Registered domicile


In Japan, a registered domicile is the place where a Japanese citizen is considered to have their roots. It determines the city/ward/town office where their koseki is kept.
A registered domicile is not necessarily the same as a Japanese citizen's place of birth or current residence. It is printed on a person's koseki and passport, and is listed on the latter in lieu of someone's place of birth.
A registered domicile can be any address within the boundaries of Japan which possesses an official postal address and postcode. This has led to people registering their domiciles at addresses such as the Tokyo Imperial Palace and Okinotorishima. There are exceptions to this rule: places which do not fall within a prefecture's boundaries, areas not belonging to a city/town/village, and the Kuril Islands.
Naturalised Japanese often do not have ancestral origins or ties to a specific place in Japan; choosing a registered domicile from scratch is therefore part of the naturalisation process.