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When a Foreign Resident Dies in Japan: The First 14 Days
When a foreign resident dies in Japan, the people closest to them must have the death certified, file a death notification within 7 days, obtain a cremation permit, and return the residence card within 14 days, mostly in Japanese and on a short clock.123 One decision in that first week cannot be undone: whether the body will be repatriated or buried has to be settled before any cremation is booked.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Immigration Services Agency site and with the municipal office where the death notification is filed. This article is general information, not legal advice; for your specific case, such as a dispute over the remains or the funeral, a contested or suspicious death, or a death involving a crime or a workplace accident, consult a licensed bengoshi (弁護士, attorney), and contact the deceased's embassy or consulate for nationality-specific requirements.
Overview
This guide is for a spouse, partner, relative, friend, colleague, or landlord dealing with the death of a foreign resident, whether you are in Japan or abroad. It sets out the steps in order, who can do each one, and where the follow-on procedures are covered.
What this guide covers
This guide covers the first 14 days: certifying the death, engaging a funeral home, filing the death notification, the cremation permit and the cremation itself, contacting the embassy or consulate, obtaining Japanese death documents usable abroad, and returning the residence card.
Other procedures have their own guides:
- Repatriation of Remains vs. Cremation in Japan covers the body-or-ashes decision, embalming, shipping, and repatriation costs.
- After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist covers health insurance and pension, funeral benefits, survivor pensions, banks, housing, contracts, taxes, and the surviving family's visa.
- Inheritance for Foreign Residents in Japan: Accounts, Property, and Heirs covers frozen accounts, proof of heirship, and renunciation.
- Wills for Foreign Residents in Japan: Types, Law, and Validity covers wills. Funeral wishes written in a will may not be read until after the funeral has taken place.
- Funeral Etiquette in Japan covers attending or hosting a Japanese-style wake and funeral.
The same rules apply to foreign residents
The death notification duty applies to every death in Japan regardless of nationality. Shinjuku City states that a foreign national who dies in Japan also requires a death notification.4 The cremation permit and the 24-hour rule apply in the same way.3
The foreign-specific layers are the consulate, the residence card, documents usable abroad, and family who may be overseas. A foreign national has no koseki (戸籍, the family register kept only for Japanese nationals) and no registered domicile, so a notification concerning a foreign national is filed where the filer lives or is present, or where the death occurred.1
Where everyone named in a notification is a foreign national, certificates of its contents are requested from the municipality where it was filed.56 If the deceased was married to a Japanese national, ask the family-register counter whether anything further needs to be filed for the Japanese spouse's koseki.
Who can act when family is far away
The Family Register Act sets two tiers of people who can sign the death notification as the filer (届出人, todokedenin).1
| Tier | Who | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Obliged to file (届出義務者, todokede gimusha) | Relatives living with the deceased; other co-residents; the landlord, landowner, or manager of the building or land | Family Register Act Art. 87(1)14 |
| Eligible to file (届出資格者, todokede shikakusha) | Relatives not living with the deceased; guardians, curators, assistants, and voluntary guardians | Family Register Act Art. 87(2)14 |
The obliged filers may file regardless of the order in which they are listed.1 A partner who lived with the deceased qualifies as a co-resident. A partner who did not live with the deceased, a friend, a colleague, or an employer appears in neither list.1
Someone who is not the filer can still help. A messenger (使者, shisha), such as funeral-home staff, may physically hand in a completed form, but only the filer can add to or correct it.7 The deceased's relatives or co-residents return the residence card.2
Family abroad can often deal with their own country's requirements remotely. For example, the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo accepts Report of Death applications by mail as well as in person (as of 2026-10; confirm current requirements with the Embassy of the Philippines in Tokyo).8 Ask the deceased's consulate what it can do to help family who cannot travel.
The first 14 days at a glance
The table below sequences the first two weeks. The statutory deadlines are uniform nationwide; everything else depends on the circumstances of death and the municipality.1329
| When | Step | Who does it | Where | Covered in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immediately | If the death happens outside a hospital, call 119 (ambulance) or 110 (police) and follow instructions | Whoever is present | By phone | Certifying the death |
| Same day | A doctor issues a death certificate, or police and a doctor examine the body | Doctor; police | Hospital, home, or police station | Certifying the death |
| Once the body can be released | Engage a funeral home for transport and storage | Family or the person in charge | Funeral home | Choosing a funeral home and moving the body |
| Before any cremation booking | Decide between repatriation, burial, and cremation | Family | Not applicable | Repatriation of Remains vs. Cremation in Japan |
| Within 7 days of the day the filer learned of the death | File the death notification; the cremation permit is issued on acceptance13 | A qualifying filer; a funeral home may hand it in | Municipal office for the filer's place of residence or presence, or the place of death | Filing the death notification |
| No sooner than 24 hours after death | Cremation3 | Funeral home and crematorium | Crematorium | The cremation permit and the cremation |
| As soon as practical | Contact the embassy or consulate | Family or the person in charge | Embassy or consulate | Contacting the embassy or consulate |
| Within 14 days of death, or of finding the card | Return the residence card or special permanent resident certificate29 | Relatives or co-residents | Regional immigration bureau, or by post | Returning the residence card and other IDs |
| First two weeks | Notify the employer, school, landlord, and insurers | Family or the person in charge | Varies | Notifying the people and places that cannot wait |
| After the funeral | Insurance, pension, benefits, banks, housing, taxes | Family | Varies | After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist |
In practice the schedule is tighter than the statutory clocks. The Australian Embassy in Tokyo says final arrangements normally need to be completed within about one week of death, because refrigerated storage is scarce and expensive (as of 2026-10; confirm current guidance with the Australian Embassy Tokyo).10 That is embassy guidance, not a legal deadline.
