Certified translation of Japanese death certificates

Which document is the "official death certificate"

Which document an institution means by an official death certificate depends on the institution. For deaths in Japan, the UK government's guidance identifies the Japanese death certificate as the certified copy of the death notification (shibo todoke kisai jiko shomeisho). It can be requested after the death notification (shibo todoke) has been filed with the city, ward, or town office together with the physician's death certificate (shibo shindansho) or the post-mortem report (shitai kenansho). Deaths are also recorded in the Japanese family register, and some foreign authorities accept a koseki copy showing the death entry, or a certificate of acceptance of the death notification (juri shomeisho), in place of the medical certificate. If you are uncertain which record your authority requires, send your file through our order form and we will identify it before issuing a quote.

Source: GOV.UK, What to do after a British person dies in Japan. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Handwritten sections

The medical sections of a shibo shindansho are frequently written by hand. They are translated like the printed parts. If a passage is genuinely illegible, it is marked as illegible in the translation rather than guessed, so the translation records the state of the original.

How much does a death certificate translation cost?

Translation costs $24.95 per original page, which includes our signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy and standard delivery within 48 hours. Because most death certificates consist of a single page, the total is usually $24.95. If you are also submitting an accompanying koseki extract, it is billed per page of the register. You can review our complete fee structure and sample order totals on our pricing page.