Not necessarily part of a healthy diet in Japan

I first started this website for two reasons:

1. The first reason was that after I naturalized, I received a lot of the same questions over and over about acquiring Japanese nationality, especially from non-Japanese, both living in Japan and living abroad. Some questions were good. Others, not so good. Some from strangers, some from people I know. Rather than re-answer the same questions over and over from people that barely passed as acquaintances, I compiled a list of as many questions, along with answers, that I could think of and referred people to this site for longer answers. I also made a list of steps that a typical applicant has to take to try to demystify the process to those that wondered if the process was systematic or arbitrary.
2. The second reason I made this site was because after I had gone through the process and talked and met others who had gone through the process, I was amazed at how much outright false information and misunderstandings that was published in the English world about acquiring Japanese nationality. Not just urban folklore passed by people who don't know any better at parties or pseudo-anonymously on web forum boards, but even by professional mainstream media and journalism outlets. Often times this misinformation had an activist political social-justice motive: incorrect beliefs about naturalization would be used as supporting facts for crafting a narrative that modern Japan was intolerant and bigoted at the legal and governmental level and that this was a policy that was encoded deeply into its laws regarding nationality.

As the primary audience for the above two goals understand only English, I decided to make this site be primarily English (with some quirky exceptions).

After a few years, though, many people had come to me thanking me for site, saying they used the English site not just to aid in their comprehension of the original Japanese instructions and materials, but to understand if their process was different from the norm. I hadn't originally planned for the site to be used this way but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I met a lot of people who had a similar experience to me that I probably would have never met in my life had I not created the site, and I'm flattered and honored that others find the site useful for this purpose.

Not Encouraging English as a Japanese National

However, I have recently met people, both with serious and not so serious intentions, who have expressed interest in acquiring Japanese nationality whose Japanese skills were not quite at the level where they could survive, either in employment or in the Japanese-language only portion of society (>99% of Japan).

Is it possible?

Yes. I have met hundreds of people who speak very little Japanese that seem to live fully functional lives in Japan without being able to use Japanese well enough to survive in Japanese society. I have also met hundreds of people in Japan who claim they are proficient in Japanese; many of these people actually believe they are: the Dunning-Kruger Effect is pervasive with respect to foreign language ability, even when one lives in that foreign country.

In fact, with modern technology (smartphones and Japanese-English software and the internet) and globalization and the creation of the industry surrounding learning English as an international / second / business language, it's easier and cheaper to do this now than it has ever been. In the past, you had to be wealthy or connected to a support group within Japan (expats on expense accounts in gated foreign communities, a religious organization, or a foreign military base) to do this. These days, relying on the internet to be your virtual foreign support community and connection to digital English comfort (for example, English media: television, video, movies, and two way video communication) is normal and you don't need to be in a physical community except when you crave physical contact with foreigners (which is what foreign expat dance clubs and bars in the big cities provide).

Thanks (?) to technology — both computers and cheap travel — and changing immigration policies, the "expat experience" that was once something available only to the rich, elite, and skilled is now easily obtainable by the young solo middle class person with few skills: all you need is English and a smartphone.

Is it healthy?

I am not sure. I am skeptical.

There is a long history of foreign diaspora in other countries grouping together and not assimilating during the first generation (or even the 2nd or 3rd generations) that sociologists and others have studied, and they have produced a lot of literature regarding the pros and cons of such communities.

However, with perhaps the exception of the Korean community in Japan in the 20th century and more recently, the Chinese community in Japan, there are few if any real lasting physical foreign communities that bond in the same geographic area and interact with each other socio-economically in an exclusive or semi-exclusive relationship.

In Japan (and many other places in the non-European and non-American world), these real communities (sometimes disparagingly called ghettos or barrios but sometimes given commercial and tourism friendly labels like "Little Italy" or "Chinatown") have been replaced by the "digital diaspora". Rather than being connected for the medium or long term via physical proximity and face to face interaction, many non-Japanese in Japan get their "English fix" of Hollywood media and two-way gossip and trading or hints and tips for survival almost exclusively through the net. Rather than form long term bonds with people you know have immigrated permanently, people bounce from location to location with few permanent roots.

Whether or not this, living in an English digital bubble, is a good thing for one's long term mental or emotional health or not is not known. The phenomenon is too new.

We won't know more about the long term effects of living as an "astronaut gaijin"— a foreigner in Japan that needs their English internet tether and spacesuit to assist their physical and emotional survival — for many more decades and generations.

Why Naturalizing and not Using Japanese as Your Daily Language Is a Bad Idea

When you don't use Japanese as your main language in Japan, you are effectively self-isolating yourself to the foreign community — both the very small physical community in Japan and the very large virtual community in the internet on your personal computer and smartphone, as well as the so-called "international Japanese": the Japanese who intentionally decide to live a very atypical Japan lifestyle and make a deliberate effort to occasionally interact with the foreign community in Japan. They do this either for professional advancement or self-improvement (internationalization as a self-goal or skill or healthy habit like jogging), as a "hobby" because foreign things interest them, or because they have altruistic do-gooder intentions. The population demographics of Japan mean that statistically, most Japanese people interact with English speakers not because it happens organically as part of day-to-day life. They are either forced into the situation due to work (usually a foreign corporation) or an accidental encounter on the street or in a restaurant/bar, or they are intentionally seeking out encounters for the motives described earlier.

When you naturalize, you should consider it to be a permanent action that will make it very hard (though not impossible) to emigrate anywhere else. You are stuck, for better or worse (hopefully better), in Japan.

If your primary mode of communication (either in real life or on the internet) is English, you are only able to access a very small portion of Japanese society and culture that is normally available to everybody else. Your Japan life may be limited to work and "consumption" of public and private services. Your interactions with Japanese are neither friends nor acquaintances, but rather mere encounters with weak long-lasting continuity or bonds of caring or friendship.

Somebody who lives the majority of their life in the real Japanese world can always choose to dabble or mingle in the English digital diasporia. However, one who cannot use Japanese well enough to function in Japanese-language society does not have that option: they are forced to make do with the small and not real English Bubble.

Even those who can communicate in Japanese yet choose to exist within the English Bubble in Japan often find that despite their Japanese language ability, they find it difficult to integrate into Japanese society at will because doing so requires not just the language ability, but an investment and commitment to follow through with one's Japanese relationships.

Conclusion

The reason this web site is written in English is to achieve its two primary goals (written at the beginning of this post). And I don't mind at all if people who are naturalizing, but whose Japanese language ability is not-quite-there yet, using this site as an aid or as a second opinion or as a reference to others' experiences (something you are not provided when you apply).

However, please let me be clear: while I do not condemn or insist that you have a certain Japanese language ability to naturalize, I want to make it clear that this site being written in English does not mean I think that living a primarily English language based life in Japan is the best way, or even a recommended way, to live life truly permanently (which is what naturalization is about, unlike "Permanent" Resident status) in Japan.

That's a lot of kids.

Victoria Ferauge, author of the blog "The Franco-American Flophouse", who is a graduate student in International Migration at the University of Kent Brussels School of International Studies, has reached out to me to ask our readers and contributors (not just naturalized Japanese, but anybody who is a native English speaker that lives in Japan) if they would participate in a small online survey about one's level of integration into Japanese society.

I have known Victoria from her blog about living in Osaka and her own issues of expatriation, so I'm familiar with her work and opinions. I took the survey myself and it took me less than 5 minutes to complete. If you'd like to take the survey, please click on the link below. It is anonymous, and no ads or anything obtrusive is done. If you have any questions or would like to see the results of the study, please email her at: v...@kent.ac.uk. Here is the survey address:

This is the actual photo The Economist uses with its article (seen only when embedded into a Facebook post)

An accompanying article for an editorial opinion encouraging Open Immigration for Japan by the Economist (found in both the online and print editions), entitled "Japanese naturalization | Inspector's Knock: Getting a passport is not easy", dated August 20th, 2016, contains 227 words and 13 sentences (237 words and 14 sentences if you count the title) if we count sentences linked by semicolons as one. If we regard each sentence as a statement claim of fact, I counted:

Not great journalism

• Only four of its thirteen claims (31%) are "true". ☺
• Two of its claims (15%) are "half truths", or truths, but with significant caveats and clarifications needed.
• Seven of its thirteen claims (54%) — over half — are outright "false". ☹

---

◯　To become a Japanese citizen, a foreigner must display “good conduct”, among other things.