Certifying the death
Japanese law requires a doctor's certificate to be attached to the death notification: a death certificate for a patient the doctor was treating, or a postmortem certificate after a doctor examines the body.111 Which one you get, and how long it takes, depends on how and where the death happened.
| Term | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 死亡診断書 | shibō shindansho | Death certificate, issued by the doctor who was treating the patient11 |
| 死体検案書 | shitai ken'ansho | Postmortem certificate, issued after a doctor examines a body with no treating relationship or an abnormal death11 |
| 検視 | kenshi | Police inspection of the body and the scene |
| 検案 | ken'an | A doctor's external examination of the body to determine the cause of death12 |
| 警察医 | keisatsui | Doctor commissioned by the police to examine bodies13 |
| 監察医 | kansatsui | Statutory medical examiner, in designated areas only1415 |
The two main paths look like this.11112
Deaths in a hospital or under a doctor's ongoing care
When a patient dies in hospital, or at home under a doctor who was treating them, that doctor issues the death certificate. Under the Medical Practitioners' Act, a doctor may issue it without re-examining if the patient dies within 24 hours of the last examination from the condition being treated.11
The 24-hour window is often misread as a cut-off. A 2012 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice states that even if more than 24 hours have passed since the last examination, the treating doctor can issue a death certificate after examining the body, if the death can be judged related to the condition being treated.11
The ministry issued that notice because mistaken readings ("the doctor cannot write a certificate" or "the police must be called" after 24 hours) were getting in the way of end-of-life care at home.11 If the doctor cannot link the death to the treated condition, the doctor examines the body instead, and must report any abnormality (異状, ijō) to the police within 24 hours.11
Calling an ambulance for an expected home death has its own complications. In Tokyo, ambulance crews perform CPR and transport by default; under a Tokyo Fire Department protocol, for an adult at the end of life who decided against resuscitation through advance care planning, crews contact the home doctor and can stop CPR and hand over to the doctor or family, who sign a consent form (as of 2019-12; confirm current practice with the Tokyo Fire Department).16 This protocol is Tokyo's; other fire departments may handle it differently.
Once the death is certified, plan to have the body moved promptly. The Australian Embassy advises appointing a funeral home quickly because refrigerated storage is scarce and expensive (as of 2026-10).10
Unexpected or unattended deaths: what the police do
If someone dies unexpectedly at home, alone, or in an accident, call 119 or 110 and follow the dispatcher's instructions. Police involvement in this situation is routine and is not an accusation.
In Tokyo, a medical examiner examines the body (ken'an) and, if the cause of death is still unclear, holds it for an administrative autopsy.12 In Osaka Prefecture, police inspect the body; where crime is not suspected, a medical examiner examines it inside Osaka City and a police-commissioned doctor does so elsewhere in the prefecture.13 A medical examiner may not examine a body that is, or may be, an unnatural death until the police have inspected it (kenshi).14
How long the body is held varies, and no national figure exists. The Osaka Medical Examiner's Office aims to release the body around the evening of the examination day (as of 2026-06-01).17 In Tokyo, one postmortem certificate is handed to the family once the examination is finished; tests done on site take about 2 hours, and detailed results take about 40–60 days (as of 2024-07-26).12
Where the cause of death remains under investigation, Osaka says determining it can take about 2 months (as of 2026-06-01).17 The postmortem certificate handed over after the examination is what the family needs for the death notification.12
When an autopsy happens
Japan has several types of autopsy, and most of those ordered by authorities do not need the family's consent.14 The general rule is that anyone performing an autopsy must obtain the bereaved family's consent; medical examiner, judicial, and investigative autopsies are statutory exceptions.14
| Type | Legal basis | Where | Family consent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judicial (司法解剖, shihō kaibō) | Code of Criminal Procedure, when a crime is suspected | Nationwide | Not required1413 |
| Medical examiner or administrative (監察医解剖 / 行政解剖, kansatsui kaibō / gyōsei kaibō) | Postmortem Examination and Preservation of Corpses Act, Art. 8 | Medical examiner areas only | Not required1413 |
| Investigative (調査法解剖, chōsahō kaibō) | Act on Investigation of Cause of Death and Identity, Art. 6 | Nationwide | Not required, but police must explain the need to the family in advance, with limited exceptions18 |
| Consent (承諾解剖, shōdaku kaibō) | Postmortem Examination and Preservation of Corpses Act | Areas without a medical examiner system | Required1413 |
| Pathological (病理解剖, byōri kaibō) | Same act | Hospitals nationwide | Required1413 |
An Osaka Prefecture review describes these autopsies as paid from public funds, with pathological autopsies borne by the medical institution (as of 2016-06-02).13 The investigative autopsy's advance-explanation duty does not apply where there is no family, the family cannot be located, or explaining would defeat the purpose.18
Embassies describe autopsies as the exception rather than the rule. The Australian Embassy says they generally happen only where there is evidence of violent death, suspected foul play, or an unknown cause (as of 2026-10).10 GOV.UK notes that cultural or religious sensitivities may not be taken into account, and that the UK government cannot stop or interfere with the process (as of 2025-11-03).19
A legally required autopsy can proceed without the family's consent, including where the family objects on religious grounds.1419 A family who wants to contest an autopsy decision needs a bengoshi, not general guidance.
