I have over the years researched readers' questions diligently, but never have I been quite as well prepared as for this column, on how to get married in Japan. I would like to tell you why. On May 25, William Sherman and I proceeded through the process as outlined below. Bill has had three postings here with the U.S. Embassy, the last from 1977 to 1981 as deputy chief of mission to Ambassador Mike Mansfield, and we have been good friends for more than 30 years. A Japan specialist, Bill did our translations, an ability I greatly admire. A number of longtime friends were with us when we took the oath at the embassy, and we completed the procedure at the Minato-ku Ward Office. We waited a half hour for a beautifully executed certificate in Japanese, which will look very nice indeed framed on the wall of our combined office soon to be in Reston, Virginia. I have been writing this column for more than 36 years, or some 3,776 columns and around 3,577,280 words, and I will miss Japan and my work with The Japan Times tremendously. I have for the last few years been trying without success to find a place I wanted to be after Japan, and now it is not only a place, but a place with the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. What a happy way to say goodbye.

But not quite yet. For a few weeks I will still be writing, answering questions (but please, no more!) and repeating a few columns, this perhaps to please me. There are other plans for this column, which you can read next Wednesday. And finally, for photographic evidence of our marriage, please see our picture on page 14 of today's paper.

And now, the question. An American woman, recently engaged, wonders how one goes about getting married in Japan. While there are many kinds of services for those wanting to marry here, no matter how many sake cups are exchanged, how lavish the ceremony, how many speeches or toasts or candle lightings, the marriage will not be recognized as legal until it is registered at a Japanese government office. Many people who thought they were legally married have found to their dismay that they were not. Just as the registration is essential, so is the procedure that must be conducted at the U.S. Embassy if either the groom or bride is a U.S. citizen. No ceremony can be performed there, but the marriage cannot be registered on the Japanese side without an Affidavit Of Competency to Marry signed and sworn to before an authorized consular representative. The U.S. also has consular offices in Osaka-Kobe, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Nagoya and Okinawa. U.S. military or Department of Defense personnel should contact their base's legal office. See the fact sheet on procedures available at the embassy for requirements for non-U.S. citizen spouses.

The first step is to go to the U.S. Embassy consular office on the first floor just beyond the gate. You will need to show your passport to enter and it will be required later to establish that you are a U.S. citizen. You will be provided with a form to fill out to certify that you are a U.S. citizen and that, according to the laws of your home state, there is no impediment to your marriage. This form will be signed and sworn to before a consular representative. The form must then be translated into Japanese, by you or a friend, or if not, there are agencies that can do it for you. The consulate cannot provide this service. Then the form and translation and passports must be taken to the "city hall" or ward office of the ward where you reside ("kuyakusho") and handed over to be registered and maintained in its archives. You will need two witnesses over 20 years old to sign the papers. If you have none, you can ask anyone (except employees of the office) to witness for you. You will be issued a Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage -- this will be your marriage certificate -- which is evidence of a valid marriage. No records are kept at the U.S. Embassy. The permanent record is kept at your ward office and the Japanese language original is the only legal marriage document. It is recommended that you have the address of the ward office in case you need to refer to it later. You can have a copy of the certificate for 350 yen, or for 1,400 yen, a special ornate form will be prepared for you. That's the legal part. If you want to have a religious ceremony, you certainly can, but the deposit of the paper at the ward office is what certifies the marriage.