Verdict: TRUE

Current and former members (including Aleph and other spinoffs) can't naturalize

There is also an additional, separate requirement that requires that candidates have no close ties or involvement with people or groups associated with terrorism, organized crime, or other organizations with goals of violent and / or illegal overthrow of the State of Japan. This includes the Yakuza as well as other foreign organized crime (Mafia, Triads, etc.). It also includes overseas (Al-Qaeda, ISIS, etc.) and domestic (Aum Shinrikyo, Japanese Red Army, etc.) terrorist groups. Those who fought against the Empire of Japan in World War Two — or any earlier war, are exempt as this was an act against the Meiji government and its constitution, not the current State of Japan government and the modern Japanese Constitution. Also, this restriction against certain groups does not include those from certain religions (such as Islam), as Japan has freedom of religion guaranteed by its Constitution.

This article is making it seem as if checking the conduct (in other words, obeying legal rules and laws) is a bad thing. Almost all countries, even those that give away their nationality to anybody with money, have a good conduct or character requirement — even if they don't check carefully, as some countries such as the United Kingdom have been guilty of not doing:

British citizenship is being granted to people who did not meet “good character” requirements because the Home Office is not scrutini[z]ing British nationality applications appropriately, according to a watchdog report.

The Republic of Ireland is another country whose nationalization rules require "good character" and conduct.

☓　The rules do not specify what that means, and make no mention of living [和風 {wafū}] (Japanese-style).

Verdict: FALSE

Not sure if this counts as "living Japanese style"

The definition of "good conduct" is defined in the handouts and literature they pass out when you apply, and it is explained orally the moment you inquire or in one of your initial appointments: it simply means no infractions of the law (either in Japan or overseas) that could be considered a felony and an insignificant amount or less of minor penalties and infractions. It doesn't even necessarily mean you have paid your bills (unless your non-payment is serious enough to warrant prosecution). Japan is not the only country to use a phrase similar to "good conduct" term in legalese with respect to naturalization requirements: the United Kingdom also uses it. Dr. Scott Blinderexplains in "Naturalisation as a British Citizen: Concepts and Trends":

5% of [U.K.] citizenship applications were rejected in 2014. The majority of refusals since 2002 have been because of failure to meet either the residence or the 'good character' requirements. English language requirements and the Life in the UK test account for a small percentage of rejected naturali[z]ation applications, but may deter additional potential applicants.

There is no mention of living 和風 {wafū} (Japanese style) because it never has been a requirement.

☓　But for one candidate, at least, it involved officials looking in his fridge and inspecting his children’s toys to see if he was Japanese enough (he was).

Verdict: FALSE

Koreans in Korea have special dedicated fridges for kimchi!

This is a famous legend on the internet. The tale began spreading on the internet in the late nineties, and was used to reinforce the myth that Koreans are prevented from acquiring Japanese nationality or that it was extremely difficult for them to do so. The myth is that they inspect the refrigerator to see if there's proper 納豆 {nattō} (Japanese fermented soybeans) and not Korean 김치 {gimchi} (kimch'i; fermented / pickled vegetables) or other Korean food in it.

The myth always mentions the mythical "one candidate (at least)" anecdote, yet in the decades of naturalization in the State of Japan, not a single confirmed and verifiable case of Korean Refrigerator/Toy Inspections® has been found. The candidate is always unnamed, and the storyteller, when asked for their source, can usually only muster a "friend of a friend" or "something I read on a racial activism website, mailing list, or blog."

Thanks to this site causing others to reach out to me via email and share their experiences, I have personally conversed with over 300 naturalized Japanese people of various nationalities, ethnicities, and races; I have met over three dozen of them in person (for coffee or lunch or more). That probably makes me the one person who knows more naturalized Japanese people in the world than anybody else other than Japanese immigration and other government officials who deal with Japanese nationality as part of their job. They are very diverse people, who have naturalized from the mid seventies to today and vary in age from their twenties to their eighties, and share their naturalization stories and experiences with me. Of this wealth of direct anthropological data, not a single one (even Koreans and Chinese) said their refrigerator or their children's toys & books were inspected.

The realreason they do home inspections (if they do them at all) is to spot check to see if what you state about your living situation on paper matches what the auditor sees in real world (with respect to being able to demonstrate that one is earning a living, which is one of the legal requirements for naturalization). This is no different from what an auditor sometimes does for tax declaration verification or asset verification when applying for a complex loan.

☓　Bureaucratic discretion is the main reason why it is hard to get Japanese nationality.

Verdict: FALSE

The only "fitting in" that is required is to take an written oath to obey the Japanese Constitution and all Japanese laws

Based on a decades long streak of naturalization approval rates exceeding 90% (often exceeding 95%), it is fair to conclude that it is not hard to get Japanese nationality at all. Its requirements are not very different from many western countries (such as Germany). If a candidate is rejected, both an official reason is given in the written 不許可通知書 {fukyoka tsūchi-sho} (Notice of Rejection), authorized by both the 法務大臣 {hōmu daijin} (Minister of Justice) and 法務局長 {hōmukyoku-chō} (Chief of the local Legal Bureau). This notice will always refer to one or more of the six general requirements as spelled out by the Japanese nationality law. The process from start-to-finish is documented as a flow chart in the documentation you receive.

Additionally, your case worker (相談員 {sōdan'in}) from the local Nationality Section of the Legal Bureau (法務局国籍課 {hōmukyoku kokuseki-ka}) that helped you explain one's personalized requirements as well as prepare and submit your application, will explain the result in detail.

Japanese judicial scriveners (司法書士 {shihō shoshi}), who are licensed and often work at law firms specializing in acquiring nationality, say that the vast majority of the very few cases (percentage wise) that are rejected are due to legal transgressions and there is little question or doubt that arbitrary discretion was involved.

Most countries, under the principles of national sovereignty, reserve the right to use plenary powers (meaning, keeping the courts out of it and delegating final authority to immigration) regarding who becomes naturalized and who does not. For example, the Republic of Ireland makes this very clear in their written naturalization policy, seen in the Irish government's Naturalization and Immigration Service website:

Applications are decided by the Minister for Justice and Equality, who has absolute discretion, even where the applicant meets certain conditions set out in the legislation, whether or not to grant naturali[z]ation.

◯　The [Japanese 法務省 {hōmushō} (Ministry of Justice)], which handles the process, says officials may visit applicants’ homes and talk to their [neighbors].

Verdict: TRUE

used via the CC-BY-2.0 license

This is true (and it didn't even mention that one's workplace may also be inspected or visited), but it's not for the reason this article insinuates. It's not to confirm if you're liked by your neighbors or coworkers. Nor are visits done to confirm if whether you live in a "Japanese style"— as the previous text implied. Visits are done simply to confirm that what one has claimed on their paper application (their address, their assets, income, and expenses, etc.) is not too out of sync with what is seen in real life. This is no different from inspections of other sorts (such as structured loan applications, income tax declarations) done both in Japan and in other countries.

For example, if you say your expenses are on par with your earnings and part of your expenses are reduced because you share rent with roommates or family members, yet the inspector can find no evidence of anybody else living there, that will raise a yellow flag thanks to the physical inspection.

Often times there is no inspection for a naturalization that occurs in big urban cities (such as Tokyo or Osaka) because of the case worker's workload. Additionally, the inspection may not always be of the home's interior. The inspector may just look at the outside of the dwelling and confirm its worth or existence without even informing the candidate that they are visiting.

△　It does not help that wannabe Watanabes must renounce any other passport: Japan does not allow dual nationality.

Verdict: ½ TRUTH

Actually, Americans relinquish U.S. citizenship when they change nationality.

Japan actually does allow multiple nationalities in the case of minors, natural born Japanese born before 1985, involuntary acquisition, and the inability to get rid of one's other nationalities.

The disallowing of additional nationalities is actually the norm for most countries of the world. However, Japan is not entirely inflexible on this matter of additional nationalities as this statement would have you believe. If a country does not allow you to give up a citizenship (which is actually a UN Human Rights Article #15 Violation), Japan will allow you to naturalize anyway providing you take an oath to never use a non-Japanese nationality.

The requirement that one must give up your other nationalities does not affect over 90% of the applicants for Japanese nationality, because their original nationalities (PRC/ROC, Singapore, ROK, etc.) do not permit their citizens to voluntarily acquire additional nationalities anyway; the other country makes them give up their citizenship. And of non-Asian countries, Americans are the most numerous among Japanese naturalization candidates. Because of America's tax laws such as FATCA and FBAR which make Americans and American LPRs legally obligated to file and/or pay U.S. income tax regardless of where they physically reside in the world, more and more Americans that acquire Japanese nationality are not complaining about giving up the nationality which ties them to this lifelong U.S. Constitutional duty.

☓　And applicants must have lived in Japan for a minimum of ten years. Other requirements—speaking Japanese, holding sufficient assets—are similar to those in many countries, but still daunting.

Verdict: FALSE

used via the CC0-1.0 license

The amount of time that one must be physically and continuously present in Japan (defined as no more than 100 straight days out of the country per year and no more than 150 total days per year out of the country) to qualify for naturalization is nowhere near ten years!

