Alien registration (外国人登録, gaikokujin tōroku) was a system used to record information regarding aliens resident in Japan. It was handled at the municipal level, parallel to (but separately from) the koseki (family register) and juminhyo (resident register) systems used to record information regarding Japanese nationals. Alien registration was a prerequisite to many activities in Japan, such as purchasing a mobile phone, opening a bank account or obtaining a driver's license.