Your first legal deadline in Japan starts the day you move into your address, not the day you land. You have 14 days to register at your local ward office (kuyakusho) or city hall (shiyakusho).
Many procedures that follow need the address recorded on your residence card, so registration is a practical bottleneck as well as a legal deadline.
What to bring
- Your passport
- Your residence card (zairyu card)
- Your new address written in Japanese — ask your landlord or hotel to write it down
- A hanko (personal seal) if you have one; a signature is usually accepted (read our hanko and seal registration guide if you plan to register a jitsuin)
Step 1 — Resident registration
Find the Resident Registration window (住民登録). Fill in the move-in notification, hand over your residence card, and they will write your new address on the back of it. This is the step with the legal deadline. (If you are relocating from another Japanese municipality rather than arriving abroad, make sure you obtained a moving-out certificate (tenshutsu todoke) beforehand).
Step 2 — Health insurance
If you are not covered by employees' health insurance — including as an insured dependant — you generally enrol in National Health Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken) at the pension and insurance window in the same building. The notification is due within 14 days. Learn how premiums are calculated in our Japan health insurance cost guide and what coverage you receive under statutory healthcare benefits.
Step 3 — Pension
If you are between 20 and 59 and are not covered by Employees' Pension or as a supported spouse under that system, National Pension enrolment happens at the same counter. The notification is due within 14 days. Pension compliance already matters under current permanent-residence guidance, and serious or prolonged non-payment can also count against a change or extension of status under current Immigration guidance.
From June 2027, the government plans to let Immigration check National Health Insurance premium-payment information electronically for all residence statuses. That is a data-sharing change, not the start of an otherwise new blanket rule.
Step 4 — My Number
Your My Number is assigned automatically when you register. The card is optional and has no application deadline, despite what a lot of guides claim. It is worth getting anyway, because it doubles as your health insurance card and unlocks online procedures.
Since 14 June 2026 there is also an optional Specified Residence Card (特定在留カード) combining your residence card and My Number Card into one. Separate cards remain valid. It can be requested with certain Immigration procedures or with an address notification at a municipal office; check the applicable procedure before relying on it.
Next steps after city hall
Once your address is stamped on your residence card, you can unlock key everyday necessities: open a Japanese bank account, activate electricity, gas, and water utilities, and make sure you understand your neighborhood's garbage sorting and disposal rules.
The phrases that help
- 住民登録をしたいです。 — Jūmin tōroku o shitai desu. — I would like to register my address.
- 国民健康保険に入りたいです。 — Kokumin kenkō hoken ni hairitai desu. — I would like to enrol in National Health Insurance.
- 資格確認書について確認したいです。 — Shikaku kakuninsho ni tsuite kakunin shitai desu. — I would like to ask about my eligibility confirmation certificate.
Bring more time than you think you need. Ward offices are busy at the start and end of the month, and the counters close earlier than you would expect.
Official source: Immigration Services Agency arrival guidance
Official source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 資格確認書 guidance
Official source: current Immigration change-and-extension guideline
Affarah: The Expat’s Guide to Japan’s 14-Day Address Registration Rule
Guides are dated rather than undated: last reviewed 13 September 2026. This is an organisational aid, not legal or immigration advice — always confirm anything consequential with your ward office, the Immigration Services Agency, or a qualified professional.