The maximum amount of time one must be legally and continuously present is five (5) years for normal naturalization. However, many applicants who are married to Japanese and or have Japanese family will qualify for what is called "simplified naturalization" (簡易帰化 {kan'i kika}). If you qualify for simplified naturalization, the amount of time you need to spend in Japan drops to three (3) years — or even just ONE (1) year! Personally, because I had been married to a Japanese national for almost a decade, I only needed to show and prove one year of residency in Japan.

The only explanation I can come up with for The Economist's egregious mistake here is perhaps the writer(s) of this article confused the requirements for Japanese permanent resident status and the requirements for nationality; Japan only lets people acquire Permanent Resident Status (永住者資格 {eijūsha shikaku}) in less than 10 years (minimum of five years) if they meet certain qualifications regarding desirability.

There are two more additional half-mistakes in the short sentence:

1. Surprisingly, being able to speak Japanese is not actually a requirement! The actual requirement is:

   Being able to make a living through his/her own assets or abilities, or through those of a spouse or of another relative who is making a living.

   This requirement naturally assumes the ability to communicate and understand enough Japanese that you could work in a menial job in Japan if need be to avoid becoming destitute. It is a de facto requirement for most, though, unless you can prove that your assets are such that you would never need to work or interact with Japanese people for the rest of your life — meaning you're rich.
   
   Even then, the Japanese language requirements are very modest — you do not have to sound native nor even be fluent. The guidelines ask for a reading/writing ability equivalent to a Japanese primary school 3rd grader. Many foreigners in Japan can achieve this level of Japanese mastery with just a couple years or less of diligent study. Whether or not a case worker decides to test an applicant's Japanese ability is a judgement call: if the applicant can communicate with the case worker with little difficulty or misunderstanding and fill out simple forms in front of them (i.e. write your home address in Japanese characters), the case worker won't bother to formally test your Japanese ability. I, and many naturalized people I have met and spoken with, were never quizzed regarding our abilities.
2. That same holding of sufficient assets (and abilities) requirement, mentioned in the previous list item, is waived for those who have the status of Special Permanent Resident (特別永住者 {tokubetsu eijūsha}). These people are usually (but not always) Koreans and Chinese who are descendants of pre-WWⅡ Imperial subjects who lost their Japanese nationality due to their homelands gaining independence from Japan after the Pacific War. Thus, the only thing stopping a SPR from becoming legally Japanese is neither poverty nor skills nor language: only a criminal record prevents them from acquiring Japanese nationality.

☓　Small wonder that so few people naturali[z]e.

Verdict: FALSE
Of the close to 190 nation-states in the world, you can count the countries that people actually want to acquire nationality to with just your two hands. And of those, about half are outliers when it comes to the magnitude of their numbers:

used via the CC0-1.0 license

1. United States
2. Russia
3. Canada
4. Britian
5. France
6. Germany
7. Australia
8. Spain
9. ⋮
14. Japan

After the top ten, the naturalization rate for most countries are fairly close to each other in terms of magnitude: five digit numbers instead of six or sometimes seven digit numbers of new nationals per year. Japan is usually in the top fifteen of the countries in the world when it comes to acquiring citizenship via naturalization. Japan is more popular than Austria, Ireland, Denmark, and South Korea when it comes to naturalization.

The article implies that it is the difficulty and arbitrariness of Japan's naturalization procedures that cause it to have low numbers (compared to new world countries such as America and Canada). But when you examine the statistics, there are many countries with near identical, or even easier procedures, than Japan — yet they attract and accept less.

☓　[In 2015] the government received just 12,442 applications, which take 18 months or so to process; it granted citizenship to 9,469 people, compared with almost 730,000 in America.

Verdict: FALSE

There are lies, damned lies and statistics.

"Eighteen months", "over a year", and "years" are lengths of times often attributed (by non-verified internet sources) to the length of time it takes for a Japanese naturalization application to be processed and approved. Sometimes this is an honest misunderstanding and confusion arising from misunderstanding how long the individual took to gather and prepare and submit the paperwork with how long the government takes to process the formally submitted packet of paperwork. How long it takes to prepare the paperwork obviously depends on the individual, where they're from, and the complexities of their family and business and assets — as well as the motivation and diligence level of the applicant and the difficulty of obtaining that paperwork.

However, Japan's Ministry of Justice does not give time frames, averages or limits in its written documentation regarding how long the process will take because it can vary considerably depending on the individual and the complexity of their application. The case worker, however, will probably give you a rough guess, and sometimes will proactively or reactively keep you updated during the approval process regarding progress.

Of the around three hundred naturalized people (of different sexes, nationalities, races, and backgrounds) I have personally communicated with over the past six years of running this site, it appears that the average amount of time one has to wait after formally submitting the application is: 6~9 months. My application took four months. Donald Keene, a world famous octogenarian scholar with endless honors to his name, took even less time than that.

The other numbers are technically correct but are an example of misleading statistics. Of course America's absolute number of approvals are going to be higher because of reasons explained in the previous item relating to the ease of economic opportunity (relating to "the international language" of English which enables employment with little investment needed in foreign language training and assimilation). However, is Japan turning naturalization applicants away more than other countries?

• Japan's approval rate has been above 90% for decades. In many years, it is above 95%. In 2009, Japan had a 99% acceptance rate.
• Depending on the year, Japan beats the United Kingdom (5% rejection in 2014) in the rate of acceptance.
• Japan also usually beats the United States when it comes to approved naturalization applications as well. According to the USCIS, in the first quarter of 2016:
  • The U.S. denied naturalization to 11.1% of civilian applicants
  • The U.S. denied naturalization to 5.4% of military applicants

The available data suggests "no".

△　But that at least suggests most applicants are successful.

Verdict: ½ TRUTH
Rather than "suggests most", a more appropriate phrase would be "shows that almost all"applicants— that is, people that actually formally apply and submit an application — are successful. While its impossible to accurately measure how many would-be applicants abandon the process before they submit or even start the process, judicial scriveners and immigration consultants within Japan have stated in print that among their clients:

Source: 日本国籍取得ガイド／帰化申請マニュアル／完全版

• about one in four (~25%) Special Permanent Residents abandon their attempt to use a professional service to naturalize
• about one in three (~33.3%) regular foreign residents abandon their attempt to use a professional service to naturalize
• about one in five to six (~15.5%) overall abandon their attempt using a professional service right before the final formal submission

Nobody knows if these people then attempt to resume their application without paying for an adviser. Many people require no professional assistance (which can be expensive) to complete and submit their applications.

◯　Koreans and Chinese make up the vast bulk of them.

Verdict: TRUE

The majority of Japanese immigrants

This is very true. However, one should also note that the number of Koreans who naturalize has dropped considerably. Chinese now outnumber Koreans in Japan, and Regular Permanent Residents now outnumber Special Permanent Residents (and on a side note, Filipinos now outnumber Brazilians). Naturalization rates for Koreans peaked in 2003 and have been dropping ever since.

The reason for this decline is the combination of:

• The natural decline in population of Koreans in Japan (which is similar to the natural decline of population of Japanese in Japan) due to a low birthrate
• The change in the nationality law that allowed for inheritance of Japanese nationality from the mother as well as the father and intermarriage. The children/parents of these intermarriages are choosing Japanese nationality over Korean nationality
• Political events surrounding Korea and Japan in 2002 — North Korea formally admitting it abducted Japanese children from its territory — led to a peak spike of 朝鮮籍 {Chōsen-seki} ([non-South] Korean pseudo-nationality) changing their nationality to Japanese

In short, the Special Permanent Resident population, and the Koreans connected to this legal status, are in a voluntary population decline.

☓　New citizens are no longer obliged to adopt a Japanese-sounding name.

Verdict: FALSE
Every person that becomes Japanese must convert their name to a combination of Japanese syllabet and / or Japanese sinograms; Arabic, Cyrillic, Thai, and Latin letters (A, B, C… etc.) are not permitted on the 戸籍 {koseki} (Japanese family unit register). This is no different from other countries. For practical reasons, you can't create legal documents in the United States, for example, in anything other than alphabet. Not even diacritics are allowed.

What people do is transliterate their name from their native language and writing system to a different writing system, based on either how it sounds and/or meaning.

However, this will almost always be an approximation due to the lack of identical vowels and consonants in every language. Thus, a person who becomes legally Japanese will have a "Japanese sounding-name" because it must be written using a Japanese script. There is an exception to this rule for Japanese passports, but that's because the name on a Japanese passport must be in a simple 26 letter alphabet no longer than 39 total characters. That name is for foreign international use only. It is not for domestic use in Japan.