The statutory medical examiner system covers only a few cities. Working medical examiner offices operate in the Tokyo 23 wards, Osaka City, and Kobe City; most of Japan has no medical examiner, and police-commissioned doctors examine bodies instead.13121720 The 1949 cabinet order also lists Yokohama and Nagoya, but an Osaka Prefecture review reports Kanagawa's system abolished and Nagoya's handling only a handful of cases (as of 2016-06-02).1513
Who pays for the examination, transport, and storage
Who pays, and how much, varies by area. In many cases the family pays for the postmortem certificate and for funeral-home transport from the place of examination; the examples below are taken from each office's own page (dates per the As of column).
| Area | Item | Amount | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka (Medical Examiner's Office) | Postmortem certificate, first issue | ¥20,00017 | 2026-06-01 |
| Osaka | Re-issue | ¥2,500 per copy17 | 2026-06-01 |
| Kobe (Hyogo Medical Examiner's Office) | Examination | ¥15,00020 | 2023-12-27 |
| Kobe | Postmortem certificate | ¥5,000 per copy20 | 2023-12-27 |
| Tokyo (Medical Examiner's Office) | Re-issue of postmortem certificate | ¥900 per copy21 | 2026-03-16 |
| Tokyo | Transport of the body by the office's vehicle | Free within Tokyo12 | 2024-07-26 |
| Tottori Prefecture (crime victims' families) | Public payment of the postmortem certificate fee for police-handled autopsies such as murder or fatal traffic accidents | Up to ¥20,000 per body; any excess borne by the family22 | Scheme from 2014-02-14 |
The Tokyo page does not say whether the first certificate or the examination is charged. Outside the medical examiner areas, official sources give no fee range for police-commissioned doctors; ask the police station handling the case what will be billed and by whom.
In Osaka, the family arranges and pays for a funeral home to collect the body from the office, and funeral homes are asked to bring a coffin and several staff (as of 2026-06-01).17 Tokyo re-issues postmortem certificates only to the spouse or relatives within the third degree, by post in about one week, with payment by registered cash mail (as of 2026-03-16).21
Deaths away from home
A death in a traffic accident, at work, or while traveling elsewhere in Japan follows the same steps. The death notification can be filed at the municipality where the death occurred; if the place of death is unknown, where the body was first found; and if the death occurred on a train or other transport, where the body was taken off.1
The cremation permit is then issued by the mayor who accepted the notification.3 If the body needs to be moved to another prefecture, ask the funeral home about transport. Workers' accident compensation after a workplace death is covered in After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist.
Choosing a funeral home and moving the body
A funeral home (葬儀社, sōgisha) handles transport, storage, and most of the paperwork in the first week. Choosing one is usually the first practical decision after the death is certified.
Why the funeral home is the first call
Hospitals and police release the body for collection, so someone has to arrange transport and storage quickly. The Australian Embassy advises next of kin to appoint a local funeral home promptly, because refrigerated storage is scarce and expensive and many police stations have none; if transport and cold storage cannot be paid for promptly, local authorities may dispose of the remains as a public health hazard (as of 2026-10; confirm current guidance with the Australian Embassy Tokyo).10
In Osaka, for example, families arrange a funeral home to collect the body after the medical examiner's examination (as of 2026-06-01).17 Storage is billed by the day: at Tokyo Hakuzen's crematoria, refrigerated coffin storage costs ¥13,200 per day at the general rate, and non-refrigerated storage ¥8,800 per day (as of 2026-10).23
A funeral home can hand in the death notification as a messenger, but the filer still has to sign the form, and only the filer can correct it.7 Ask the funeral home which other steps, such as booking the crematorium, it will handle.
Decide on repatriation before cremation
Once the death notification is accepted, the municipality issues the permit that is required to bury or cremate a body in Japan.243 From that point, a booked cremation can move quickly.
