Procedures and rules mentioned in this article are mainly those of Japan, but in some cases other requirements are imposed by the homeland of the non-Japanese spouse, or by the foreign land where the concerned couple marry.
During 1986 to 1991, the period of Japanese bubble economy, labor shortages for "3D jobs" (dirty, dangerous, and demeaning) occurred in Japan.
[3] However, the revised policy in 1990 prohibited unrestricted economic activities except for only four kinds of visa, which include the "Spouse or child of a Japanese national".
[5][6][7] Japan's diplomatic establishments abroad can not legally accept a notification of a marriage of this type.
[5] Japan requires competence certification as to the concerned non-Japanese, as a paper in principle, to be submitted;[5] if the homeland (state / nation) is one which doesn't issue this certification,[5] The fact the Japanese got married with the non-Japanese is to be recorded in a family register with the concerned Japanese written at its head; if the Japanese is one not written at the head, a new family register for the concerned couple is to be created.
One common mistake is that consular officers has no legal rights for marriage registration, neither does the religious or fraternal bodies in Japan.
[9] Japan requires the authorized copy of certification as to the marriage within 3 months of the day the marriage got effective; when the authorized copy of certification is legally accepted, the fact the Japanese got married with the non-Japanese is to be recorded in the family register of the concerned Japanese.
This is considerably lower than the divorce rate for marriages involving a Japanese husband and a foreign wife, which is 53.7%[16]