孫正義 {SON Masayoshi} né 손정의 {SON Jeong-ui} aka安本正義 {YASUMOTO Masayoshi}

What the article writer is intending to imply here refers to yet another urban myth that has never been proven: that ethnic Koreans were forced to completely abandon names connected to or adapted from Korean culture and history in order to naturalize— such as 金 {GIM} (Kim, Ghim, Kym, Keem …) or 朴 {BAK} (Pak, Park, Bahk, Pahk …) — and adopt completely different names that were associated with Japanese culture and history, such as 鈴木 {SUZUKI} or 田中 {TANAKA}.

Billionaire CEO (and one of the richest men in Japan in the late 20th and early 21st century) of Softbank, Masayoshi SON, a born-in-Japan Korean national who naturalized to Japanese in 1990, according to the biography "Aiming High / A Biography of Masayoshi Son" (「志高く　孫正義正伝」 {"Kokorozashi takaku / SON Masayoshi seiden"}) by 井上篤夫 {INOUE Atsuo}, claimed that his case workers tried to oblige him to keep his registered alias (通称 {tsūshō}), 安本 {YASUMOTO}, that his family chose for their Special Permanent Resident Cards:

The Ministry of Justice did not accept him. "Son" was not a Japanese surname. It was unprecedented. If he wanted to be naturalized as a Japanese citizen, he had to assume a Japanese name. Son came up with a plan. In Korea, husbands and wives have different surnames, so his wife remained "Ohno." Therefore, his wife, a Japanese citizen, went to court to change her name from "Ohno" to "Son." Son visited the Ministry of Justice and once again asked if there were any Japanese nationals named "Son." If there were precedence, the name would be accepted.

The officer replied,

"There's one. It's your wife."

Thus, a Japanese named Masayoshi Son came to be.

"I finally got citizenship!"

As he returned to his office, Son showed the naturalization documents to his employees with a big smile on his face.

While this is an amusing anecdote (this authorized biography is full of stories about Son outwitting rivals and opponents in bureaucracy and government), the dialog doesn't pass scrutiny under close examination: the Ministry of Justice Legal Affairs Bureau or Nationality Section was not able to check the names of the entire nation in 1990: family/name records, etc. were not digitally centralized and on B4 paper, and were distributed across the nation. Additionally, the case worker would already have access to the applicant's family genealogy and names: such a line of questioning/dialog would be redundant.

There are many documented examples of foreigners nationalizing, of Korean ethnicity as well as other ethnicities, and choosing a family name and/or a given name of non-Japanese origin: not just during Masayoshi Son's era (the late eighties and early nineties), but also prior to the 1985 nationality law revision. There are even naturalization examples from the Meiji era that use non-traditional Japanese family and given names! Thus, it can be proven that there was no systematic rule or requirement stating that a "precedent" of a preexisting Japanese name needed to exist in order for a non-Japanese to naturalize.

Judicial scriveners and others familiar with the inner workings of the departments in charge of naturalization attribute the urban myth to a misunderstanding of case worker's intentions. Japanese government workers in charge of names, thinking of the future and children, in the past have often given guidance and advice to those choosing names so as to best avoid discrimination. It is because of this that the alias system for foreigner registration exists. Japanese alias registration was not intended to give people of Western origin a way to convert their name to カタカナ {katakana} (Japanese syllabet) or 漢字 {kanji} (Japanese sinograms), but rather a way for people who, from a phenotype perspective, appear Japanese, to have a name that also appeared Japanese — to avoid standing out. Japanese case workers have, for example, refused to register names for babies, such as 『悪魔』 {"Akuma"} ("Devil"), that they thought would subject the child to discrimination, teasing, bullying, or torment.

These days, case workers are trained to no longer advise naturalization candidates when their chosen name might not be ideal unless the candidate asks to avoid accusations of discrimination and suppression of freedom of expression. If a candidate with English name "Gary", for example, chooses ゲリ {Geri} as their name, the case worker may not inform them that the name sounds like 下痢 {geri} (diarrhea). The candidate must assume responsibility for their own choices, even if they're not good.

◯　And there is no fee to apply, in contrast with a charge of $595 in America, [2,500₣ in Switzerland] and £1,236 in Britain [in 2016].

Verdict: TRUE

Free. Really.

At least the article ends on a true note. The cost to submit a naturalization application, unlike the cost to submit an application to be a permanent resident, is ¥0. Additionally, unlike other countries, not many people need professional assistance to prepare their application, so the cost is quite low. However, you will probably still have to pay (small) fees and sums to collect and prepare the paperwork necessary to support your application. And some countries, such as the United States, can charge very high fees to relinquish their citizenship, which is necessary for Japanese naturalization.

One final overall nitpick: the article and title constantly refer to acquiring a passport as a euphemism for acquiring nationality/citizenship. However, in most countries, you do not receive a passport automatically when you naturalize. Most Japanese nationals (and American citizens) do not even have a passport. And a passport is not proof of nationality inside Japan: one's 戸籍 {koseki} (Japanese family register) is. In some edge cases, it is even possible to receive a passport/travel document from a country that you are not a citizen/national of.

The Economist is far from the only publication to do this, though. It does illustrate an attitude towards acquiring nationality which is not the the sole purpose of nationality. To some internationalists and elite well-to-do people that believe in neo-liberalism, nationality is simply a nuisance license that prevents globalization and hinders the wealthy jet-set from free consumption of the world's resources, and hinders economic migration. To them, the number one purpose of nationality is one's passport, and nationality can be measured by how useful their passport is for travel.

Obviously, the economic benefits one receives from a nationality cannot be denied. However, it's important to remember that a nation-state is not just a service provider, with its nationality being a license to use those services. It's something deeper: sovereignty is not for sale, and one's nationality is a tie to a state's government and laws. As per the Social Contract, this means not just privileges and rights, but also responsibilities and duties. These duties are connected to the passport holder even when they are not in that nation's territory.

Appearing on NHK's Barrier-free Variety TV show, 3rd from left

• My disability was a non-issue and I was worried for nothing
• It was an issue, but after deliberation they still decided in my favor
• They were worried about bad PR if they rejected my application since the government had just passed a law that banned discrimination on the basis of disability. (^_^)

Naturalization, being the acquisition of Japanese nationality not from birth, has been a legal procedure in the Nationality Laws of Imperial Japan and the State of Japan.

As of 2015, a total of almost 581,000 people have become legally Japanese since the fall of the shogunate and the rise of constitutional "westernized" Japan.

Because being a Japanese national is defined by law (by Article 10 of both the Meiji Constitution and the modern constitution, naturalization events are recorded by law and accurate data is kept. The graph above is a visual depiction of the recorded data. Some notes:

• Under the Meiji Constitution's nationality law, over a period of about eighty years from 1868 to 1951, a total of only 333 people became Japanese subjects. That's an average of 4.4 people per year.
• Individual year statistics do not exist for the fifteen years from 1951 to 1966. During this period:
• 41,151 Koreans naturalized (average of 2,743/year)
• 4,320 Chinese naturalized (average of 288/year)
• 1,461 "others"(neither Korean nor Chinese) naturalized (avg. 97/year)
• The Ministry of Justice did not begin tracking applications until 1969
• The Ministry of Justice did not begin tracking rejections until 1989

Although its not possible to definitively link the cause, we can correlate many historical events to peaks and valleys within the data:

• 1950 is the year the Nationality Law was re-written (including new rules for naturalization) for the new "peace" Constitution that was enacted in 1947 for the State of Japan.
• 1972 was the year that the People's Republic of China was recognized by the U.N. over Taiwan. the Republic of China. In comparison, Hong Kong suffered a large spike in renunciations after the handover of sovereignty from the UK to the PRC and the Tienanmen Square Massacre.
• 1985 was the year the naturalization law was revised, allowing those whose fathers were non-Japanese to inherit Japanese nationality from their mother by birth.
• 1989 was the year the real estate speculation "bubble economy" in Japan collapsed and the TSE crashed
• 1990 was the year Japan began inviting up to 3rd generation Japanese-Brazilians and other "Nikkei" (日系 {Nikkei}) to Japan for legal work
• 2002 was the year North Korea admitted to kidnapping Japanese children; a serious blow to the reputation of Chongryon leading to its bankruptcy, decline in enrollment, and closing of many DPRK affiliated schools in Japan
• 2008 was the Lehman Shock and the beginning of the worldwide Great Recession
• 2009 was the year Japan began offering airfare stipeds aimed at Brazilians and other South Americans who wished to emigrate
• 2011 was the year of the Great East Japan Earthquake
• 2013 was the start of Abenomics to improve the macro economy

I am aware that there are some foreigners who were recognized and given legal "status" and class/rank by the various shogunate governments in the 19th century before the Meiji Restoration and thus could arguably be considered to be "legally Japanese", but the data above, including those who became Imperial Subjects of the Empire, reflect those who became legally Japanese due to the nationality laws enacted under Japan's two constitutions.