Once a body is cremated, it can no longer be repatriated or buried. If repatriation of the body, burial, or a religious requirement (such as burial rather than cremation) is possible, tell the funeral home on the first call, before any crematorium booking is made.
Repatriation does not always have to wait for every test. GOV.UK notes that the body can usually be buried, cremated, or returned to the UK before tests on removed organs are complete (as of 2025-11-03).19
The decision itself, including embalming, shipping documents, and costs, is covered in Repatriation of Remains vs. Cremation in Japan. Religious requirements are covered in Finding Places of Worship and Practicing Faith in Japan.
Picking a provider and reading the quote
Funeral homes range from local providers to firms with international and English-language experience. Embassies often keep provider lists, but the Australian Embassy's list carries a disclaimer that the embassy accepts no responsibility for the providers' ability, probity, or fees (as of 2026-10).10
Price disputes are common. The National Consumer Affairs Center reports 917 funeral-service consultations in FY2025, 52.6% of them about high prices or fees, and warns against assuming that a family funeral is cheap (as of 2026-06-03).25
The National Consumer Affairs Center advises always obtaining a written estimate and checking its itemized contents (as of 2026-06-03). If something looks wrong, call the consumer hotline 188.25
Items worth checking on the estimate include body transport, storage per day, the coffin, the crematorium fee, the waiting room, the urn, and staff. Ask directly whether the crematorium fee and any religious officiant's offering (お布施, o-fuse) are included.
Funeral formats and what they cost
Japanese funerals fall into four main formats. The averages below come from the publisher's own release of a national survey of 2,000 people aged 40 and over who had been chief mourner (喪主, moshu), or in an equivalent role, within the previous two years; fieldwork ran from 2026-02-27 to 2026-03-03.26
| Format | Average total cost | Share of funerals | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| General funeral (一般葬, ippan-sō): wake and ceremony open to wider attendees | ¥1,220,10026 | 30.2% | 2026-05 |
| Family funeral (家族葬, kazoku-sō): limited to family and close friends | ¥963,90026 | 47.0% | 2026-05 |
| One-day funeral (一日葬, ichinichi-sō): no wake | ¥744,30026 | 11.9% | 2026-05 |
| Direct cremation (直葬 / 火葬式, chokusō / kasō-shiki): no wake or ceremony | ¥495,60026 | 10.8% | 2026-05 |
| All formats | ¥967,300 (basic ¥720,200; food ¥116,700; return gifts ¥130,300)26 | n/a | 2026-05 |
The figures are national survey averages, not price quotes (as of 2026-05). The release does not say whether these averages include the crematorium fee or a religious officiant's offering, so treat them as a rough guide only.26
Most families face these choices unprepared: 63.8% of chief mourners in the same survey said they had made no advance preparation (as of 2026-05).26 For the wake and ceremony themselves, and for receiving condolence money, see Funeral Etiquette in Japan.
Filing the death notification (shibō todoke)
The death notification (死亡届, shibō todoke) is the legal report of the death to the municipality. It is filed on a form with the doctor's death or postmortem certificate attached.14
The 7-day deadline and where to file
The notification must be filed within 7 days from the day the filer learned of the death.1427 Failing to file within the period without a justifiable reason can lead to a non-penal administrative fine (過料, karyō) of up to ¥50,000.28
For a foreign national, the notification is filed at the municipal office for the filer's place of residence or presence, or for the place where the death occurred.1 Nagoya International Center gives foreign residents the same two options.24 Municipal pages that mention a registered-domicile option are describing a rule for Japanese nationals.
Many offices take notifications outside counter hours, but this is not the same as accepting them on the spot. In Yokohama, a notification handed in after hours is held, checked on the next business day, and, if complete, accepted with the hand-in date as the filing date (as of 2026-03-12; confirm current arrangements with your municipal office).27 Suginami City similarly only holds documents at night and on holidays and checks them the next business day (as of 2026-09-01).29
A notification left at a night or holiday window is checked only on the next business day in Yokohama and Suginami (as of 2026-03-12 and 2026-09-01), so a missing item can delay acceptance and the cremation permit.2729 Confirm with the office or the funeral home when the permit will actually be issued before fixing a cremation date.
Some municipalities handle a foreign national's death at a specific counter. Suginami asks filers to come to its family-register counter when the deceased is a foreign national (as of 2026-09-01), and Shinjuku asks for consultation in advance (as of 2026-02-17).294 Ward and city offices vary; check your municipality's page or call ahead.
Who can file
The filer must fall within one of the Family Register Act categories described in Who can act when family is far away above.1 Nagoya International Center summarizes them in English as "a family member or other person who was living with the deceased, the homeowner, the landowner, or the person managing the house or land."24
Funeral-home staff can hand in the form as a messenger, but only the filer may add to or correct it.7 Where a guardian files, a certificate of registered matters (登記事項証明書, tōki jikō shōmeisho) for the guardianship is also required.4
For family abroad, this means a relative who is not in Japan can still be the filer as a non-cohabiting relative, while a friend or employer in Japan cannot sign as filer unless they lived with the deceased or manage the property where the death occurred.1
What to bring
Requirements vary slightly by municipality, but the core set is the same.
