Japan Know How archive
Japanese Eras
Japanese documents do not use one consistent calendar. Follow the same date across a driver’s license, residence card and family register to see where Western years appear, where era conversion is required and how copying a date literally can create a form error.
Your Name in Japanese
Japan’s residence card normally follows the name in your passport and prints it in Latin letters. Kanji can be added only when officially documented, while a commonly used alias belongs to the resident-record system and requires evidence of real-world use.
Your Name in Japanese
Residence card, bank, hotel, tickets: which field wants romaji, which wants katakana, and what happens when your two spellings stop matching.
