112 Japanese List Dokdo as Their Registered Domicile, a Provocation... 4.3 Times Increase in 20 Years

[Financial News] As of the end of last year, 112 Japanese nationals had recorded Dokdo as their registered domicile in Japan’s family registry system. This figure is 4.3 times higher than the 26 people reported by the government in 2005, twenty years earlier. The increase appears to be significantly influenced by a "registered domicile relocation" campaign led mainly by far-right groups in Japan.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 23rd, data compiled by Okinoshima Town in Shimane Prefecture show that the number of Japanese who reported Dokdo as their registered domicile stood at 124 at the end of 2021, 121 at the end of 2022, 119 at the end of 2023, and 122 at the end of 2024. Although the number dipped slightly to 112 at the end of last year, it has remained around the 120 mark for several years.
Japanese citizens are able to list Dokdo in their family registry because Japan claims Dokdo as its own territory, and under Japan’s family registry law, nationals can move their registered domicile to any location within Japan.
For example, Kazuhisa Hamaguchi, a specially appointed professor at Takushoku University, moved his registered domicile to Dokdo in March 2004. At the time, he claimed, "I wanted to make the public aware of Takeshima, Japan’s name for Dokdo, and of territorial issues."
When he later moved his registered domicile back to Tokyo, he argued, "There were people who changed their registered domicile after seeing my case," and, "I have fulfilled my role."
He also criticized the Japanese government for sending a vice-minister-level official, instead of a cabinet minister, to the "Takeshima Day" event the previous day, calling it "regrettable" and demanding a stronger external message, reflecting the rightward shift in Japan’s conservative circles.
whywani@fnnews.com Hong Chae-wan Reporter