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Death notification form with the doctor's death certificate or postmortem certificate attached (original) | The hospital or examining doctor provides the certificate424 |
| Filer's identification | For example a passport or residence card (as of 2026-05-17)24 |
| Seal (印鑑, inkan) | Optional since 2021-09-01; filers may still seal voluntarily304 |
| Cremation or burial permit application | Some municipalities require a separate form; Yokohama requires a permit application (火埋葬許可申請書, kamaisō kyoka shinseisho) with the notification (as of 2026-03-12)27 |
| The deceased's residence card and passport | To confirm how the name, nationality, and date of birth are recorded; ask the counter what it needs |
The seal requirement was dropped for family-register notifications on 2021-09-01.30 Some local pages still ask for one: Nishinomiya City's page asks filers to bring a seal (as of 2025-08-04), which is best read as a local request rather than a legal requirement.31
What the notification triggers
Accepting the notification leads to the issue of the cremation permit; Shinjuku, for example, issues a 死体火葬許可証 (shitai kasō kyokashō) on acceptance.34 It does not close the deceased's accounts or contracts, which are covered in After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist.
The notification also does not replace the residence card return. The Immigration Services Agency still requires relatives or co-residents to return the card.322 Kawasaki City, for example, states that its ward offices do not accept the card and that family or co-residents return it to the Immigration Services Agency (as of 2026-06-15).33
How the notification links to the residence record and the My Number system is covered in My Number, Koseki, and Juminhyo Linkages.
The cremation permit and the cremation
Cremation requires a municipal permit issued after the death notification. The process from notification to the ashes runs in a fixed order.3
The cremation permit
Burial or cremation requires the municipal mayor's permission, granted by the mayor who accepted the death notification, who must then issue a burial or cremation permit.3 This is the cremation permit (火葬許可証, kasō kyokashō).
The name on the document varies. Shinjuku issues a 死体火葬許可証 (as of 2026-02-17; confirm current details with your municipal office), Nishinomiya issues a combined burial and cremation permit (埋火葬許可証, maikasō kyokashō) and requires the cremation booking to be made beforehand (as of 2025-08-04), and Yokohama uses a separate application form (as of 2026-03-12).43127
The funeral home normally hands the permit to the crematorium. After the cremation it comes back with the ashes; keep it with them, because it is needed for interment and when carrying ashes abroad (covered in Repatriation of Remains vs. Cremation in Japan). Some crematoria also issue a separate cremation certificate (火葬証明書, kasō shōmeisho); Tokyo Hakuzen charges ¥550 each (as of 2026-10).23
The 24-hour rule and waiting for a slot
Burial or cremation may not take place until 24 hours have passed after death, except where another law provides otherwise.3 The main exception covers deaths from certain serious infectious diseases, where cremation within 24 hours is permitted (see Good to know below).34
In large cities the wait for a crematorium slot can stretch beyond the 24-hour minimum, and storage charges accumulate every day. Tokyo's own projection puts January cremation demand at about 90% of monthly capacity across Tokyo, with January the peak month (as of the FY2025 projection).35 Official sources give no typical number of waiting days; ask the funeral home for the current wait when booking.
Public and private crematoria and their fees
Crematoria may be public or private. In Tokyo's 23 wards a private operator, Tokyo Hakuzen, handles over 70% of cremations, according to press reporting (as of 2026-01-29).36
Fees therefore depend heavily on where the deceased lived and which crematorium is used. The fees below are dated examples for an adult, not a national rate (as of 2026-10); check your municipality's crematorium page.
