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The Justice Ministry said Monday it will allow Taiwanese who marry a Japanese to list the individual's place of origin as Taiwan, instead of China, in Japan's family registry system, a move that has been welcomed by the self-ruled island but has triggered opposition from Beijing.

When a Japanese marries a foreigner, the family register currently records the spouse's nationality along with his or her name and other information.

What was written in the nationality field was in principle the name of a country, leading people from Taiwan to be described as being from China.

But the ministry has decided to change an ordinance to add "region" to the current "nationality" entry of the family registry, in a sign of greater consideration for identity. The move brings it in line with Japan's residence registry and certificates for medium to long-term foreign residents that already have a similar system.

When a person from Taiwan was naturalized to Japanese, his or her register read that their country of origin was China. This will also be changed.
The revised system will be introduced from May, the ministry said, noting that it will also be applied in cases prior to the implementation of the ordinance revision if requests are submitted.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung expressed gratitude to what he called "the long-term efforts made by various actors in Japan."

The democratic island "believes that the rights and interests of overseas Taiwanese in Japan will be further protected through the correct descriptions on Japanese family registers," Lin said in a statement.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, meanwhile, criticized the move, saying that Taiwan "is an inalienable part of China's territory."
"The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair that brooks no foreign interference," he said.

The Japanese ministry has decided on the latest change partly to avoid any confusion associated with marriage or a divorce between Japanese and foreigners that could involve not only Japanese law but the law of the country or region of the other individual.

There have also been calls on the ministry to accept the listing of Taiwan in the registry as the recording of Palestine has been allowed as an exceptional measure.

In a joint communique with China in 1972, Japan acknowledged the People's Republic of China as China's sole legitimate government and severed ties with Taiwan.

Following the normalization of diplomaticties between the two countries that year, Japan has taken the stance of respecting China's claim on Taiwan as part of its territory, while also maintaining nongovernmental working relations with the island.