotation marks and the [sic] comments in the English are also mine.

Top  

Special Permanent Residents

From 9 July 2012, Special Permanent Residents, like general aliens, were no longer issued a "Certificate of Alien Registration" (外国人登録証明書 Gaikokujin tōroku shōmeisho) at their municipal hall. However, unlike general aliens, they would not be issued a "Residence Card" (在留カード Zairyū kaado) by the Immigration Control Bureau.

SPRs would receive a "Special Permanent Resident Certificate" (特別永住者証明書 Tokubetsu eijūsha shōmeisho) produced by the Immigration Control Bureau (as were Alien Registration Certificates) but issued by the municipal hall of the municipality where they resided (as were Alien Registration Certificates).

In other words, business would continue as usual for SPRs. Their cards would be reissued every 7 years as before.

Quasi "national treatment"

SPRs are treated more like Japanese than general aliens, in that they are able to deal with many changes in the particulars of their alien status at their municipal hall, as they did under the alien registration system. And so they have less need than general aliens to visit a regional Immigration Control Bureau office.

Also unlike general aliens, from 9 July 2012, SPRs no longer had to carry their identification cards on their person at all times. In this respect, too, they became that much closer to Japanese in their treatment under domestic laws.

Re-entry conditions

Under the new "deemed re-entry permission system" (みなし再入国許可制度 minashi sai-nyūkoku kyoka seido), SPRs traveling or living overseas are allowed up to 2 years within which to re-enter Japan without having to apply for a re-entry permit. Moreover, from 9 July 2012, the 4-year upper limit of permission to re-entry Japan was increased to 6 years -- in their case. For general aliens, the "deemed" permit was only 1 year, while the upper limit was of an actual permit was increased from 3 to 5 years.