| Crematorium (operator) | Resident rate | Non-resident rate | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Hakuzen's six crematoria (Machiya, Ochiai, Yoyohata, Yotsugi, Kirigaya, Horinouchi), standard furnace | ¥87,00023 | ¥87,000 (no resident distinction) | 2026-10 |
| Same, special room | ¥123,00023 | ¥123,000 | 2026-10 |
| Rinkai Saijō (public, run jointly by Setagaya, Shinagawa, Minato, Meguro, and Ota wards), age 12 and over | ¥44,00037 | ¥88,000 | 2026-10-01 |
| Yokohama municipal crematoria, age 10 and over | ¥12,00038 | ¥50,000 | 2026-10-06 |
Yokohama's resident rate depends on the deceased's resident-record address at the time of death (as of 2026-10-06).38 Rinkai's resident rate applies if the deceased had a registered address in a member ward at death, or if the chief mourner is a relative within the second degree who lives in a member ward (as of 2026-10-01).37
At public crematoria, the resident rate turns mainly on the deceased's registered address at death; in Yokohama, the family's address does not count. A cremation at a public crematorium outside the deceased's home municipality can cost far more than the resident rate; Yokohama's non-resident rate is ¥50,000 against ¥12,000 for residents (as of 2026-10-06).38
Tokyo's 23 wards changed their arrangements in 2026. Tokyo Hakuzen's fee page states that the ward-citizen funeral scheme (区民葬儀, kumin sōgi), the wards' standard-price funeral arrangement for residents, ended at its crematoria on 2026-03-31 (as of 2026-10).23 At public crematoria, the ward-citizen funeral cremation rate is ¥59,600 for an adult (as of 2026-07-15).39
From 2026-04-01, the 23 wards pay a subsidy to residents who use the ward-citizen funeral scheme and are cremated at one of Tokyo Hakuzen's six crematoria at the lowest fee of ¥87,000: ¥27,000 for an adult and ¥15,000 for a child aged 6 and under (as of 2026-06-02).40 Itabashi City gives the same amounts, sets a claim deadline of 2 years from the day after cremation, and notes that Toda Saijō, which still accepts ward-funeral tickets, is outside the subsidy (as of 2026-10-07).41
Burial instead of cremation
Burial is legal, and the same notification yields a burial permit instead of a cremation permit.3 Families who need burial should raise it with the funeral home on the first call, before any crematorium booking. Options are covered in Repatriation of Remains vs. Cremation in Japan and Finding Places of Worship and Practicing Faith in Japan.
Contacting the embassy or consulate
What a consulate does after a death, and what the home country requires, varies by nationality. The framework below applies broadly; the deceased's own embassy or consulate is the authority on the details.
Why contact the consulate early
Japan is a party to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, having acceded on 1983-10-03.42 Under Article 37(a), when a national of another state dies, the Japanese authorities must inform that state's consulate without delay, if the relevant information is available to them.43 Kyoto Prefectural Police, for example, have an internal directive on notifying consulates when police learn of a foreign national's death.44
Do not rely on this happening. The duty depends on the authorities having the information, and practice varies; Nagoya International Center tells foreign residents to notify their country's embassy or consulate immediately (as of 2026-05-17; confirm current guidance with your embassy or consulate).24
Contact the consulate before cremation if repatriation is possible. Ask what it can do in your case, including help reaching family and any home-country documents needed to move the remains.
Registering the death with the home country
Some countries require the death to be registered through the consulate; others make it optional. The two examples below show how far requirements can differ; check the deceased's own embassy for its rules.
| Country (example) | Registration | Key documents | Fees | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Optional; the Japanese death certificate can usually be used in the UK for most purposes, including probate19 | Not applicable | Not applicable | 2025-11-03 |
| Philippines | Required within 1 year of death for deaths in the Embassy Tokyo jurisdiction (Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Hokkaido, Ibaraki, Iwate, Kanagawa, Miyagi, Okinawa, Saitama, Tochigi, Tokyo, Yamagata); later filings need an affidavit of delayed registration8 | Application; certificate of entries in the death notification (original plus 4 copies); cremation permit if cremated (original plus 4 copies); deceased's passport or PSA birth certificate; informant's ID | Report of Death ¥3,750; verification and translation ¥3,750; delayed-registration affidavit ¥3,750 | 2026-10 |
Both examples are dated in the table (as of 2025-11-03 and 2026-10). Ask the consulate whether home-country registration is needed to settle the estate, pensions, or insurance, even where it is optional.
What consulates cannot do
Consulates are limited in what they can take on. The UK government, for example, states that it cannot help with any costs incurred by a bereavement and cannot stop or interfere with a post-mortem (as of 2025-11-03).19
Provider lists from embassies are a starting point, not an endorsement: the Australian Embassy accepts no responsibility for listed providers' ability, probity, or fees (as of 2026-10).10 Travel insurance or an assistance service may cover more than the consulate can; see Insurance in Japan for Foreign Residents: What's Required and What's Optional.
Death documents you can use abroad
Foreign authorities, insurers, and banks usually want official Japanese proof of death. Several documents exist, each with its own issuing rule.
Which Japanese documents exist
The original doctor's certificate goes to the municipality with the notification and is not returned.14 The documents you can request afterwards are listed below; fees are dated examples from the named office (dates per the As of column; confirm current fees with the issuing office).
| Document | What it is | Who may request | Where | Fee | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postmortem certificate re-issue (Tokyo) | Re-issue by the Medical Examiner's Office | Spouse or relatives within the third degree21 | Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office | ¥900 | 2026-03-16 |
| 死亡届受理証明書 (shibō todoke juri shōmeisho) | Certifies that the notification was accepted | The filer, or a proxy with power of attorney145 | Only the office where it was filed | ¥350 in Yokohama; the high-quality-paper version is not available for deaths45 | 2026-04-07 |
| 死亡届記載事項証明書 (shibō todoke kisai jikō shōmeisho) | Certified copy of the entries in the notification, including the doctor's certificate | Interested parties with a specific, legally recognized reason (特別の事由, tokubetsu no jiyū)146 | The municipality where filed, for notifications concerning only foreign nationals56 | ¥350 at municipalities5 | 2025-11-17 |
The reason for requesting the certificate of entries must be specific: requesters state the use and the recipient, such as a survivor pension claim.546 Funabashi City lists foreign nationals reporting Japanese civil-status matters to their embassy as an example of an eligible requester and reason (as of 2024-02-28).6
Embassies differ in which document they accept. The Philippine Embassy, for example, accepts the certificate of entries as the Japanese death certificate for its Report of Death (as of 2026-10).8
A newer certificate of notification contents (届書等情報内容証明書, todokesho-tō jōhō naiyō shōmeisho) came with a 2024-03-01 system change, and for notifications filed from that date certificate requests go to the municipality where they were filed.47 Koto City issues the older certificate of entries only where the newer certificate will not serve the purpose (as of 2025-11-17).5 The residence record removal certificate (除票, joshō) is covered in Requesting Juminhyo and Other Documents.
