Flying with two passports

[Tkydon]

[Thanks for the fast response Tkydon. I think most tourists will have a return ticket out of Japan so he'll probably have to show his passport. I always have to show my resident card to check-in staff when I fly back to Japan, they never assume I'm just a tourist. I suppose the worse case scenario in the case of the Japanese passport name not matching the ticket name is that he'll be forced to buy a new ticket (one-way) on the spot, but hopefully it won't come to that.

He can register an Alias on his Japanese Passport for his non-Japanese name when he gets his new Japanese Passport. Problem solved.

That's interesting about the automatic immigration procedure for Japanese nationals. I suppose it would be. In the UK it's automatic for British citizens too. I guess in the unlikely event of an immigration officer pulling him out and discovering he has two passports, they would turn a blind eye? I'd be surprised if they had the power to confiscate his British passport.

Turn a bling eye to what? For what reason? He is doing nothing wrong.

Japanese Immigration Officers have no right to confiscate his British Passport, or do anything else regarding his British Passport.

If they discovered that he had naturalized overseas, taken another nationality by his own volition (or by his parents on his behalf as a minor), they have the right to confiscate his Japanese Passport and cancel his Japanese Citizenship under Article 12 of the Japanese Nationality Law and Article 105 of the Family Registration Law.

Under Article 14 of the Japanese Nationality Law, he is supposed to choose nationality by age 20, but many people do not.
Article 16 states that "A Japanese citizen who makes the selection declaration (for Japanese Nationality) must try to renounce their foreign nationality."
The important word being "try"...

Thank you to everyone else for your replies too. I'll try to book it today. Another worry not related to this thread is that you have to show the credit card you booked with to the check-in staff, and my credit card (I'll be travelling with him) doesn't always work online due to authentication issues. And I can't take my wife's because she'll need it back home. So fingers crossed!

Never heard of that. Is that a UK thing?

[captainspoke]

At checkin (japan end of things? -perhaps because it originates here) I've had to show the card used for booking the flights. Not always, but not unusual, both intl/domestic.

[adamu]

In the UK it's automatic for British citizens too

And Japanese. Same lane, same gates. In Heathrow, at least.

[Deep Blue]

Thanks for the fast response Tkydon. I think most tourists will have a return ticket out of Japan so he'll probably have to show his passport. I always have to show my resident card to check-in staff when I fly back to Japan, they never assume I'm just a tourist. I

Last time I went to the UK I completely forgot to take my Japanese zairyu card, it was a total non-issue. I wrote about it on here somewhere. Lots of airports have automated check in machines these days, Heathrow T5 has dozens and dozens of them.

[northSaver]

He can register an Alias on his Japanese Passport for his non-Japanese name when he gets his new Japanese Passport. Problem solved.

Yeah, he'll probably do that instead of adding his British surname to his given name. Thanks.

Turn a blind eye to what? For what reason? He is doing nothing wrong.
...

Good to know.

Never heard of that. Is that a UK thing?

It's an airline thing I think. While some people never get asked, others do. There are plenty of horror stories on the internet of people not having the card on them and being refused boarding unless they buy another ticket on the spot. If the airline you are flying with doesn't mention this requirement then you probably don't need to worry about it.

Last time I went to the UK I completely forgot to take my Japanese zairyu card, it was a total non-issue. I wrote about it on here somewhere. Lots of airports have automated check in machines these days, Heathrow T5 has dozens and dozens of them.

It's Manchester but yeah, I think they have the machines there too. I can't remember how I did it last time but pretty sure I had to show my card.

Update
I tried booking my ticket today using my JAL credit card and, as expected, the payment was refused. After a long conversation with JAL they authorised the payment to Hainan Airlines and the next time it worked. Several hours later my son successfully booked his flight using his British passport and Japanese credit card (not JAL so no payment problem) and we then booked our seats next to each other on the outward flights. Good job done

Why Hainan Airlines? They are much cheaper than everyone else except Juneyao (which has bad reviews), they fly over Russia so the flight time is shorter than the ones that don't, and they're supposed to be China's best airline.