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Americans to get married in Japan 2009/9/28 11:34
Hi everyone!
My fiancee and I are planning to get married in Japan next summer. We are US Citizens.
I have read the info on the Embassy's website, but when I did a seach on here I got a bit confused because it said that since I am not a resident of Japan, taking all those steps is not necessary. Is that true?!!??

What do I need to do if we want to go to Japan and get married there.

I want to make sure I have/know everything before we go. Can someone help me please?!
Thank you.
by Carlita  

marriage 2009/9/28 11:54
We are US Citizens.
I have read the info on the Embassy's website, but when I did a seach on here I got a bit confused because it said that since I am not a resident of Japan, taking all those steps is not necessary. Is that true?!!??

What do I need to do if we want to go to Japan and get married there.


It totally depends on what you want by getting married. The steps outlined on the embassy page are for getting a legal marriage, which in Japan involves registering yourselves at your local city hall. It is short, and without ceremony, equivalent to being married at a courthouse in the US. Also, as you are both non-residents it can be a pain to do especially if you don't speak Japanese as it involves registering yourselves, creating a family register, etc. all in a place that you don't really have any connection to (unless you have some prior history with the city).

Perhaps you're more interested in having a Japanese style ceremony instead (which isn't a legally binding wedding). In which case you wouldn't need to jump through all the hurdles listed on the embassy page, but would need to be legally married in the US at some point for it to be official. Search around the forum for many threads on this topic. Here's some to get you started:

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+63741
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+65804
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+65846
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

... 2009/9/28 12:52
If you wanted to have a legal wedding in Japan, then "Josh" on this thread has done something similar :)

http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+24492
by AK rate this post as useful

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