"In Japan, every person has a family register that is kept in local town halls and that, with some extrapolation, reveals ancestral birthplaces."
Source:Japan's outsiders waiting to break in
By Norimitsu Onishi
Friday, January 16, 2009
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=19424296
Further reading:
Book - An Introduction to Japanese Society
See Japan by bike at Motorcycle Japan
