People will be able to continue using personal seals on marriage registration forms and divorce papers if they choose to do so, despite the recent announcement by the Justice Ministry to abolish the procedure.
The continuation of the practice is the government's response to strong public sentiment by those who wish to stamp their seals on their documents for milestone events.
In October last year, the ministry announced an end to the use of personal seals in administrative procedures, including marriage and divorce registrations, as part of the government's efforts for digitization. Currently, the Diet is holding deliberations over bills related to digital reform, which will change marriage and divorce documents so they will only require signatures.
However, after the announcement, the ministry heard many dissenting voices from those saying, "I want to be able to stamp my seal on my marriage registration document," and "Using seals on important documents has been a tradition since the Meiji era [1868-1912]."
The ministry then reversed its decision and said it would allow submitters to use their seals on those documents if they wished to do so.
Once the bills are enacted, the ministry is planning to have its Civil Affairs Bureau notify people that they can use their personal seals if they choose to. The ministry is also considering changing the standard format of those registration forms and publicizing the decision on the ministry's website.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
