Inheritance Procedures When a Japanese Parent Dies and the Japanese Heir Lives in China

A Japanese parent who lived in Japan has died, and you, the heir, still hold Japanese nationality while living in China. The circumstances may involve an overseas assignment, local employment, or relocation, but the combination we most frequently receive inquiries about at our office is that of a Japanese decedent and an heir who remains a Japanese national and lives in China.

When the decedent is Japanese, this combination is one of the most straightforward categories of international inheritance to anticipate. The applicable law is definitively Japanese law, and the heirs can be identified entirely through Japan’s family-register records. The only issue that remains is the inability to prepare a seal-registration certificate.

Even so, some people find that their procedures remain stalled for more than six months. The following organizes where procedures tend to stop and what preparations can prevent them from stopping.

Key Points of This Article

• When the decedent is Japanese and lived in Japan, Japanese law is the applicable law. The fact that an heir is in China does not affect the scope of the heirs or their statutory shares.
• Since the decedent’s family-register records are available, identifying the heirs normally proceeds as usual. A legal inheritance information chart can also be used.
• The only issue is that an heir living in China cannot obtain a seal-registration certificate.
• If you are a Japanese national, a signature certificate and certificate of residence from the Embassy or Consulate-General of Japan in China can be used instead.
• However, if you have not filed a notification of moving abroad, you can obtain a seal-registration certificate. First confirm whether you still have a resident registration.

1. There Is No Need to Worry About the Applicable Law

Japan’s Act on General Rules for Application of Laws provides that inheritance is governed by the decedent’s national law. If the decedent held Japanese nationality, the national law is Japanese law.

Accordingly, who the heirs are, the amount of each statutory share, and whether there is a reserved portion are all determined under Japan’s Civil Code. The fact that an heir is in China does not change the determination of the scope of the heirs or their statutory shares in any way.

Many people hear “international inheritance” and worry about which country’s law will apply, but if the decedent is Japanese, there is no issue concerning the applicable law. Everything below concerns documents.

2. First Confirm: Did You File a Notification of Moving Abroad?

This is the point most often overlooked.

Seal registration is a system for people who have resident registrations with a municipality in Japan. If you have not filed a notification of moving abroad, your certificate of residence and seal registration remain in place. If you left your resident registration in place because, for example, you are on a short-term assignment, you can authorize family members in Japan to obtain your seal-registration certificate and complete the procedures in exactly the same manner as a person residing in Japan.

The subsequent steps differ depending on whether your resident registration remains in place. If you are unsure of your status, family members in Japan can confirm it at the municipal office.

The explanation below is for people who have removed themselves from the resident register.

3. 2 Certificates to Use Instead of a Seal-Registration Certificate

Japanese nationals can obtain the following certificates from the Embassy or Consulate-General of Japan in China.

Use the signature certificate for an agreement on the division of the estate, and use the certificate of residence when proof of address is required, such as for registration of inherited real estate.

2 Forms of Signature Certificate

• Bound-together format: The certificate is bound together with a document such as an agreement on the division of the estate, certifying that you signed that document
• Standalone format: The certificate is separate from the document and certifies the signature itself (and the fingerprint impression)

Which format to use depends on the recipient. Some recipients require the bound-together format, while others will accept a standalone certificate attached to the document.

The standalone format can be obtained without waiting for the agreement on the division of the estate to be completed.

Matters to Decide Before Going to the Office

• Format: Whether the recipient requires the bound-together or standalone format
• Number of copies required: If there are multiple recipients, obtain them together. If you add copies later, you will have to go in again
• Materials required for the certificate of residence: Materials proving your current address (such as a lease agreement or utility bill), and materials showing when you began living at your current address
• Jurisdiction: You must go to the diplomatic mission with jurisdiction over your area of residence

China is a large country, and there are many areas that are a considerable distance from the Consulate-General with jurisdiction.

4. The Japanese-Side Work Can Be Completed in Japan

When the decedent is Japanese, one advantage is that the work requested of the heir in China can be limited to signing and obtaining certificates.

The work that can be completed in Japan is as follows:

• Collecting the decedent’s family-register records from birth through death
• Preparing an inheritance-relationship diagram and a legal inheritance information chart
• Investigating the assets (inquiries to financial institutions and confirmation of real estate)
• Preparing an agreement on the division of the estate
• Preparing inheritance forms for each financial institution

Using a legal inheritance information chart allows you to have as many copies of the chart as needed issued. Because you can submit them to multiple financial institutions at the same time, you no longer need to mail a bundle of family-register records around in turn, which shortens the overall timeline.

5. Decide How You Will Receive the Assets in Advance

Even if the procedures are complete, they have little meaning if there is no way to receive the assets.

• Refunds of deposits in Japan are, in principle, transferred to an account in Japan
• Confirm whether you still maintain a Japanese account. An account with no activity for a long period may be treated as a dormant deposit
• If you inherit real estate in Japan, you still need to decide how to handle its management, payment of property taxes, and a future sale

The effort involved in receiving the assets differs depending on who inherits which assets.

6. Estimated Timeline

When the decedent is Japanese, the case is relatively easy to advance among international inheritance matters, but even so, allow 4–6 months for the entire process. The actual process builds up as follows.

If there are multiple financial institutions, the final submission and refund stage occurs once for each institution. If there are 3 institutions, handling them in sequence can take more than 2 months.

In cases requiring an inheritance-tax return, all of the above steps must fit within the 10-month deadline. If more than 3 months have already passed since the death when you begin, your leeway is becoming limited.

A typical dead end is for the heir in China to try to collect the Japanese family-register records alone, become stuck at the first stage, and realize that six months have passed.

Services Provided by Our Office

Based in Osaka, Gyoseishoshi Arch Office has handled procedures between Japan and China for more than 15 years. We also communicate directly with heirs living in China.

• Confirming the resident-registration status and first determining whether to proceed using a seal-registration certificate or a signature certificate
• Collecting family-register records in Japan and preparing an inheritance-relationship diagram and legal inheritance information chart
• Preparing an agreement on the division of the estate in a format that allows a bound-together signature certificate to be obtained at the Consulate-General
• Estimating the number of copies of each required certificate
• Supporting account-closure and refund procedures with financial institutions
• Coordinating with a judicial scrivener when inheritance registration is required, and with a tax accountant when an inheritance-tax return is required

Minimizing the effort required of people living in China is how our office approaches these matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can I complete the procedures without returning from China to Japan? A. If the inheritance mainly involves bank deposits, it can often be completed without returning to Japan. You will visit the Consulate-General within China.

Q. How many copies of the signature certificate should I obtain? A. It depends on the number of recipients. Because each financial institution may require an original, we identify the recipients first and then determine the number of copies. Our office estimates the required number of copies in advance.

Q. Is it enough to have the documents notarized at a notary office in China? A. For a Japanese national, using a signature certificate from the Consulate-General is the most reliable approach. The notary-office route is used by heirs who are not Japanese nationals.

Q. The heirs are split between Japan and China. A. The procedures can proceed even when the heirs live in different places. The heir in Japan participates in the same agreement using a seal-registration certificate, while the heir in China participates using a signature certificate, so each uses different documents.

Q. Do I have to pay Japanese inheritance tax if I live in China? A. Assets located in Japan are subject to Japanese inheritance tax regardless of the heir’s address or nationality. A tax accountant must confirm the scope of taxation.

Contact Us

Even when an heir is in China, if the decedent is Japanese, the way to proceed is determined to a considerable extent.

When consulting us, please prepare the decedent’s date of death, the number and locations of the heirs, your resident-registration status, and the types of assets in Japan. We can respond in either Japanese or Chinese.

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