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In depth
A koseki (family registry) is the Japanese official record of family relationships — births, marriages, adoptions, deaths — maintained by the local ward office (区役所, kuyakusho) or city office (市役所, shiyakusho). It serves as proof of Japanese citizenship.
For Japanese CBD cases, the koseki of the Japanese ancestor is the primary document. It establishes the family relationship and the ancestor's Japanese citizenship at the time of the next child's birth.
Japanese koseki records date back to 1872 (the early Meiji era). Records before 1872 may be found in Buddhist parish registers (shumon ninbetsu chō) or Shinto shrine records.
Related terms
The hoju was the Korean family registry system (similar to the Japanese koseki) that was abolished in 2008, replaced by the individual-based family relations register.
Citizenship by descent (CBD) is the legal right to acquire a country's citizenship through one's ancestors — typically a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent — without being born in that country, based on the principle of jus sanguinis.
The OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card is the Indian document granting lifelong residency and most economic rights to persons of Indian origin, in lieu of full dual citizenship.
PIO (Person of Indian Origin) was a card for persons of Indian origin, merged into the OCI scheme in 2015.
The Law of Return (1950) is the Israeli law that grants Israeli citizenship to Jews, their children, grandchildren, and spouses.
Aliyah is the Hebrew term for Jewish immigration to Israel, the process by which Jews and their descendants claim Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.