What? No "ceremony"?

I had read on this blog that when you get your call from the Ministry of Justice about approval, the next step was getting documentation and "possibly attending a ceremony."

So, when I got my call, I was excited to hear that they would be holding a ceremony and I decided to go to this once-in-a-lifetime event. I envisioned a very formal ceremony with a flag, oaths, and singing the national anthem after hearing a speech by some high-ranking official.

When the man on the phone said "there will be a small ceremony, but since you have work you likely can't attend can you...?" it was a clue that it might not be the big events you see in America or Australia.

Not wanting to miss such a rare event (no one else I know who has naturalized has attended one), I quickly assured him I would take a day off work and be there. He told me to bring my foreign residence card and be there before 10:00am.

The next clue that it wasn't going to be a big event was when he told me the location - "next to the room where you had your interview on the 8th floor." What?! Not the Imperial Palace or Budokan?! They're right next door to the Ministry of Justice!

Still in the mindset that this was going to be a formal event, I got out my suit and tie and headed downtown.

Going down the hall on the 8th floor there was a small sign indicating the venue for issuing the proof of naturalization documents. No mention of "ceremony"...

After showing my residence card to the employee at the door, I was handed an envelope with forms in it and told I could sit where I like. I was the first one there (at 9:40). A few others filed in and even though there was seating for 30 people, only around 15 people attended. Another middle-aged man wore a suit and a few ladies had casual dresses on, but some of the younger guys were in jeans and t-shirts.

At 10:00 the man from the reception desk came to the front and announced the ceremony had started and introduced the head of the Tokyo naturalization department. Our names were called out one by one and we went to get our official papers at the front of the room. The department head would say "congratulations" and we would bow and take our documents.

After all the names had been read, the department head gave a brief speech. He told us that gaining citizenship wasn't just about getting a passport, but it also entails rights (like voting), privileges (like using Japanese embassies when in trouble abroad) and responsibilities. He reminded us of the oaths we signed when we applied. He said that some are rejected for citizenship, but we had been accepted because of our good standing and encouraged us to continue in this way, but now as citizens of Japan.

He excused himself and the man from the reception desk came to the front and took us through how to create our family registers at city hall, return our foreign resident card, and apply for passport. He congratulated us again and that was that.

Total time, about 20 minutes.

While not a big event like you would see in other countries, I'm glad I went - I won't get to again!

licensed from iStock

Japan has a procedure called 国籍選択 {kokuseki sentaku} (Choice of Nationality). It was created with the revision of the Japanese nationality laws to address the issue of involuntary multiple nationality acquisition by Japanese — usually those who are minors that received citizenship from a new world country in the Americas such as the United States via jus soli (nationality based on where you were born, sometimes called "birthright nationality"): Japanese-Americans and Japanese-Canadians, for example.

However, it can also apply in other circumstances, such as if you acquire another nationality involuntarily (meaning, you did not directly apply for it or naturalize) — such as through marriage to a person from a country that does not separate nationality with marriage (called jus matrimonii) or religion. It can also happen when somebody acquired citizenship after birth due to the revision in the Japan Nationality Law in 1985 that allowed people to inherit Japanese nationality from their mother as well as their father; this paperwork procedure is not considered naturalization and is called 国籍取得 {kokuseki shutoku} (nationality acquisition). This is how the current leader of Japan's Democratic Party (民進党 {Minshintō} / DP), Renho (村田蓮舫 {MURATA Renhō} née 謝蓮舫 {XIÈ Lián-făng}), acquired Japanese nationality after being born with nationality from Taiwan / the Republic of China (台湾／中華民国 {Taiwan / Chūka-minkoku}).

Who must do it?

Japan's Choice of Nationality procedure must be done in three different circumstances:

1. Minors — in Japan's case, those under the age of twenty (20), not eighteen (18) — born on or after 1985, who have dual-nationality or multiple nationalities, obtained by any method or reason, where one of the nationalities is Japanese, who become adults. It must be done within two years after being recognized as an adult in Japan, so as of 2016 law, by the time one becomes 22.
2. Adults with Japanese nationality who for some reason acquire an additional nationality involuntarily (such as through marriage), within two years of acquiring the additional non-Japanese nationality.
3. Foreigners who naturalize to Japan yet are prohibited from removing their non-Japanese nationality. Although it is a UN Human Rights violation (Article 15), not all countries allow their citizens to renounce their nationality. Mexico, for example, does not allow natural born citizens to renounce, for example.

One can do the procedure as early as fifteen (15) years old, but those who are a minor (by Japan's legal standards) need the permission of their parents or legal guardians.

Older J-diaspora are grandfathered and exempt

Those who are born prior to 1985 are grandfathered in under the previous nationality laws and do not need to do the Choice of Nationality. Then can, but they are not legally obligated to. Thus, those Japanese nationals who acquired Japanese nationality involuntarily through birth and are currently 32 years old or older in 2016 are legally multiple/dual national Japanese and do not need to do the Choice of Nationality. Technically, from the Japanese government's point of view, however, these people are assumed to have chosen Japanese nationality.

---

Recently, Japan has changed its laws to allow eighteen (18) year old Japanese nationals the ability to vote, even though they are technically still minors by Japanese law. However, there is discussion about unifying all the laws referencing the age of majority in Japan from twenty (20) to eighteen (18). If this happens, then one will be able to legally drink alcohol and smoke tobacco two years earlier. It will also mean, though, that a dual-national etc. will have to make their Choice of Nationality by the age of twenty (20) rather than 22.

How is The Choice actually done?

1st Japanese "Embassy" in the District of Columbia, 1860

The Choice procedure is done by submitting a form called the Choice of Nationality Form (国籍選択届 {kokuseki sentaku todoke}) to the local ward office or city hall within Japan where the Japanese national has their resident registration (住民票 {jūminhyō}) at. For Japanese nationals living overseas, it is done at a Japanese consulate or embassy. Sometimes, in very big countries with large spread out Japanese diaspora (such as the United States), Japanese diplomatic operations overseas set up temporary facilities once or twice a year for this sort of paperwork. For example, in 2016 Japan only had consulates & embassies in sixteen (16) places in the territories of the United States of America:

• Anchorage, Alaska
• Los Angeles, California
• San Francisco, California
• Denver, Colorado
• Washington, D.C. (embassy)
• Miami, Florida
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Hagåtña, Guam
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Boston, Massachusetts
• New York City
• Saipan, Northern Marianas
• Portland, Oregon
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Houston, Texas
• Seattle, Washington

Periodically, a Japanese consulate in America in a relatively nearby city or state may set up a "citizen service station" in a place without convenient Japanese consulate representation to assist Japanese nationals with legal matters.

You don't really have a "choice"

When in doubt, choose "C".

The actual form you are to fill out doesn't really give you a choice. It is an formal signed written declaration that you choose Japanese nationality and you will get rid of your other nationalities. The actual declaration part of the form, pre-filled and not modifiable, states:

国籍選択宣言 {kokuseki sentaku sengen}

日本の {Nihon no} 国籍を {kokuseki o} 選択し、 {sentaku shi,} 外国の {gaikoku no} 国籍を {kokuseki o} 放棄します。 {hōki shimasu.}

which roughly translates in English to:

Declaration of Nationality Selection

I choose the nationality of Japan, and will give up my [non-Japanese] nationalities.

The cost of doing the procedure to choose your nationality is free in Japan: ¥0, and if you're 15 years old or older but still a minor in Japan, you need the permission of your legal guardian(s). You don't have to wait until you're an adult to choose. If you are submitting the form to an overseas embassy, you will need to also submit a recent official copy of your Japanese family register.

How is the Choice of Nationality reflected on official paperwork?

Once you submit the paperwork to the authorities, a new 身分事項 {mibun jikō} (personal event) is created in your 戸籍 {koseki} (Japanese family unit register) with the following fields:

Copy (複写 {fukusha}) of a 戸籍謄本 {koseki tōhon} (official copy of a Japanese family unit register)

There may also be a 外国国籍喪失 {gaikoku kokuseki sōshitsu} (Foreign Nationality Loss) field in here depending on the foreign nationality
国籍選択 {kokuseki sentaku} (Nationality Selection)	【国籍選択の宣言日】[kokuseki sentaku no sengen-bi] (Nationality Selection Declaration Date:)

In theory, there could possibly be more than one of these events in this section. For example, if you selected Japanese nationality then involuntarily obtained yet another foreign nationality, you would do the Choice of Nationality procedure within two years of becoming aware of the involuntary / inadvertent foreign nationality acquisition.

