住民
じゅうみん
juumin
= resident; inhabitant; local resident
住民 (juumin) means resident or inhabitant — specifically someone who lives in a particular place. Unlike 国民 (kokumin — citizen/national, defined by nationality), juumin is defined by where you live. This distinction matters enormously in Japan’s administrative system: juumin registration (住民登録, juumin touroku) is required for accessing local government services, and your juusho (住所 — registered address) determines which municipality provides your healthcare, tax administration, and public services.
Juumin (住民) refers to residents of a particular place — a city, town, ward, or area. Usage: 地域住民 (chiiki juumin — local residents), 住民票 (juumin-hyou — certificate of residence), 住民登録 (juumin touroku — resident registration), 住民税 (juumin-zei — resident tax / inhabitant tax), 外国人住民 (gaikokujin juumin — foreign residents). Related: 居住者 (kyojuusha — occupant/resident, more legal/technical), 在住 (zaijuu — residing in: 東京在住 — residing in Tokyo). Note: foreign nationals living in Japan are also 住民 for administrative purposes and must register their address.
In Japan, 住民票 (juumin-hyou — certificate of residence) is one of the most important administrative documents. It confirms your registered address and is required for countless procedures: opening a bank account, registering a vehicle, enrolling children in school, applying for health insurance, and more. Foreign residents (including long-term visa holders) must also register their 住所 (juusho — address) at their local 市区町村 (shikuchouson — municipal office) within 14 days of moving. Failure to do so is a legal violation.
住民 (juumin) combines 住 (juu/sumu — to live, to reside, residence) + 民 (min/tami — people, folk). 住 appears in 住所 (juusho — address), 居住 (kyojuu — residence/habitation), 住宅 (juutaku — housing, dwelling). The 住 kanji features the person radical (亻) alongside 主 (nushi — master), suggesting ‘where a person is established.’ Together with 民: the people who are established in a place.
Everyday use
住民税の納付書が届いた。今月は出費が多い。
Juumin-zei no noufu-sho ga todoita. Kongetsu wa shuppi ga ooi.
The resident tax payment notice arrived. There are a lot of expenses this month.
Casual / Social Media
引越し完了！住民票の移動、忘れないうちにやらなきゃ
Hikkoshi kanryou! Juumin-hyou no idou, wasurenai uchi ni yaranaakya
Moving done! I need to transfer my residence registration before I forget
Formal / Cultural context
住民基本台帳制度は日本の地方自治体が住民の氏名・住所・生年月日等を一元管理するデータベース体系であり、住民票・住民税・国民健康保険等の行政サービスの基盤となるとともに、マイナンバー制度との連携により行政手続きのデジタル化が進んでいる。
Juumin kihon daichou seido wa Nihon no chihou jichitai ga juumin no shimei juusho seinengappi-tou wo ichigen kanri suru deetabesu taikei de ari, juumin-hyou juumin-zei kokumin kenkou hoken-tou no gyousei saabisu no kiban to naru to tomo ni, Mainanba seido to no renkei ni yori gyousei tetsuzuki no dejitaruka ga susunde iru.
The Basic Resident Registry system is a database framework in which Japanese local governments centrally manage residents’ names, addresses, dates of birth, etc., serving as the foundation for administrative services such as certificates of residence, resident tax, and national health insurance, while digitization of administrative procedures advances through coordination with the My Number system.
Japan’s juumin registration system (住民登録) is the backbone of local government services. When you move to a new city or ward in Japan, one of the first tasks is visiting the 市区町村役所 (shikuchouson yakusho — municipal office) to register your new address and receive a 住民票 (juumin-hyou — certificate of residence). This single document becomes the proof of your local existence, required for almost every administrative procedure. The system is highly organized — each person belongs to exactly one municipality’s juumin records.
住民税 (juumin-zei — resident tax) is a significant deduction from Japanese salaries, calculated as a percentage of the previous year’s income and split between prefectural and municipal portions. Salaried workers have it deducted automatically via 特別徴収 (tokubetsu choushu — special collection by employer); self-employed and freelance workers pay it themselves in quarterly installments. New residents in Japan are often surprised to receive a large juumin-zei bill in their second year — the first year is often untaxed at local level because there’s no prior-year income record in the municipality.
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