4 Concluding Remarks A trend in international society is clearly emerging towards the prevention of statelessness and the decrease in numbers of stateless individuals. Solutions for the problem in recent years requires not only regulating State jurisdictions but also addressing concerns for human rights protection. I would like to conclude this study by summing up the problems with regard to statelessness observed in Japan and making some proposals. Firstly, many countries including Japan have problems in the statelessness determination process. Lack of a common international procedural standard such as that for determining Convention refugee status has been a major obstacle in this regard. In the alien registration procedure, recognition of statelessness is usually made based on documents, interviews, or testimonies. However, a systematic means to verify the nature of “statelessness” itself does not exist. The designation of nationality/statelessness is essentially self-reported. Non-accession to relevant international treaties plays a part in the absence of a clear consensus on the concept of statelessness per se. In a complicated case, accurate information about the individual can be difficult to obtain under the circumstances, resulting in incorrect entries on the alien registration and at worst a misapplication of the Nationality Act Japanese administrative and judicial organs are authorized to determine the nationality of individuals using information from alien registration as evidence.158 This being the case, the nationality on the original alien registration entry must be all the more genuine. In Japan, the determination of nationality is carried out only when processes such as alien registration or naturalization are applied for; these processes are not integrated within Japanese government bodies. Each competent government agency or bureau separately determines whether an applicant is stateless under the framework set by the laws that they work under, such as the Alien Registration Act or the Nationality Act. Given the gravity of the consequences, determination of the nationality of an individual must be made with accuracy. Above all, the determination of statelessness should be made through well-refined integrated methods as opposed to the uncoordinated fragmented ones currently in operation. For that purpose, in line with international 158 Kidana, supra note 3, p.55. 59