What do you do after "choosing" Japanese nationality?

Americans need this to prove they gave up their U.S. nationality

The next step is to fulfill your written and signed obligation to give up all your foreign nationalities. If you are able to legally renounce your nationalities, you are obliged to do so as part of your declaration. This usually involves a procedure for renunciation that is done at an embassy or consulate in Japan, not actually in the country of that nationality.

In the case of Chinese Taipei, which has no formal diplomatic relationship with Japan, you would do it at the main "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan" or one of its branch offices.

Once you have renounced your nationality, you should receive a certificate and/or official paperwork (or a voided foreign passport noting the reason for the cancellation being loss of nationality). In the United States, this is called a Certificate of Loss of Nationality. Take this paperwork, along with a Japanese translation (it does not have to be done by a professional), with identification, to the place that handles the administration of your 戸籍 {koseki} (Japanese family register) — usually a 区役所 {kuyakusho} (ward office) or a 市役所 {shiyakusho} (city hall) close to where you are registered to live in Japan, and tell them you wish to complete and submit a 外国国籍喪失届 {gaikoku kokuseki sōshitsu todoke} (loss of foreign nationality form). Upon doing this, there will be a entry in your register that looks like this and has the following fields:

Portion the of 身分事項 {mibun jikō} (personal matters) section of a 戸籍謄本 {koseki tōhon} (official copy of a Japanese family unit register)

There may also be a 国籍選択 {kokuseki sentaku} (Nationality Choice) field in here depending on the foreign nationality
外国国籍喪失 {gaikoku kokuseki sōshitsu} (Loss of Foreign Nationality)	【外国国籍喪失日】[gaikoku kokuseki sōshitsu-bi] (Date of Loss of Foreign Nationality)
	【喪失した外国籍】[sōshitsu shita gaikokuseki] (Foreign Nationality Country Name)
	【届出日】[todoke-bi] (Notification Date)
	【送付を受けた日】[sōfu o uketa hi] (Date Submission Received)
	【受理者】[jurisha] (Recipient)

Americans who relinquish their U.S. nationality …by taking an oath, affirmation or other formal declaration to a foreign state or its political subdivisions… such as by doing the Japanese Choice of Nationality procedure should have a notation similar to "Sec. 349 (a) (2) INA" in their cancelled U.S. passport and on their CLN. This is slightly different than those who naturalize to Japanese, which will have a notation similar to "Sec. 349 (a) (1) INA"— note the difference between the number one (1) and number two (2) in parenthesis. However, both methods are considered and treated as "relinquishment", not "renouncement", by U.S. law and the IRS tax authorities.

The second meaning of "give up nationalities"

If you can't renounce…

If you are legally unable to give up your foreign nationalities, then you must endeavor to never use the privileges or rights that that nationality would give you. Depending on the country, this may be things such as:

• give up voluntarily possessing and/or renew a passport for a new Japanese country, or use that passport for travel or visas
• give up using rights related to suffrage: participate in politics (vote, run for office, support politicians or parties)
• give up working or living in the country without getting permission as a foreigner using a visa ("freedom of abode")
• give up working in a job only available to citizens of that country (ex. military, government, public servant, police, pilot or captain)
• give up exercising any other privilege or right that would only be available to a national (financial, social welfare, etc.) who was in the same position as you

There may be cases where using the nationality is unavoidable. For example, most countries require its nationals to use their own passport to enter and leave the country, even if you have more than one passport. If may be impossible to return or illegal to dispose of or destroy your current passport; you will simply have to wait up to ten (10) years for the passport to naturally expire. Additionally, because you are still technically a national of that country, you may end of being on the hook for duties and responsibilities related to its laws (such as taxation or military service or judicial service), even if you are not physically in that country's territory anymore.

In particular, the Japanese nationality law makes it clear that if you attempt to work for the government on a foreign country (for any public civil servant position that is limited to nationals of that country) while abstaining from using any foreign nationality, you can be stripped of Japanese nationality (Article 16) by the Minister of Justice.

How do I know whether I should renounce or "give up / abandon" my foreign nationalities?

If you have naturalized, you will be told, either orally and/or paperwork instructions containing check marks beside the procedures that you should do, whether or not a nationality renunciation procedure exists for your foreign nationalities.

Additionally, your case worker will have looked into the legal procedures for your country and will have determined if a procedure exists for renunciation. The Oath to Renounce that you sign and address to the Japanese Minister of Justice will contain two words separated by a mid-dot and one of them will be circled or crossed out: 放棄 {hōki} (give up / abandon)・離脱 {ridatsu} (renounce / relinquish); and the country/countries the selected word applies to will be written above the underline. This will indicate whether you made a legal oath to renounce your non-Japanese citizenship(s) and turn in evidence within two (2) years, or perform the Choice of Nationality procedure.

Can you do the Choice of Nationality instead of formally renouncing / relinquishing non-Japanese nationalities?

An interesting trait of the Choice of Nationality process is that they will let any Japanese national that has a nationality other than Japanese do it, even if they don't legally need to do it. For example, those born before 1985 or those who are supposed to renounce their foreign nationalities (because they are naturalizing and a renunciation procedure exists for the countries) are not required to do the procedure.

This is because the 市区町村役場 {shikuchōson yakuba} (municipal office) or the 在外公館 {zaigai kōkan} (overseas diplomatic mission) is simply in charge of ensuring that you meet the primary requirements to accept the paperwork to add a identity matter to your family register:

• you're Japanese
• you have another nationality
• you are old enough or have permission to do the process

A substitute's only recognized if the recipe permits.

If you are an American or Canadian and you naturalize to Japanese, you will be told by the Ministry of Justice, both orally and in writing and via having you sign an oath, that you need to renounce your nationality. However, it is still possible to do the Choice procedure even though it is legally possible for you to relinquish or renounce your nationality.

Nevertheless, doing the Choice procedure will not create the 外国国籍喪失 {gaikoku kokuseki sōshitsu} (loss of foreign nationality) entry in the 身分事項 {mibun jikō} (personal matters) section of your 戸籍 {koseki} (family register), which is what is what the 法務省 {hōmushō} (Ministry of Justice) will want to see if they decide to check if you followed through and completed the conditions in the naturalization law and your oaths or what you declared in your Choice declaration.

The Choice Procedure is not the final step if it is possible to legally renounce or relinquish your nationality; it is not a substitute for legally giving it up.

Can I just do the Choice Procedure if Renouncing/Relinquishing is too hard or expensive?

The hard part's not getting a new nationality, but getting rid of the old nationality.

How difficult it is to do the other half of the naturalization process, remove your other nationality, depends on those countries. If it's legally impossible (that is, forbidden by the law of that country or there is no legal method), then Japan offers a compromise, because it wants its naturalization process to be equally available to all non-national immigrants.

What happens, though, if it's not impossible, but just difficult or arduous? What happens if it takes a long time to do? Requires a very long time to process and is difficult to schedule and make appointments? Requires difficult to obtain or complete paperwork? Contains punitive or other measures to discourage it? Requires you to travel (perhaps multiple times) to a country that is far away? Is vindictive in that it future interaction with that country may be problematic? Requires you to pay an extraordinary fee or pay an extraordinary amount of "taxes" or a penalty such as an "exit tax"?

Unfortunately, the neither the Choice of Nationality Procedure nor the Naturalization process give preference or leniency for these matters. I have read things on the internet (!) where some people have claimed they they received a "special exemption" from renouncing because they were from America and "they made too much money"; when I confirmed with officials at 九段下 {Kudanshita}, however, they were skeptical. Heavily paraphrasing, he said,

We do not give people an exemption because they pay too much tax. If anything, it makes more sense that we'd be less likely to be lenient on somebody who was wealthy, because they can afford it and have the means to do it. I promise you that no matter how much money this person has, there are wealthier people who have naturalized and they did not receive any breaks. We cannot encourage people to skip inconvenient parts of the law simply because of their ways and means.

When you consider that one of the richest men in both Japan and the world, billionaire Masayoshi Son (孫正義 {SON Masayoshi}), claimed in his biography that he was not able to receive preferential treatment, this makes sense.

If your other nationalities don't allow dual citizenship either, is renouncing them necessary?

Although not diplomatically recognized by Japan, Taiwan's document is accepted as proof of renunciation.

Most of the countries in the world do not allow for people to voluntarily hold multiple nationalities. And even more countries in Asia don't allow for multiple nationality, and the nations from which, on average, have represented over 90% of the group of people that have naturalized to Japanese don't recognize dual nationality either.

So, all these people need to do is voluntarily naturalize to Japanese or voluntarily select Japanese nationality, and their previous nationality is automatically becomes null and void, correct?

Not really.

