Municipal Office / City Hall

市区町村役場 (shiku chōson yakuba)

The municipal office (市区町村役場, shiku chōson yakuba) is the local government office where residents handle administrative matters including address registration, National Health Insurance enrollment, long-term care insurance, My Number card applications, and family register procedures. For foreign residents, it is the primary administrative entry point in Japan and the required first stop upon arrival for healthcare access.

All foreign residents staying in Japan for more than three months must register their address at the municipal office, which triggers the process of enrolling in the appropriate health insurance plan.

In 9 languages

LanguageTerm
English Municipal Office / City Hall
Japanese (日本語) 市区町村役場
Chinese (中文) 市区町村政府
Korean (한국어) 시구청
Portuguese Prefeitura / Câmara municipal
Spanish Ayuntamiento / Oficina municipal
Filipino Opisina ng munisipyo
Thai สำนักงานเขต / ศาลาว่าการเมือง
Vietnamese Ủy ban nhân dân quận / thành phố
Romanization shiku chōson yakuba
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Last reviewed: September 2026