international law, these administrative practices of the Japanese government have been the target of strong criticism.155 In principle, passports of the Republic of Korea are issued to those who are officially registered as Nationals Abroad and are listed in the Family Registry. It is a substantial requirement for the issuance of a passport that the entry in the Japanese Alien Registration be changed to “Kankoku” at the time of registration as Nationals Abroad. Resident Koreans whose entry in the Alien Registration states “Chosen” may still enter the Republic of Korea with a travel document issued by the government of ROK. On the other hand, passports of the DPRK have been issued through the General Association of Korean Residents not only to Koreans whose entry in the Alien Registration is “Chosen” but also to a considerable number of those whose entry is “Kankoku”. Resident Koreans are not considered stateless because they are covered simultaneously by nationality laws of ROK and DPRK and are to be protected as nationals abroad as necessary. While some Koreans residing in Japan may not have been naturalized to acquire Japanese nationality or approached any of the Korean authorities yet, it appears that they would be able to obtain protection from the authorities through necessary procedures and therefore are not in a situation of statelessness. Resident Taiwanese On September 29, 1972, switching its diplomatic position, Japan recognized the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) instead of the government of Taiwan as the official Chinese government. As is the case for resident Koreans, the Japanese government has applied the nationality law of the PRC for nationality matters regarding all Chinese residents. Passports issued by the government in Taiwan were not valid in Japan, but due to enhanced relations between the two, as of 1996, such passports have been regarded as a valid passport for immigration control and refugee recognition purposes. 155 Kidana, supra note 3, p.390. The Japan Federation of Bar Association has recommended the Minister of Justice to rectify the violation of the freedom to renounce nationality. Japan has not recognized the DPRK, so the Japanese government rejects applications to renounce Japanese nationality when the subject has naturalized to DPRK. http://www/nichibenren.or.jp/ja/opinion/hr_case/2003.html 57