At the very minimum, you may have to notify the governments of your non-Japanese nationalities that this event has occurred. Government bureaus around the world do not periodically read the government publications such as the Official Gazette (Japan) or the Federal Register (United States) to determine who has acquired or lost nationality. Even if they tried, they probably wouldn't be able to confirm it because the names were ambiguously transliterated into a foreign script (Japan) or the data may be known to be not 100% reliable with typos, omissions, or duplicates (United States). Countries that naturalize people, transforming them into their own citizens, are under no obligation to tell other countries that they have done this. A country can attempt to ask or confirm if a person possesses a nationality, though, but this is guesswork and time consuming. The policy is "Ask. Don't Tell."

Most countries have to be extremely careful not to accidentally make somebody stateless due to United Nation's conventions and because having a nationality is a human right. Thus, countries will only remove the nationality from somebody when they have seen solid proof that the person possesses another nationality. And this proof usually has to be provided by the person in question, unless a formal investigation is occurring. The proof has to be so good that a passport is usually not considered to be good enough proof of current (← keyword) nationality.

In recent news, the current Democratic Party of Japan (民進党 {Minshintō} / DP)'s leader and member of the House of Councillors (参議院 {sangiin}), "Renho" (村田蓮舫 {MURATA Renhō}), discovered this the hard way when the press discovered that neither she nor her parents had informed the government of Taiwan, ROC, that she had acquired Japanese nationality. Being a lawmaker that is legally connected to two different sets of (often incompatible) laws is scandalous and problematic.

What do you do if you don't choose Japanese nationality?

In Japan, burning or defacing the national flag (for protest, etc) is allowed (Article 21). But burning other countries' flags is illegal.

If you don't choose your Japanese nationality, then the alternative is to formally lose your Japanese nationality, which is done with a separate form:

国籍喪失届 {kokuseki sōshitsu todoke} (Forfeiture [Relinquishment] of [Japanese] Nationality Form)

This procedure is done when you have deliberately or voluntarily did something to lose your Japanese nationality. For example, when a Japanese adult takes U.S. nationality through naturalization.

The definition of what constitutes forfeiture/relinquishment of Japanese nationality is Japan's Family Register law (戸籍法 {koseki-hō}), Articles 103 & 105.

国籍離脱届 {kokuseki ridatsu todoke} ([Loss] Renouncement of [Japanese] Nationality Form)

This procedure is done when you let go of your Japanese nationality due to other reasons, such as the involuntary acquisition of a non-Japanese nationality through birth in a jus soli (birth citizenship by soil/territory) country like most in the Americas or marriage (jus matrimonii) — though there are few, if any, nations in the 21st century that confer nationality simply by marrying somebody; marriage however often does simplify and make naturalization easier, but it does not make it automatic nor guaranteed.

The definition of what constitutes renunciation of Japanese nationality is defined by Japanese Nationality Law (国籍法 {kokuseki-hō}), Article 13.

The cost of doing the procedure to lose your nationality is free in Japan: ¥0.

Like the Choice of Nationality form, you can do these procedure as early as fifteen (15) years of age, but Japanese minors need the permission from their legal guardians.

Although the ability of a Japanese national to divest themselves of the nationality is an explicit constitutional right (Article 22), a prerequisite for doing the above procedures is you must show current proof of possessing a non-Japanese nationality (and providing Japanese translations of this official foreign paperwork). This is because Japan and most other countries of the world have ratified the UNHCR Conventions on the Reduction of Statelessness. The United States is an exception in that it will let overseas American citizens renounce and be stateless (an American cannot renounce on U.S. territory except during official times of war).

Are there any penalties for not choosing?

Don't turn your back on disaster or news.

There are no fines or imprisonment specified for failing to choose a nationality by two (2) years after being a Japanese adult with involuntarily acquired non-Japanese nationality (as of 2016, this means before turning the age of 22).

However, the nationality law does stipulate that they can remove your Japanese nationality if you don't choose by the law's deadline.

According to the Japanese Nationality Law, the procedure for removing your Japanese nationality for failing to choose is as follows:

1. First, the Ministry of Justice will try to contact you directly.
2. If they are unable to reach you directly (most likely, as they probably don't have your address, email, or phone number on record if you are living outside of Japan), they will post a notice to you in the 官報 {kampō} (Official Gazette) warning you contact the Ministry of Justice within one month. As most people don't make it a habit of reading the Japanese Official Gazette, you will most likely miss reading about or learning about this notice.
3. Unless they have reason to believe you have a good excuse for being tardy and not responding (ex. natural disaster, calamity or war in the area where they believe you are), they can remove your Japanese nationality if you fail to respond and choose within one month of the written publicly published notice.

If you miss the one month deadline however, you still have one last chance to get your Japanese nationality back:

• If you legally renounce / relinquish your foreign nationalities within one year after losing your Japanese nationality due to failure to choose in time, they will restore your Japanese nationality.
• If, in the judgement of the Ministry of Justice, there's a good external reason (ex. war, natural disaster, calamity etc.) why you can't renounce or relinquish your foreign nationality, then the deadline for legally relinquishing / renouncing your foreign nationality will be extended to one month past the time when they believe you are able to reasonably legally remove your foreign nationalities.

As of 2016, the Ministry of Justice has never posted a notice in the government's Gazette, but it's unknown if they have warned people of tardiness by contacting them directly.

What happens if you choose Japanese nationality but then don't give up your foreign nationality even though you can?

licensed from iStock

The truth is, nobody knows for sure with respect to the Choice Procedure because it's never been tested or challenged by either side.

Message boards in the English internet are full of stories from the Japanese diaspora (Japanese-Americans, Japanese-Canadians, etc) about how what you should do is make sure you get a ten year passport (the red one) after you become an adult (twenty in Japan) then do the Choice of Nationality procedure and "choose Japan" and then do nothing. If you're caught still possessing both after a considerable amount of time, they say, just give the excuse to the (most likely) airport immigration officer that "you haven't gotten around to it", or some similar excuse.

Even if an immigration officer never asks you about it, you will eventually have to confront being asked about it if you attempt to apply for renew your Japanese passport after you made The Choice: the application form has a question asking about the possession of dual nationality and asks specifically how you obtained it, as well as warning about fines and imprisonment penalities for lying on the government paperwork.

According to the Japan's Nationality Law, Article 14 Paragraph 2, the phrase 『国籍選択』"kokuseki sentaku" ("declaration of choice") is a euphemism/definition for the renouncing / depraving and swearing to be a Japanese national. In theory, if the Ministry of Justice were so inclined, they could argue that a person who merely signed a form without actually doing anything about their foreign nationality didn't actually do "the choice", which would mean the procedures for removing Japanese nationality from somebody who fails to do the whole Procedure within the allotted time.

Misinfo: you will never get caught nor will they enforce single nationality if you cut corners

Spending a life avoiding getting caught is a stressful way to live.

I have read several theories, often accompanying advice among young Japanese dual nationals faced with the Choice of Nationality but trying to have the best of both worlds, that it is okay to hide or ignore your lack of decision based on three theories:

1. There is no punishment such as a fine or imprisonment, therefore the laws are toothless and without meaning.
2. It is too difficult for the government to detect who has dual nationality, and/or there is no way for the government to ask other governments if a person possesses a nationality.
3. The government is intentionally not enforcing single nationality rules because they are afraid they will not choose Japan, and they'd rather have a dual national than no national at all.

It is true that there is no penalties such as a fine or imprisonment for not doing properly doing either the Declaration of Choice or its naturalization procedure properly. However, just because there is no defined penalty (yet) does not mean it's not illegal. Both mandates for giving up one's nationality when one chooses Japanese nationality (either through naturalization or through the Choice procedure) is defined and codified in law. When something is written in law, and you do not something not in accordance to the law, that is by definition illegal.

Why their is no defined penalty in the form of a fine or imprisonment, the government does have a mechanism for removing your Japanese nationality if they determine that you do not do either the Choice of Nationality or the Naturalization procedure in Good Faith and they know you have more than one nationality: Administrative Denaturalization, which is a fancy way of saying they are removing nationality from you, after the fact, because you never actually properly acquired or kept it. This is sort of like a marriage annulment, which is different from a divorce, in that the "marriage" was discovered later to not be legitimate.

Once upon a time, when all of the naturalization records were on paper or in various incompatible digital formats (part of the national My Number and family register systems involved unifying all the character encoding schemes used by local governments using Unicode with IVS), decentralized across the country discovery of family registers whose entries were inconsistent or out of date could not be done automatically. Starting just last year, however, it is now possible to discover missing or inconsistent records in automated batches using a database procedure language; what would have taken hundreds of thousands of man hours in the 20th century can now be done, thanks to computers, in seconds.

