Translation guide
A unique number assigned to citizens or residents for identification purposes. In Japan, the most common equivalent is the マイナンバー (My Number), a 12-digit social security and tax number. Other terms exist for specific contexts like foreign resident cards or driver's licenses.
マイナンバーは何ですか？
What is your national identity number? (in Japan)
Use マイナンバー for Japan's My Number system.
The 12-digit individual number used for social security, tax, and disaster relief in Japan.
The official name for Japan's individual identification number system. Commonly used in everyday conversation and official contexts.
マイナンバーを教えてください。
Please tell me your My Number.
マイナンバーカードを持っていますか？
Do you have a My Number card?
The formal legal term for the My Number. Used in official documents and laws.
個人番号は12桁の数字です。
The individual number is a 12-digit number.
An 11-digit resident record code used for administrative purposes. Not the same as My Number, but sometimes confused. Rarely needed by learners.
住民票コードはマイナンバーとは異なります。
The resident record code is different from the My Number.
The number on a residence card for foreign nationals living in Japan.
The number printed on the Residence Card (在留カード) issued to mid-to-long-term foreign residents.
在留カード番号を記入してください。
Please fill in your residence card number.
The old alien registration number, replaced by the residence card system in 2012. Still appears on some older documents.
以前は外国人登録番号が使われていました。
Previously, the alien registration number was used.
The number on a Japanese driver's license, often used as identification.
The license number on a Japanese driver's license. Commonly used as ID in daily life.
運転免許証番号を控えておいてください。
Please make a note of your driver's license number.
Referring to a national identity number from a country other than Japan.
To refer to another country's national ID number, combine the country name with a generic term like 国民識別番号 or simply use the English term in katakana.
アメリカのソーシャルセキュリティーナンバー
US Social Security number
韓国の住民登録番号
South Korean resident registration number
A generic term for national identification number, usable for any country.
国民識別番号制度は国によって異なります。
National identification number systems vary by country.
マイナンバー is the common term used in daily life and on the card. 個人番号 is the formal legal term found in official documents. They refer to the same number.
マイナンバーは個人番号の通称です。
My Number is the common name for the individual number.
The 住民票コード (resident record code) is a separate 11-digit number used for resident registry administration. It is not the same as マイナンバー and is rarely needed in daily life.