Notification of a death
When a death occurs, the city, ward, town or village office should be notified.  Foreign nationals living in Japan should make a notification of a death that occurred in Japan in accordance with the Family Register Law.
In addition to notification of the death, the deceased person’s Certificate of Alien Registration (gaikokujin toroku shomei sho) should be returned to the city, ward, town or village office (preferably at the same time as notification of the death if possible).
The death should also be reported to the government of the deceased’s nationality.  For information on procedures, enquire at the relevant embassy or consulate.

(1)    Period of notification: Within 7 days of being notified of the death. Make the notification before cremation.
(2)    Notification applicant: A family member of cohabitant
(3)    Place of notification: The city, ward, town or village office of either the place of death or the address of the deceased
(4)    Require documents:
1.    Notification of a Death Form (shibo todoke sho)
This is available at city, ward, town or village offices and from some hospitals.
2.    Doctor’s Certificate of Death (shibo shindan sho)
This is a Notification of a Death Form (shibo todoke sho) with a doctor’s certification of the death received at the time of the death.
3.    Notification applicant’s seal (inkan)
Those who do have a seal may use their signature.

Note 1    The authorities responsible for applications, procedures, services and the naming of these may vary according to the city, ward, town or village.
         For details, ask a person who understands Japanese to enquire for you at your city, ward, town or village office.

Note 2    The information given is that confirmed as of July 2002. Note that a new system or system revisions may have been introduced after this date.

This information is from the CLAIR website. The Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) was established in July 1988 in response to rising concerns about local level internationalization in Japan.