Guide · rules as of October 2026

When a family member dies in Japan: what to do, and by when

Losing a parent or relative in Japan comes with a long list of procedures, most of them explained only in Japanese. This guide lists them in English, sorted by deadline, including what changes when you, the heir, live outside Japan.

The shortest deadlines

The first few days

Get the medical death certificate and make copies

The hospital gives you the medical death certificate (or a post-mortem certificate after an accident). It is printed on the same sheet as the death registration form. The original is kept when you file it, so make 5–10 copies first; insurers and pension offices often ask for one.

Where: Hospital or doctor

Contact a funeral company and decide on the funeral

Most funeral companies file the death registration and cremation permit for you. Keep every funeral receipt: they are used for the inheritance tax deduction for funeral costs and for the funeral benefit claim.

Legal basis (Japanese): 墓地、埋葬等に関する法律3条

Within 7 days

File the death registration and get the cremation permit

File within 7 days of learning of the death, and apply for the cremation permit at the same time. The funeral company almost always does this for you.

Late filing without good reason: a fine of up to ¥50,000 (Family Register Act art. 137)

Where: City office where they died, their registered domicile (honseki), or where the filer is (a temporary stay counts) · Legal basis (Japanese): 戸籍法86条 Official source

Contact their employer

The employer handles ending health insurance and the resignation. Ask about the final salary, any retirement allowance, condolence payments and group insurance.

Where: Employer's HR department

Within 14 days

Stop the pension payments

The Japan Pension Service asks for this promptly (the legal deadlines are 10 days for Employees' Pension and 14 days for the National Pension). If their My Number is on file with the Japan Pension Service, the notice and proof of death can usually be skipped.

Where: A pension office (nenkin jimusho) · Legal basis (Japanese): 国民年金法・厚生年金保険法の施行規則 Official source

End their National Health Insurance or elderly medical insurance

Coverage ends the day after death. Return their insurance eligibility certificate or card if they had one. Many city offices explain this when the death is registered.

Where: Their city office · Legal basis (Japanese): 国民健康保険法・高齢者の医療の確保に関する法律

End their long-term care insurance

Needed for people 65 or older, or those aged 40–64 who had a care-needs certification. Return the care insurance card.

Where: Their city office · Legal basis (Japanese): 介護保険法

Register a new head of household

Needed when the person was head of household and two or more people remain. Not needed if only one person remains, or if the new head is obvious.

Late filing without good reason: a fine of up to ¥50,000 (Basic Resident Registration Act art. 52)

Where: City office · Legal basis (Japanese): 住民基本台帳法25条 Official source

Soon (aim for 1–2 months)

Find out whether there is a will

Check at home, at the Legal Affairs Bureau (request a certificate on whether a will is stored), and through the notary offices' will search. Whether a will exists changes most of what follows.

Where: Home, Legal Affairs Bureau, notary office Official source

Have a handwritten will examined by the family court (kennin)

A handwritten will must be examined by the family court before it can be used. Wills stored at the Legal Affairs Bureau and notarized wills do not need this.

Opening or using it without this: a fine of up to ¥50,000 (Civil Code art. 1005)

Where: Family court for their last address · Legal basis (Japanese): 民法1004条 Official source

Collect family registers and confirm the heirs

Collect their family registers (koseki) from birth to death, plus the heirs' registers. Since March 2024, the person, spouse, parents and children can request registers from anywhere at a nearby city office counter. With them, you can get a free "statutory heir information list" from the Legal Affairs Bureau, which banks accept instead of the stack of registers.

Where: City office (registers), Legal Affairs Bureau (heir list) Official source

List their assets and debts

List bank accounts, property, shares, insurance and debts. Property: the city's property register (nayosecho). Shares: an inquiry to Japan Securities Depository Center (JASDEC). Debts: disclosure requests to the credit bureaus (CIC, JICC, KSC). You need this to decide within 3 months whether to accept or renounce the inheritance.

Where: City office, JASDEC, credit bureaus, banks Official source

Notify their banks

Once notified, the bank freezes the account and stops withdrawals and direct debits, so move utility payments first. Before the estate is divided, each heir can withdraw a limited amount alone: balance × 1/3 × their legal share, up to ¥1.5 million per bank.

Where: Each bank · Legal basis (Japanese): 民法909条の2 Official source

Cancel or transfer utilities, phone, credit cards and subscriptions

Transfer electricity, gas and water to a new name, and cancel the phone, credit cards and streaming services. Also look for "digital assets" such as online banks and brokerages, and how to unlock their phone.

Where: Each provider

Claim unpaid pension

Pension owed up to the month of death that was not yet paid can be claimed by family who shared living expenses with them, in this order: spouse, children, parents, grandchildren, grandparents, siblings, then other relatives within the third degree.

Where: Pension office · Legal basis (Japanese): 国民年金法19条 Official source

Check whether survivor pension is available

A spouse, child or others who depended on them may qualify for the survivors' basic pension or survivors' employees' pension. For people only in the National Pension, a widow's pension or lump-sum death benefit may apply.

Where: Pension office Official source

Claim the funeral benefit

With National Health Insurance or elderly insurance, claim the funeral benefit (amount set by each city). With employer insurance, claim the burial allowance (¥50,000). The time limit is 2 years.

Where: City office, or the employer's health insurance association Official source

Claim back high medical costs (if they had large medical bills)

If medical bills before death exceeded the monthly cap, the excess is refunded. The insurer may send a notice. Claims expire 2 years from the first day of the month after the treatment month.

