"The World and Japan" Database (Project Leader: TANAKA Akihiko)
Database of Japanese Politics and International Relations
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), The University of Tokyo

[Title] Agreement on the Legal Status and Treatment of Nationals of the Republic of Korea Residing in Japan between Japan and the Republic of Korea.

[Place] Tokyo
[Date] June 22, 1965
[Source] United Nations Treaty Collection
[Notes] Quote from the United Nations Treaty Collection: "Translation by the Government of Japan. The Secretariat also received an English translation of this agreement from the Government of Republic of Korea which on certain points differs from that provided by the Government of Japan. At the request of the Government of Republic of Korea, these differences have been shown by printing in italics the pertinent word of phrase in the translation of the Government of Japan and providing in square brackets the corresponding expression in the translation by the Government of the Republic of Korea."
[Full text]

Japan and the Republic of Korea,

Considering that nationals of the Republic of Korea residing in Japan for many years have come to have special relations with Japanese society; and

Recognizing that enabling these nationals of the Republic of Korea to lead a stabilized life under the social order of Japan will contribute to the promotion of friendly relations between the two countries and their peoples;

Have agreed as follows:

Article I

1. The Government of Japan shall give permission for permanent residence in Japan to a national of the Republic of Korea falling under either of the following categories, if he applies for such permission within five years from the date of the entry into force of the present Agreement in accordance with the procedure to be established by the Government of Japan for the implementation of the present Agreement:

(a) A person residing in Japan since August 15, 1945, or a date prior thereto, continuously until the time of his application; or

(b) A person born in Japan on or after August 16, 1945 and before the period of five years from the date of the entry into force of the present Agreement expires, as a lineal descendant of a person falling under (a) above, and residing in Japan continuously until the time of his application.

2. The Government of Japan shall give permission for permanent residence in Japan to a national of the Republic of Korea who is born in Japan after the lapse of five years from the date of the entry into force of the present Agreement as a child of a person who is given permission for permanent residence in Japan in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 above, if such child applies for such permission within sixty days from the date of birth in accordance with the procedure to be established by the Government of Japan for the implementation of the present Agreement.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 above, the application period for permission for permanent residence shall be sixty days from the date of birth in the case of a person who falls under paragraph 1 (b) above and is born after the lapse of four years and ten months from the date of the entry into force of the present Agreement.

4. No fee shall be levied for the above-mentioned applications and permissions.

Article II

1. With respect to the residence in Japan of the nationals of the Republic of Korea born in Japan as lineal descendants of the persons who are given permission for permanent residence in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I, the Government of Japan agrees, if requested by the Government of the Republic of Korea, to holding consultations until twenty-five years will have elapsed [by the lapse of twenty-five years] from the date of the entry into force of the present Agreement.

2. In the consultations under the preceding paragraph, the spirit and purposes which form the basis of the present Agreement shall be respected.

Article III

A national of the Republic of Korea who is given permission for permanent residence in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I shall not be deported from Japan unless he comes to fall under any of the following categories by his act [acts] committed on or after the date of the entry into force of the present Agreement:

(a) A person who, for crimes concerning insurrection or crimes concerning foreign aggression, is sentenced in Japan to imprisonment or to a heavier punishment (except a person who is granted the suspension of execution of such sentence or who is sentenced for reasons of responding to an agitation or following the lead of another in an insurrection);

(b) A person who, for crimes concerning foreign relations, is sentenced in Japan to imprisonment or to a heavier punishment, or a person who, for his criminal acts committed against the head of a foreign state, a diplomatic envoy or his official premises, is sentenced to imprisonment or to a heavier punishment and thereby prejudice vital interests of Japan in its foreign relations;

(c) A person who, by violating the laws and regulations in Japan concerning control of narcotics with profitmaking intents, is sentenced to penal servitude or imprisonment for life or for not less than three years (except a person who is granted the suspension of execution of such sentence), or a person who, by violating the laws and regulations in Japan concerning control of narcotics, is sentenced to penalties not less than three times (twice in the case of a person who was sentenced to penalties not less than three times by his acts committed prior to the date of the entry into force of the present Agreement); or

(d) A person who, by violating the laws and regulations in Japan, is sentenced to penal servitude or to imprisonment for life or for more than seven years.

Article IV

The Government of Japan shall pay due consideration to the following matters:

(a) Matters concerning education, livelihood protection and national health insurance in Japan for the nationals of the Republic of Korea who are given permission for permanent residence in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I; and

(b) Matters concerning taking property with them and remitting funds to the Republic of Korea in the event that nationals of the Republic of Korea, who are given permission for permanent residence in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I (including persons who are qualified to apply for permission for permanent residence in accordance with the provisions of the said Article), renounce their intention of residing permanently in Japan and return to the Republic of Korea.

Article V

It is confirmed that, with regard to all matters, including entry into and exit from Japan and residence in Japan, the nationals of the Republic of Korea who are given permission for permanent residence in Japan in accordance with the provisions of Article I shall be subject, unless specifically provided for in the present Agreement, to the laws and regulations in Japan applicable equally to all aliens.

Article VI

The present Agreement shall be ratified. The instruments of ratification shall be exchanged at Seoul as soon as possible. The present Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the exchange of the instruments of ratification.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Agreement.

DONE in duplicate at Tokyo, in the Japanese and Korean languages, both being equally authentic, this twenty-second day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-five.

For Japan:

Etsusaburo SHIINA

Shinichi TAKASUGI

For the Republic of Korea:

TONG WON LEE

DONG JO KIM