Translation, apostille, and legalization
Whether a Japanese document needs a translation, an apostille, or consular legalization depends on the authority receiving it. Some consulates translate for their own procedures: the Philippine Embassy offers verification and official translation for ¥3,750 (as of 2026-10).8
The steps are covered in Apostille and Hague Convention Authentication, MOFA Apostille Procedure Step by Step, and Translation Agencies and Sworn Translators in Japan.
Returning the residence card and other IDs
The deceased's residence card (在留カード, zairyū kādo) or special permanent resident certificate (特別永住者証明書, tokubetsu eijūsha shōmeisho) must be returned to the Immigration Services Agency.32 Health insurance cards and the My Number Card are handled separately, in After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist.
The residence card or special permanent resident certificate
When a mid- to long-term resident dies, the deceased's relatives or co-residents must return the residence card within 14 days of the death, or of finding the card if it turns up later.232 The same 14-day rule applies to a special permanent resident certificate.932 Short-term visitors hold no residence card, so this step does not apply to them.2
The card can be returned in person at the regional immigration office with jurisdiction over the place of residence, or by post.32 The postal address is the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau, Odaiba Branch: 〒135-0064 東京都江東区青海2-7-11 東京港湾合同庁舎9階 東京出入国在留管理局おだいば分室 (as of 2026-10; confirm current details with the Immigration Services Agency).32
Enclose a document showing the reason for the return, such as a death certificate or a family-register certificate; the agency provides a reference form, 「在留カード等の返納について」 (as of 2026-10).32 The agency's page mentions no fee.32
Return the card to the Immigration Services Agency directly rather than at a ward office; Kawasaki City, for example, states that its ward offices do not accept it (as of 2026-06-15).33 Take a copy of the card first if the family will need its details for other procedures. Card types are explained in Residence Card: Japan's Foreign-Resident ID and Special Residence-Card Variations.
The passport
The passport is not returned to Japanese authorities; the Immigration Services Agency's return procedure covers only the residence card and the special permanent resident certificate.32 It belongs to the deceased's home country, and how it is handled depends on that country.
The UK, for example, asks families to cancel the deceased's passport with form D1, and to cancel it after repatriation if the passport is needed for that (as of 2025-11-03).19 The Philippine Embassy requires the deceased's passport, or a PSA birth certificate, for a Report of Death; the original is shown in person, and photocopies suffice by mail (as of 2026-10).8 Ask the consulate before surrendering or cancelling the passport.
Notifying the people and places that cannot wait
A few contacts matter in the first days because they affect access, pay, or cover:
- The embassy or consulate. Nagoya International Center advises notifying it immediately (as of 2026-05-17; confirm current guidance with Nagoya International Center).24
- The employer. The employer may be able to help with paperwork; final pay and workplace benefits are covered in After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist.
- Schools or daycare for any children.
- The landlord or management company, for access to the unit. Ending the lease is a later step, covered in After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist.
- Insurers and any travel or assistance provider, before repatriation or cremation arrangements are made, so you know what they cover.
- Family and friends abroad.
Insurance and pension cancellations come soon after; Nagoya International Center lists them as falling within 5 to 14 days of the death at the relevant offices (as of 2026-05-17).24 Banks are a separate step; read After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist and Inheritance for Foreign Residents in Japan: Accounts, Property, and Heirs before contacting one.
Where to get help
Free, first-stop help is available in English and other languages:
- The deceased's embassy or consulate, for home-country requirements and documents.
- Municipal foreign-resident counters and international associations. Nagoya International Center, for example, publishes death-procedure guidance for foreign residents in English (as of 2026-05-17; confirm current details with Nagoya International Center).24 See Foreign-Resident Services Counters.
- Funeral-home coordinators, for transport, storage, the notification, and crematorium booking.
- Interpreter and emergency language lines, covered in Emergency Language Help in Japan: Interpreters.
- The consumer hotline 188, for funeral-contract problems.25
- Grief and crisis support, covered in Crisis Resources in Japan and English-Speaking Mental Health Providers.
- Legal professionals, for disputes or contested cases; Bengoshi, Gyoseishoshi, Shiho-shoshi, and Zeirishi: Who Does What explains which professional handles what.
