How to get a Koseki-tohon?

My mom try to get our grandfather's koseki at nearest cityhall in Tokyo but the problem is they dont give her a copy because they cound'nt find it. They were asking for the exact address of our grandfather but we only have the region (FUKUI,JAPAN). We also have some other details like his birthdate, date of death ,the japanese's parents names. Is there any other way to get a copy of our koseki-tohon having this details? Plss help me..

I'm sure you already know this but Fukui is a name of a prefecture and a city in that prefecture. I assume you don't know which city he lived in.

As far as I know the koseki database is maintained by individual cities, so just knowing the prefecture is something but it's not really that much of help. You might have to call every city in Fukui and see if they can help you.

What do you need your grandfather's koseki-tohon for? You don't have to answer it here, but depending on the reason, the city hall staff might sympathise and try to search for it as much as possible. Also, the name of the place where he died might be engraved on his tombstone, which might help. Otherwise, depending on the reason, why not contact a newspaper in Fukui and consult.
http://www.fukuishimbun.co.jp/

My mom's gonna use the koseki for changing her visa status there in Japan. A foundation who located our granfather's koseki is not giving us the exact address. Do you think a lawyer could secure a copy of this and how much does it cost if ever?

So I am assuming that your grandfather is the last person in your ancestry who had a Japanese nationality.

If your mother is in Japan, she can try consulting to one of the free consulting services done in foreign languages. She can contact her local city hall for more details on these services. Or if you can post what city she lives in, someone may be able to help the internet search.

[koseki]: family register;
[honseki]: family register domicile: the home place of family register;
[honseki-chi]: location of [honseki];

: A foundation who located our granfather's koseki is not giving us the exact address.

What do you mean by "located"? Detected recently or established in the past?
If you've got an address (which can be your grandfather's [honseki]) from a trustworthy source but that does not hit in present Fukui Prefecture, then maybe that's an old address before a merger of municipalities (= cities, towns, villages). In Japan, there have been cases in which a place name disappeared when municipalities merged.

Your mother's another relative who was / is a Japanese national, if any, maybe has / had his/her [honseki] in common with your grandfather.

: Do you think a lawyer could secure a copy of this and how much does it cost if ever?

I suppose this problem is not easily solved by a lawyer; lawyers are not lawmakers.

: My mom's gonna use the koseki for changing her visa status there in Japan.

That's a matter of "Status of residence" rather than "visa."
Assumedly, your grandfather's [koseki-touhon] is required for a proof that your mother was born as a child of a Japanese national; that's why a [touhon] (=full copy) is needed.

//

Our family is japanese descendents, my great grandfather is a japanese national who went to philippines and got marry here but he died too soon. its just recently that we've found the pertinent documents that could proof that we're really japanese descendants. Through the help of a foundation they finally located my great grandfather's kosekitouhon which is let say "the key" for us to enter japan. Now, my mom is already there she has a visa but not the visa given to the descendants and she wanted to change it to have a longer visa by using her nikeijin status. Do you think it is possible that she can process her visa there coz some people are saying that she coul'nt and that she needs to go back here in the philippines? Is it true that the japanese government made a law that all nikkeijin papers should be process by an authorized foundations?

Is it true that the japanese government made a law that all nikkeijin papers should be process by an authorized foundations?

That's for people applying from the Philippines. It explains it on the Japan embassy's website in Manila. Why haven't you asked the immigration office about all of this? I don't understand.

Presumably you or your mother has already asked Immigration Bureau, and from the Bureau has heard about your grandfather's [koseki-touhon].

: she wanted to change it to have a longer visa by using her nikeijin status.
: Do you think it is possible that she can process her visa there coz some people are saying that she coul'nt and that she needs to go back here in the philippines?

Visa is one thing, Status of residence is another thing.
But.... To change legal Status of residence for a longer-term residence, there may well be cases where a foreign national has to leave Japan and apply for a visa which corresponds to the legal Status allowing the longer-term residence.
I think Immigration Bureau will judge whether your mother has to do so in this case.

The fact that your grate-grandfather and grandfather were Japanese nationals doesn't bring you the legal Status of residence which your mother is now hoping to acquire.
This legal Status is not naturally given to a Japanese national's grandchildren or their descendants.

: Is it true that the japanese government made a law that all nikkeijin papers should be process by an authorized foundations?

If your mother is a Nikkei person born around 1945 or before, then maybe her visa application could be directly accepted by a Japan's diplomatic establishment in the Philippines.
http://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/visiting/e-dairijan2308.h...

Laws consist of Acts which passed the Diet (after lawmakers' discussions) and rules based on Act(s) which were put by the government or governmental authorities.

Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act itself does not state clearly that a [koseki-touhon] is required in such a case as your mother's.
Anyway, a Japanese parent's [koseki-touhon] is considered to be the best one to prove that your mother was born as a child of a Japanese national.
If your mother, for example, belonged to a Japanese school while she was a Japanese national, maybe the school's record, if any, could prove that.
However, if no one (still alive) knows about her days as a Japanese in Japan, or if she has never been in Japan while she was a Japanese, then it's not easy to find a clue on Japan side to locate the place more minutely than Fukui, Japan, I think.

//