Man, I hope someone on fg knows something about legal matters in Japan. Please speak up if you do! But to be honest I'd be super surprised if anyone can understand what the hell the Japanese consulate in Chicago is telling us.
Here's the deal... let's say my wife's name is Shizuko Yamada, and I am Ben Smith. We just had a daughter, her name is Keiko Yamada Smith, meaning her middle name is my wife's last name. We live in the US and she already has her social security number, birth certificate, yadda yadda.
We have to register her paper in Japan within 3 months of her birth so that she has the option of retaining Japanese citizenship until she is 22 yrs old. Before doing this, my wife and I have to register in Japan as being married (we've been married for >5 years). Marriage registration requires updating my wife's koseiki tohon, which we have done. However, since she kept her last name, she is for some reason listed as "head of the household" on the koseiki.
Anyway, now to register our daughter, she has to have the same last name as the "head of the household" on the koseiki tohon. This means that the consulate general of Japan in Chicago is telling us that in the USA and all other countries of the world, my daughter's name will be Keiko Yamada Smith, but in Japan, it will officially be Keiko Yamada (and we can put whatever we want as the middle name).
This seems waaaay wrong to me. How is it possible she has two different legally-binding names? I can't image going through customs with a Japanese permanent residency card with one name and a US passport with another name.
Has anyone ever heard of such a bizarre situation? I understand that in Japan couples must have the same last name, but that is not true if the Japanese citizen is married to a gaijin.