Good to know
Make copies before the original form leaves your hands
The original death or postmortem certificate is attached to the notification and stays with the municipality.14 Certificates of the notification's contents are issued only to interested parties with a specific, legally limited reason.546 Photocopy the completed form several times before handing it in, because insurers, employers, and embassies may accept a copy.
Official copies cost money and time. Osaka's medical examiner re-issues a postmortem certificate at ¥2,500 a copy (as of 2026-06-01; confirm current fees with the issuing office).17 Tokyo's costs ¥900 a copy, takes about one week by post, and is limited to close relatives (as of 2026-03-16); a municipal certificate of entries is ¥350 a copy (as of 2025-11-17).215
Keep the funeral receipt in the right name
Ask the funeral home to issue its receipt in the name of the person who actually paid, and keep it. Whether that payment can later be claimed back through a funeral benefit or the estate is covered in After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist.
Do not pay debts or dispose of belongings yet
Which inheritance law applies depends on the deceased's national law.48 Where Japanese law applies, an heir who disposes of all or part of the estate is deemed to have accepted the inheritance outright, debts included, with exceptions for acts of preservation and short leases.49
That matters if the estate may later be renounced. A law firm's guide cites an Osaka High Court decision holding that paying funeral costs from the estate is not disposal, provided the amount is not unreasonably high, and advises not touching estate assets before deciding whether to accept or renounce.50 Inheritance for Foreign Residents in Japan: Accounts, Property, and Heirs covers renunciation and its deadline; a bengoshi can advise on an individual estate.
When no relative can be reached or will act
If no one will carry out the burial or cremation, or no such person can be identified, the mayor of the place of death must do so.3 The costs are paid first from money or securities the deceased left; any shortfall falls on the heirs, and if they do not pay, on the people legally obliged to support the deceased.51
Unclaimed ashes are held by the municipality under local rules. In Osaka City, for example, they are kept at the municipal crematorium and later interred communally at Minami Reien, with relatives able to claim them before then (as of the rules effective 2014-10-01).52
Unmarried and same-sex partners
A partner who lived with the deceased can file the death notification as a co-resident; a partner who did not live with them cannot.1 Filing the notification does not settle who decides on the funeral or the remains.
Under Japanese Civil Code Art. 897, ownership of ritual property such as graves passes to the person who presides over ancestral rites by custom or the person the deceased designated, and the family court decides where custom is unclear.49 Whether that rule applies to a foreign national depends on the governing law, which follows the deceased's nationality.48 Partners facing a disagreement with relatives need a bengoshi; see also LGBTQ+ Residents in Japan: Partnership Certificates and Legal Recognition and Domestic Partnerships and the Future of Marriage Law.
Deaths that go undiscovered
When someone who lived alone is found some time after death, police handling usually involves an examination and sometimes further tests. An Osaka Prefecture review lists an expected rise in solitary deaths and in home deaths without medical care among the changes increasing the need for death investigation (as of 2016-06-02).13
Further tests take time. Osaka says determining the cause can take about 2 months (as of 2026-06-01), and Tokyo says detailed results take about 40–60 days (as of 2024-07-26).1712 The unit, the lease, and belongings are covered in After-Death Procedures in Japan: The Administrative Checklist.
Tell the authorities about infectious disease
GOV.UK advises telling the local authorities if the deceased had an infectious condition, such as hepatitis or HIV (as of 2025-11-03).19 Tell the doctor, the police, and the funeral home, so they can take precautions.
For specified serious infectious diseases, Japanese law allows the prefectural governor to restrict moving the body, requires cremation unless burial is approved after disinfection, and permits cremation within 24 hours.34 These rules can affect whether the body can be repatriated or buried.
Holidays and the New Year shutdown
Crematoria and offices slow down on holidays and on certain calendar days. Yokohama's municipal crematoria close on 1–2 January and partly close on tomobiki (友引) days of the six-day calendar cycle for maintenance (as of 2026-10-06).38 Yokohama also takes crematorium bookings online only, through the city reservation system (as of 2026-10-06).38
Death notifications left after hours are only held until the next business day check (as of 2026-03-12 and 2026-09-01).2729 In Tokyo, January is the peak month for cremations (as of the FY2025 projection).35
Each extra day of waiting adds storage charges: Tokyo Hakuzen charges ¥13,200 per day for refrigerated coffin storage at the general rate (as of 2026-10).23 The 23 wards' ¥27,000 adult cremation subsidy applies only to ward-citizen funeral users cremated at the six designated Tokyo Hakuzen crematoria, and must be claimed within 2 years of the day after cremation (as of 2026-06-02 and 2026-10-07).4041
See also
- Jūminhyō: Japan's Residence Record Explained
- Foreigner on Koseki Edge Cases
- Japan Inheritance and Gift Tax for Long-Term Foreign Residents
- Lump-Sum Withdrawal: Survivors, Disability, and Edge Cases