The Justice Ministry hopes to secure ¥21.3 billion ($139 million) in the planned fiscal 2024 supplementary budget to lighten municipalities’ work following a law revision to make stating the phonetic readings of names in family registers mandatory, sources said Tuesday.
The revised family register law will enter into force in May 2025.
The planned funds will be used for making the revision widely known to the public and setting up call centers to receive questions from the public.
With the enforcement less than a half year away, many municipalities have expressed concern over the administrative burden and called for assistance.
The ministry is also seeking ¥1.2 billion to hire more personnel for immigration administrative work to ease congestion at immigration counters amid a rapid increase in foreign travelers to Japan.
Meanwhile, the ministry hopes to secure ¥6.8 billion for research to introduce a system similar to the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, that will screen visa-waiver visitors to Japan before they enter the country.
