After giving birth, you should receive a Birth Certificate from the medical institution.

　

 You are required to notify the City Office within 14 days of your child's birth by submitting the following documents.

　

　

 The child can obtain Japanese citizenship if his or her parents are in a legal marital relationship and the father is a Japanese citizen. Also there is the parental recognition. (v.i.)

 If neither of the parents are Japanese citizens the child is not eligible for Japanese citizenship, even if he or she was born in Japan.

 Citizenship is a very important part of a child's life. No matter what citizenship the child will acquire, you should consult your embassy and prepare the necessary documents to acquire citizenship

　

　

 Parental recognition is a method of discerning biological paternity when the father and mother of a child are unmarried, for the purpose of determining Japanese citizenship. It is possible to determine parental recognition before giving birth. Both the father and mother's consent is required. Several conditions must be met in order for parental recognition to take place, therefore please contact the Citizen Division at the city hall for more details.

　

　

 The information provided in this book is only a guideline. Many circumstances are dependent on the individuals involved. Please consult your own embassy, immigration office and the city hall before childbirth so as to limit the possibility of difficulty when obtaining citizenship. It is very important to prepare for unexpected circumstances. You will need the appropriate documents in order to prove the identity of your child and process a citizenship application.

 I moved to Japan with my husband and 3 year old son from Indonesia in May 2001.

 Because of my husband's work, we needed to stay in Japan for 2 years; therefore I had to leave my work and family. When I first arrived in Japan, I was very board. For the first 3 months, I knew very little Japanese and didn't have any friends. When my son and I got sick, it was very hard to find doctors who could speak English and that made me very nervous. After living in Japan for 6 months, I became pregnant. I asked my friends to find an obstetrician who could speak English. We researched and compared various options. I considered going to a hospital where my son could stay with me while I was hospitalized, but they couldn't understand English. So I decided to go to a hospital where both the doctor and nurses could understand English. I couldn't stay with my son, but the doctor was very kind and I felt everything went very well. He understood the fact that I am foreigner and he wrote every little detail in English. He also had office hours on Saturdays to meet with me regarding the pregnancy. However his office was closed, I had to go to a doctor who spoke only Japanese・・・ From my experience, I think that not being able to communicate with your doctor during an occasion such as pregnancy, is a serious issue. I wish there were more doctors who could understand English. I think there are many English-speaking foreigners who can't speak Japanese.

　

 The culture surrounding of pregnancy and childbirth is a little different in Korea than in Japan.

 In Korea, there is a period of 20 days after giving birth called "Minanoka" in which the baby is taken care of separately, while his/her mother recovers from delivery. She stays in an Ondoru and eats well balanced diet, including food such as seaweed soup. There is no custom like this in Japan or any other country, so most Koreans return to their home country to give birth. In my case, I'm due in April when there is nice, warm weather. I am going to stay in the hospital here in Japan for a week. My mother will be here and take care of me. My biggest concern is my little knowledge of Japanese and whether I will be able to go for child check-ups or immunizations on weekdays without my husband. It is necessary to have interpreters at hospitals.