Australian Embassy Notarial Services in Japan and MOFA Apostille: Passport Copies, Koseki Translation and Our Service

When you go to Australia and apply for a visa or similar, you may be asked to submit your Japanese family register (koseki), and Australian superannuation funds sometimes ask for a certified copy of your passport. In most cases Japanese official documents are not accepted by Australian receiving authorities as they are. You may be told to "attach an apostille from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)" or to "have it certified at the Australian Embassy in Japan". Which one you need is decided by the receiving authority's instructions.

Notarial services at the Australian Embassy in Japan (as of October 2026)

The Australian Embassy in Tokyo and the Australian Consulate-General in Osaka provide notarial services (authentication of signatures and seals, certified copies of documents, etc.) for people in Japan. The key points of the embassy's notarial services page are as follows.

• Visits by appointment only: book online; you cannot enter without an appointment. Photo ID is required, and each appointment is for one person.
• Mail recommended: because appointments are limited, the embassy encourages applying by mail wherever possible.
• Services available by mail: limited to certified copies of originals (listed on the English-language page), authentications of signatures and seals or apostilles (paper originals only), and certificates of no impediment to marriage (conditions apply). Note that apostilles on Japanese public documents are issued by Japan's MOFA (Australia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention).
• What to send by mail: the application form, checklist and credit card authorization form, a stamped, self-addressed registered-mail return envelope, and the documents on the checklist. Documents are returned within about 2–5 days of receipt, excluding closure days.
• Not available from abroad: mail applications from outside Japan are not accepted. Applications from the Tokyo jurisdiction go to the embassy, and those from the Osaka jurisdiction go to the Consulate-General in Osaka.
• No guarantee of content: the embassy states that it does not guarantee the legal effect or accuracy of the content of documents it certifies.

If an Australian superannuation fund, bank or similar asks for a certified copy of your passport, besides the embassy's notarial services you can have a declaration certified at a Japanese notary office and then obtain MOFA's apostille (see Passport copies: notarization and apostille). Check with the receiving authority which it needs.

Sources: Australian Embassy in Japan, notarial services page (Japanese) https://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyojapanese/notarial_jp.html and "Notarial Services" (English) https://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyo/notarial.html (both checked on 15 October 2026)

Australia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention

Because Australia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents), receiving authorities may require an apostille from Japan's MOFA.

Jurisdiction of the Australian Embassy in Tokyo

The Australian Embassy in Tokyo handles consular services only for the following prefectures:

Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Yamanashi, Niigata, Nagano, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Aichi, Gifu, Shizuoka, Mie and Hokkaido

Jurisdictions may change, so check the latest information on the Australian Embassy's page: https://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyojapanese/location_access_jp.html

Applying for certification or certified copies at the Australian Embassy

Applications are made at the Australian Embassy in Mita 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo.

Address: 2-1-14 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8361

The nearest station is Azabu-juban, about 6 minutes' walk.

Appointments and payment at the Australian Embassy

You must book an appointment online before visiting the Australian Embassy; you cannot apply by simply turning up.

Embassy fees can be paid by card only (no cash). At the Australian Embassy in Tokyo you can use VISA, Mastercard (credit or debit) and American Express, and payment is in Australian dollars. At the Australian Consulate-General in Osaka, JCB is also accepted and payment is in Japanese yen (embassy "Fees and Payments" page, checked October 2026).

Our service fees for Australia

For the apostille-only service, see Fees. Because the total cost can be hard to work out, contact us first and we will give you a free quote for the total cost and turnaround. Credit card payment is available.

English translation and apostille of the koseki (for Australian visa applications)

See Family register (koseki): apostille, English translation and notarization for how to obtain, translate and apostille the koseki.

Certification of documents for Australian visas, bank accounts and superannuation

NAATI certified translations are also available (we arrange them through a NAATI translation provider)

Our office is close to the Australian Embassy (about 9 minutes' walk), notary offices and MOFA, so we can obtain certifications for documents going to Australia quickly.

Documents submitted in Australia may also require English translations of Japanese public documents. For Australian banks (such as NAB), people often submit English translations of their passport, driver's license and utility bills.

Going to the Australian Embassy yourself to apply and then collect the documents takes time and travel costs, and once you include preparing documents and translations, it usually cannot be finished in one day. If the documents are not properly certified, you may be unable to complete your procedure after arriving in Australia.

• Email inquiries are accepted 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
• Payment by credit card, bank transfer or PayPal
• We do not make pushy sales calls, and you are under no obligation to request our service after receiving a quote
• Administrative scriveners are bound by a legal duty of confidentiality

Royal Partners Administrative Scrivener Office, 2-19-4-506 Azabu-juban, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0045, Japan