How to get married in Japan even you are miles apart.

What's up, everybody!
It's Muse Family.

I wrote about “The Procedures for Getting Married to a Foreign National Who is Not in Japan” before.

I receive messages from many people all around the world who wants to get married to their loved one in Japan.

So my “project” buddy, Mrs. Hillary Kobayashi put my post into English.
(Shout out to Hillary!)

We met through Facebook and cooperate to get married in Japan.
She got married successful to her husband in Japan too.

We got connected instantly and support each other during the process and we are keep trying to support other couple like us.

Before you read...
Typically, when a foreign national and a Japanese national get married in Japan, the partner from a foreign country needs to visit their respective country’s embassy in Japan. There, they can receive the Affidavit of Competency to Marry form, fill it out, and have it notarized. After this step, the couple can submit their marriage registration, along with the affidavit, at the Japanese partner’s local city hall or ward office.  
 
This article will explain the procedures for how an American citizen, who is currently residing outside of Japan, can marry a Japanese national in Japan.  
 
Documents to Prepare
Kon-in-Todoke
For the Japanese partner:
ID, if you plan on submitting your documents to a city hall or ward office that is different than your legal domicile, you will also need a copy of your family register
For the American partner:
A notarized copy of the Affidavit of Competency to Marry form and a translation of this form
Passport (proof of citizenship) and a translation of your passport
 
The Passport Issue
 In some cases, the city hall or ward office may request the American partner’s original passport.
People who feel comfortable sending their passports overseas are probably few and far between, in our case we were reluctant to do this.
 
<For Tokyo Prefecture Chuo Ward>
A copy of the passport cover and passport photo page (black and white) with a note, written by the Japanese partner, signed and sealed. Please see the Japanese explanation for the specific verbiage.
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<For Tokyo Prefecture Minato Ward>
Anything other than the original passport will not be accepted
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<For Tokyo Prefecture Mitaka City>
If you submit a notarized copy of the Affidavit of Competency to Marry form, a passport is unnecessary
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<For Kanagawa Prefecture Yokohama City Aoba Ward>
Aoba has their original special form that they require the applicant to fill out
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<For Chiba Prefecture Katori City>
A notarized copy of the passport cover and passport photo page
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Here are a few examples of how the passport procedures may differ depending on location. Before you submit your paperwork, make sure that you contact the city hall or ward office.
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The Affidavit of Competency to Marry and Notarization
We used the form that is available for download at the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Japan website.
You will need to amend the form.
Please change “Consul of the United States of America” to “XX State Notary Public.” &nbsp;
After filling out the form, the American partner will need to have the form notarized in the state where they reside.
The notary will use a stamp that reads, “My Commission Expires (Date)” and you will need to translate this statement into Japanese. Please see the Japanese explanation for the specific verbiage.
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Since the American partner is not residing in Japan, it is okay to leave the “Local address” section blank.
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In the case that you do not have the Affidavit of Competency to Marry form, it might be possible for you to use the American partner’s birth certificate or proof of single status certificate, but make sure that you contact the city hall or ward office ahead of time.
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How to Obtain the Kon-in-Todoke
A3 paper size, the paper size needed to print the Kon-in-Todoke, is not common in the United States. In fact, it can be nearly impossible to find it (printing stores might offer to cut the form for you, but it will not be perfect).
In accordance with Japan’s Family Registration Law, the Kon-in-Todoke needs to be printed on A3 paper. There are not any laws regarding the size of the margins on the Kon-in-Todoke, however. (Based on a conversation I had with the Chuo ward office)
We decided on two courses of action. I sent the Kon-in-Todoke form from Japan to the United States, and we also ordered a Kon-in-Todoke form from the Consulate General of Japan in New York. The instructions on how to request the form are located on the Consulate’s webpage. If the American partner cannot read or write Japanese, they can call their local Consulate for assistance.
It takes about 7-10 days to receive the form from the Consulate, in our case the form from Japan arrived faster than the form we requested from the Consulate.
Kon-in-Todoke forms received in the United States might have the ambassador or consul’s name written down on the form, but you can correct this by writing in the name of the chief administrator of the ward or city hall where you submit the form in Japan.
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If you are able to obtain A3 size paper(Like in Asian countries and European countries) and have access to a printer that can print A3 size paper, it is acceptable for you to print the Kon-in-Todoke form. In fact, many couples in Japan print their own Kon-in-Todoke forms. &nbsp;
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How to Fill out the Kon-in-Todoke
<Name>
Make sure to include your middle name. Do not include・between your first and middle name.
If your name includes a suffix, such as Sr., Jr., II, III etc., you need to write the suffix in katakana.
For example: Barack Hussein Obama II
Last name: オバマ
First name: バラクフセインセカンド
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<Address>
If you look at sample Kon-in-Todoke forms online, quite often the blank space for “Address” has the foreign partner’s country listed, but this standard might vary depending on the city hall or ward office. Make sure to check with your local city hall or ward office to see if the foreign partner’s entire address (present) needs to be listed or not.
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<Stamp>
In our case, the witnesses who signed our Kon-in-Todoke form were my parents. My parents and I, the three of us, all have the same surname, but the seals used for stamping the form have to be three different seals.
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Translation
The Japanese partner can be the translator.
If you use someone else as a translator, make sure to record the date of translation, the name of the translator, and the address of the translator.
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Beforehand….
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When you submit a marriage registration with an Affidavit of Competency to Marry that does not have the embassy’s notarization, it is possible that the approval of the application will take time, and it is even possible that an enquiry will be sent to the Ministry of Justice.
If an enquiry is sent to the Ministry of Justice, however, the Ministry of Justice will simply respond saying that they cannot make a decision without looking at the documents.
For this reason, before I had my partner mail the notarized affidavit and signed Kon-in-Todoke to me, we made copies of all of our documents and mailed them to the Tokyo Prefecture Chuo Ward’s office. This allowed them a chance to approve our documents ahead of time.
Also, legally speaking, you are supposed to sign a form after all of the blank spaces are filled in. This means that having the American partner sign the Kon-in-Todoke before the Japanese partner fills out the form changes the proper order. &nbsp;The Chuo Ward office made the comment that the results were the same in the end, so it can’t be helped. Just in case, please ask about this issue with your local city hall or ward office before submitting your marriage registration.

Please feel free to contact me via my social media.
We hope this helps!