Taipei: The Taiwan government on Monday expressed gratitude to Japan for permitting Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their nationality as "Taiwan" in the official family record database, instead of the previous requirement to select "China."

According to Focus Taiwan, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung highlighted that the new rule, which will take effect in May, will "correctly" identify Taiwanese people in Japan and help protect their rights. This development was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) following a report by Japanese media organization Nikkei Asia earlier on Monday.

The English-language report by Nikkei detailed that under the current system, the nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is recorded in the spouse's family registry. The existing rule, which categorized Taiwanese individuals as being from China, has been in effect since 1964.

Starting in May, the registry's nationality entry for non-Japanese will be expanded to "nationality/region," allowing Taiwanese individuals to choose Taiwan over China. The report also mentioned that Taiwanese individuals already registered as being from China will have the option to change their nationality to Taiwan.

Taiwan government statistics indicate that approximately 800 to 1,000 Taiwanese people marry a Japanese national each year. According to MOFA, Taiwanese expats in Japan have long advocated for a change in the registration system. Their persistent efforts, combined with the support of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council-a cross-party group in the Japanese Diet dedicated to enhancing Taipei-Tokyo relations-have led to the Japanese government's agreement to this change.

The last similar adjustment by Japan allowing Taiwanese living in Japan to list their nationality as Taiwan occurred in 2012 on residence cards issued to long-term foreign residents.