Where: Their health insurer

Claim life insurance

The beneficiary claims from the insurer. If you are not sure whether they had a policy, the Life Insurance Association of Japan has a paid search service that tells you whether any policy exists.

Where: Each insurer · Legal basis (Japanese): 保険法95条（時効3年） Official source

Transfer or dispose of their car

Once you decide who inherits it, transfer the registration at the Transport Bureau (light cars: the Light Motor Vehicle Inspection Organization). Ask the insurer about transferring the car insurance.

Where: Transport Bureau · Legal basis (Japanese): 道路運送車両法13条

Get a residence certificate and signature certificate from a Japanese consulate

Japanese-national heirs living abroad (dual nationals included) get a residence certificate (zairyu shomei) as proof of address, and a signature certificate (shomei shomei) instead of a seal certificate, at a Japanese embassy or consulate. Banks, the property registry and the estate division agreement ask for them. Heirs without Japanese nationality usually use a sworn statement before a local notary instead.

Where: Your Japanese embassy or consulate Official source

Request family registers from abroad

The nationwide counter service only works in person in Japan, so from abroad you request registers by mail from the city of the registered domicile. Payment methods differ by city, so check first. Asking family in Japan is another option.

Where: City office of the registered domicile (by mail)

Within 3 months

Register a death that happened outside Japan

If a Japanese national died abroad, register the death within 3 months of learning of it. Usually you need the local death certificate and a Japanese translation, but requirements differ by country and office, so check first.

Where: The Japanese embassy or consulate, or the city office of their registered domicile · Legal basis (Japanese): 戸籍法86条 Official source

Decide whether to accept, renounce or accept the inheritance with limited liability

If debts are large you can renounce the inheritance, or accept it with limited liability (paying debts only up to the value of the assets). Apply to the family court within 3 months of learning that the inheritance began. You can ask the court for more time. Limited acceptance must be done by all heirs together.

Where: Family court for their last address · Legal basis (Japanese): 民法915条 Official source

Within 4 months

File their final income tax return (jun-kakutei shinkoku)

If they would have needed to file a tax return for the income from January 1 to the date of death, the heirs file it within 4 months. It can also bring a refund, for example for medical expenses.

Where: Tax office for their address · Legal basis (Japanese): 所得税法125条 Official source

Appoint a tax representative in Japan (if you live abroad and must file)

People without an address in Japan who must file Japanese tax (inheritance tax, the final return) appoint a tax representative in Japan and notify the tax office. Heirs living abroad can still owe Japanese inheritance tax, depending on the assets and their situation.

Where: Tax office · Legal basis (Japanese): 国税通則法117条 Official source

Within 10 months

Agree on how to divide the estate and sign a division agreement

All heirs agree on the division and sign an estate division agreement with their registered seals. There is no legal deadline, but if inheritance tax is due, aim to finish within 10 months.

File and pay inheritance tax

Needed when the estate exceeds the basic exemption (¥30 million + ¥6 million × number of legal heirs). File and pay within 10 months of learning that the inheritance began. Reliefs such as the spouse deduction only apply if you file.

Where: Tax office for their address · Legal basis (Japanese): 相続税法27条 Official source

Within 3 years

Register the inherited property (souzoku touki)

Since April 2024, registering inherited property is mandatory. Register within 3 years of learning you inherited it. Inheritances before April 2024 are covered too, with a deadline of March 31, 2027 (or 3 years from learning, if later). If heirs have not agreed yet, a simple "heir declaration registration" satisfies the duty for now.

Failing to register without good reason: a fine of up to ¥100,000

Where: Legal Affairs Bureau for the property · Legal basis (Japanese): 不動産登記法76条の2 Official source

When things have settled

Return their passport, driver's license and other IDs

A passport becomes invalid at death; return it to a passport office (you can usually keep it after it is punched). Returning a driver's license is not required but can be done at a police station. Their My Number card stops working once the death is registered.

Legal basis (Japanese): 旅券法18条 Official source

Check the property tax

Property tax is charged to the owner as of January 1. The heirs pay that year's tax. Until the registration is done, the city may ask you to name a representative heir.

Where: City where the property is

Unwanted inherited land can be handed to the state

If you inherited land you do not want, the state can take it under the Inherited Land Return System (since April 27, 2023) if conditions are met. There is a review fee and a charge.

Where: Legal Affairs Bureau Official source

If you live outside Japan

• Residence certificate and signature certificate: Japanese nationals abroad get these at a Japanese embassy or consulate, in place of a resident record and a seal certificate. Bring the estate division agreement unsigned; you sign it in front of the consular officer.
• Heirs without Japanese nationality usually use a sworn statement before a local notary instead. Ask the bank or Legal Affairs Bureau what they accept.
• Family registers (koseki) must be requested by mail from the city of the registered domicile; the nationwide counter service only works in person in Japan.
• Japanese inheritance tax can apply even if you live abroad. If you must file, appoint a tax representative in Japan.
• US taxpayers: report foreign inheritances over $100,000 on Form 3520, and file an FBAR if inherited Japanese accounts push your foreign balances over $10,000.

Official sources

• Family Register Act (Japanese, e-Gov)
• Courts of Japan: renouncing an inheritance (Japanese)
• National Tax Agency: inheritance tax filing (Japanese)
• Ministry of Justice: mandatory property registration (Japanese)
• IRS: About Form 3520

Atonokoto is an independent information site, not affiliated with any government. General information only, not legal or tax advice.