The "Japan-Taiwan Friendship Parliamentarians Alliance", a cross-party parliamentary group for Taiwan-friendly Japan, announced today that the Japanese government has completed adjustments to the relevant system of national qualifications administered by various ministries. Starting from October, 322 national qualification certificates for doctors, nurses and other professionals have completely removed the restriction that nationality can only be filled in with the name of the country, allowing Taiwanese to openly mark "Taiwan" on the certificates.
When the new system comes into effect, the fields that originally only allowed "nationality" to be filled in will be changed to "nationality, etc." or "nationality, region." Some qualifications will directly delete the relevant fields. This reform covers Japan's 322 national qualifications and solves the problem that Taiwanese professionals have been forced to register as "Chinese" on their certificates for many years. Taiwanese doctor Nakazato Noriwen, who once had to use a sticker to cover the word "China" on his ID card, said with emotion that after years of hard work, he could finally make his ID card consistent with his identity. "I am really relieved and very happy."
The Japan-Taiwan Friendship Parliamentary Federation held a meeting of the "Task Force on the Presentation of Country Names in Household Registration and Other Documents" at the House of Representatives Hall today, and invited Taiwanese overseas representatives to attend. Chairman Keiji Furuya said that this reform is an important progress in Taiwan-Japan relations, but the application method and local administrative procedures still need to be improved. The task force of the Parliamentarian Alliance will continue to operate until all Taiwanese people can successfully mark "Taiwan" on their national qualification certificates.
Senator Hirofumi Takiami, who serves as the chairman of the task force, recalled that this reform began in 2022 when Taiwanese people petitioned the parliamentary alliance, hoping that "Taiwan" could be recorded in Japanese household registrations. The parliamentary alliance then set up a task force to first push the Ministry of Justice to amend relevant provincial orders, and in May last year, the Taiwanese name in the household registration and nationality column was rectified. Then, it coordinated with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and other relevant ministries to finally complete the reform of national qualification certificates.
Takibo pointed out that the correction procedures for medical licenses and other certificates are handled by administrative agencies such as local health centers. In the past, when household registration was corrected, local personnel did not understand the new regulations. Therefore, this time, the central government is specifically requested to notify the front-line window. He also hopes that the application deadline will not be set, so that Taiwanese who only learn the news later can also apply for correction.
For Taiwanese doctors who have been practicing in Japan for a long time, this reform is of even greater significance. Nakazato Norimon said that in the past, because his ID card said "China", he could only make his own stickers with "Taiwan" written on them and put them on top of the words "China". When Japanese patients see the license, they often ask him in confusion, "Didn't you say you are Taiwanese? Why does it say Chinese on the license?"
Zhongli said that the inconsistency between certificates and identity has caused a lot of trouble for a long time. Now that Taiwan can finally be officially labeled, he feels at ease. He said that he started participating in related activities of the Parliamentarian Alliance task force four years ago, and he was very moved when he finally saw the results today. He estimates that there are about 2,000 Taiwanese medical professionals who have obtained national qualifications in Japan.
Another Taiwanese doctor, Shiying Hiruchi, who has been in Japan for 47 years, also shared his personal experience. He said that when he entered a Japanese national university, the certificate issued by the school said "Taiwan", but after passing the Japanese national examination the next year, the professional certificate he obtained changed to "China", which puzzled him.
Hironei said that Taiwan and China have different cultures and living habits, but in the past, due to problems with identification on licenses, they were often mistaken for Chinese, which even affected their identity in the workplace. He highly affirmed this reform of the Japanese government and believed that it was a major progress in Japan's administrative system. He also thanked the Japanese parliamentarians, relevant medical groups and the Taiwan Representative Office in Japan for their long-term assistance.
Li Yiyang, the representative in Japan, said that many Taiwanese people with professional knowledge and skills work and live in Japan and have made long-term contributions to Japanese society, but they are ultimately unable to correctly indicate their place of origin on national qualification certificates. Now that this long-standing wish has finally come true, it symbolizes a big step forward in protecting the rights and interests of Taiwanese people in Japan. He also expressed his gratitude to Keiji Furuya, Hirofumi Takami and all Japanese people from all walks of life who participated in the promotion.
