DESK REVIEW ON POPULATIONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS PNLSC also noted that the number of “denied” cases are few in the end and includes cases that the organization can appeal or re-apply. PNLSC notes that many such cases are subsequently granted. The organization suggests that it often depends on the judge because some are more flexible than others. There is a tendency to deny cases when they cannot produce a marriage or birth certificate. Cases Filed Approved Pending Withdrawn Denied 315* 249 6 30 30 *315 is the number of cases, not the number of persons. C.10.b. Family Court (katei saibansho【家庭裁判所】) There are generally two ways for a person of Japanese descent in Japan to pursue resolution of their situation under Japanese law: (1) shuuseki, which is an application to the family court to create a new registration in the koseki for an unregistered person; and (2) kokuseki kakunin soshi, which is an application to the Family Court to confirm nationality. The latter is much more difficult and success is unlikely, whereas the former is easier with a higher success rate. Every Chinese and Philippine War Orphan case has been brought as a shuuseki application. Shuuseki: Application to the Family Court for Registration of an Unregistered Person Shuuseki (しゅうせき 【就籍】) is a procedure by which unregistered persons who have failed to register their birth, or who have missed out on their family register, should be registered and listed in their koseki. The legal procedure for creating a koseki is before the Family Court (katei saibansho【家庭裁判所】). It is a non-adversarial procedure, with no opposing lawyer; it is simply a hearing before a judge.240 Under Article 110 of the Family Register Act, “[a] person who has no registered domicile shall obtain the permission of the family court and submit a notification for the registration of an unregistered person…”241 The procedure allows a person to request the Family Court to make an entry into the family registry when they are not listed even though they have Japanese nationality. “The family court grants permission for creation of a family register, if it is found through the court proceedings that the concerned person without a family register is a Japanese national, and that he or she is found to be ‘a person who has no registered domicile’ as provided in Article 110 (1) of the Family Register Act.”242 After approval by the court, the person may approach the Municipal Office with the Court judgement and will be permitted to create an entry in the koseki. See: Ministry of Justice, “Mukosekino Kataga Mizukarawo Kosekini Kisaisurutameno Tetsudukitounitsuite [Procedures to Register Oneself in the Family Register],” at http://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/minji04_00047.html#q3-6. (Japanese Only). 240 241 Japan, 戸籍法 (Family Register Act), Act No. 224 of 22 December 1947. 242 UNHCR, Typology of Stateless Persons in Japan, December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5bb618b74.html. UNHCR / April 2021 81