Privacy law limits access to 'koseki'

The Diet enacted a law Friday to restrict the issuance of copies of family registry documents, known as "koseki," to protect people's privacy.

The revised Census Registration Law, passed by a House of Councilors plenary session, limits unconditional issuance to the individuals referred to in the documents, their spouses and immediate relatives.

Under current law, lawyers, the state and local governments can ask for the documents without declaring the purpose of the request. The amendments will require them to declare a purpose.

The fine for obtaining the certificates using false identification or other means will be raised from 50,000 yen to 300,000 yen.

Those filing marriage or adoption papers will now be required to show a driver's license or other personal identification to prevent false filing.

Unnder the new law, if a proxy of the person in the registry requests a copy, the issuance will be reported to the person.