The last theory I've heard is that the Japanese government is well aware that people are not properly giving up their nationality, but they're choosing to intentionally not do anything about it because they don't want the worldwide population of dual or multinational overseas Japanese to decrease. Pop theories as to why they would do this range from: the economic value that global expat migrants provide back to the homeland, the need to keep the official Japanese national population from dropping further (via any means possible), and simple explanations regarding ethnic pride and loss of face.

To me this sounds like rather dangerous wishful thinking. It's like saying that the reason almost no Americans overseas get caught for not filing annual income tax forms is because the United States' government is afraid that too many people will give up their U.S. citizenship. Judging from the number of Americans that are giving up up since they started making new laws to detect people not in compliance, it doesn't seem to bother the American people a bit.

There are very rough estimates, with wide margins of error, of anywhere from 600,000 to 700,000 Japanese nationals who hold more than one nationality. Of those, the vast majority are exempt from doing the Choice procedure because they were born before 1985. They are a smaller group than the foreigner population in Japan. Compared to many other Asians overseas, there numbers are dropping rapidly as the Japanese diaspora has is often in the 4th or 5th generation and don't bother securing Japanese nationality. As most of them are beyond the 3rd generation, they are usually too assimilated into their host cultures to re-immigrate into Japanese society. Thus, Most of them contribute little to nothing back to the Japanese economy except for perhaps a an occasional vacation to Japan and and an extended work/stay during their gap years before or after completion of higher education.

Recently, many countries around the work (Denmark, Austria, and Canada being in the news recently) have begin to assert their sovereign right to revoke their nationality from a person if they possess more than one — a strict interpretation of U.N. based human rights (Article 15) which state that every human is entitled to "a" (one) nationality, but not necessarily more than that. Furthermore, the vast majority of the population only has one nationality; they do not feel much sympathy for those, who due to privilege and circumstance, are are able to "forum shop" between different countries, overriding the democratic principle of every person under the same set of laws, in it together for society.

For those born overseas who reject the actual meaning of nationality — a legal tie to a nation-state government and its laws — and use it as a token of ethnic identity or a symbol of an emotional tie to both parents, the loss of a nationality that they don't actually use is probably of little real non-emotional consequence. However, for those that actually use their Japanese nationality, such as people who have a permanent life in Japan, it is probably better to choose your nationality, rather than find yourself in the bad situation of having a government "choose" it for you.

How many Japanese renounce or relinquish their nationality?

The procedure and law for Choice of Nationality wasn't created until 1985. Those born after this date didn't have to make a choice of nationality until two year after they were recognized as an adult in Japan. 1985 + 20 + 2 = 2007. Thus, people who relinquished their Japanese nationality for another foreign nationality is still a new thing, less than a decade old at the time this post was written (2016). The numbers are very low for renouncing one's Japanese nationality (due to naturalizing to another nationality) as well.

The terms "relinquishment" for 喪失 {sōshitsu}& "renunciation" for 離脱 {ridatsu}, even though they're not exact translations, roughly corresponds to the U.S. notions of relinquishment (involuntary) and renouncement (voluntary).

licensed from CartoonStock Ltd.

Japan is the reverse of the United States when it comes to publishing personal data about those who change nationality. In Japan, your date of birth, your home address, and your (former) name — converted to Japanese syllabet (仮名 {kana}) or sinograms (漢字 {kanji}) — are published in the Official Gazette (官報 {kampō}) for the Japanese government. The United States couldn't possibly publish all the names because there are too many. However, they do have a "name & shame" list where the publish the full names of those who either relinquish or renounce their U.S. citizenship every quarter, in the U.S. Federal Register that was created in the nineties due to the belief that the only reason most Americans would give up their precious United States nationality was because they were attempting to avoid paying their obligatory tax duties. The arduous annual procedures and paperwork expat Americans to report and file for federal and state income tax every year, combined with the threat of fines related to FBAR compliance tardiness and mistakes, as well as extraterritorial enforcement and vetting via FATCA, has meant that the quarterly list has grown so large that it requires fancy formatting for the web version of the publication, and it may start to swell the size of the printed version of the U.S. Congress' publication.

A Eurasian ハーフ {hāfu} (mixed race), some say she resembles Anne Hathaway (アン・ハサウェイ {An · HASAWEI}).

Not long after it was discovered that Japan's The Democratic Party's Renho (村田蓮舫 {MURATA Renhō}), born with Taiwanese ROC nationality but later acquired Japanese nationality at the age of 18 due to the 1985 nationality law change, had failed to legally renounce her foreign nationalities, people discovered that another member of the House of Councillors, Kimi Onoda (小野田紀美 {ONODA Kimi}), had failed to complete her Declaration of Choice by legally relinquishing her U.S. nationality after making her Declaration choosing Japanese nationality.

Kimi Onoda was born in Chicago, Illinois, to an American father and a Japanese mother, in 1982. Her family returned to Japan, where she did all of her compulsory schooling and high school education in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture (岡山県瀬戸内市 {Okayama-ken Setouchi-shi}) before moving to Tokyo and graduating from Takushoku University (拓殖大学 {Takushoku Daigaku}), having studied politics and economics. She obtained a license to be a high school teacher before working at a CD & game software creation company for three years. In 2011, she was successfully elected to a seat in the City Councilors in Kita, Tokyo (東京都北区 {Tōkyō-to Kita-ku}) as a member of the LDP (自民党 {Jimintō}). She was re-elected in 2015 for a second term, but resigned in October of that year to run for a seat in the House of Councillors (参議院 {Sangiin}) representing Okayama's voting district (岡山県選挙区 {Okayama-ken senkyo-ku}) in the National Diet (国会 {Kokkai}).

This portion of her family register was voluntarily posted by her to her official Facebook account

She self-censored, like we do, non-relevant fields
【名】[na] ([given name])	紀美 {Kimi} (Kimi)
【国籍選択の宣言日】[kokuseki sentaku no sengenbi] ([Nationality Selection Declaration Date])	平成27年10月1日 (2015-Oct-1)
【送付を受けた日】[sōfu o uketa hi] ([Date Submission Received])	平成27年10月26日 (2015-Oct-26)
【受理者】[jurisha] ([Recipient])	東京都北区長 {Tōkyō-to Kita kuchō} (Tokyo's Kita City/Ward Mayor)

Controversy arose soon after it was discovered the the Democratic Party's recently elected leader (also a member of Japan's upper house of parliament), "Renho", had not legally renounced her Republic of China nationality.

Prime Minster Abe, when asked on October 3rd, 2016 during a House of Representatives budgetary meeting about whether the members of his own political party only had Japanese nationality, replied, 「基本的にわが党の議員は二重国籍ではないとの認識に立っている」 (Basically, it is my understanding that no members of our party have dual nationality.) However, on the very next day, it was discovered that Kimi Onoda still possessed U.S. nationality because she had not followed through and done the final part of her Declaration of Nationality.

Kimi Onoda had this official statement, explanation, and apology regarding her actions, which accompanied the above self-posted portion of her 戸籍 {koseki} (Japanese family register) on the internet:

小野田紀美です。

国籍について、一部マスコミから取材がありましたので、経緯をご説明させて頂きます。

私は出生がアメリカ合衆国ですので、生まれた時から米国籍を有しておりました。成人した後に、どちらかの国籍を選ぶための通知書が送られてくると親に聞いておりましたが、結局その通知はこず、25歳前後の頃不安に思い外務省に確認したところ、日本のパスポートを使い日本の戸籍謄本があるならば日本国籍を失っていないから大丈夫だという回答を頂き、私は日本人になれたのだと解釈しておりました。

しかし、昨年（平成27年）、参議院議員に立候補を決意するにあたり万が一があってはならないと再度確認したところ、やはり自分で手続きをしなくては選択したことにならないと判明したため、立候補前の平成27年10月に日本国籍選択と米国籍放棄手続きを役所で終えました。戸籍謄本にも国籍選択が完了している旨が記載されております（画像参照 ）。

それで手続きは無事終了したと思っておりましたが、今回の蓮舫議員の二重国籍問題報道を受け、今一度詳細を調査したところ、米国の法においての放棄ができていなかったという経緯でございます。現在は、米国においての国籍放棄の手続きを進めております。私の知識不足でアメリカ国内での手続きという努力義務が完了できていなかったことにつきまして、皆様をご不安にさせてしまい大変申し訳ございませんでした。今後はこのようなご心配をおかけすることがないように、さらに慎重に手続きを行ってまいります。

An unofficial translation of the above could read:

This is Kimi Onoda.

Some of the mass media has been reporting issues regarding my nationality, so I thought I'd like to explain the situation myself.

Because I was born in the United States of America, I obtained U.S. nationality from birth. After reaching the age of majority, I heard from my parents that they received a written notice regarding choosing nationality. Eventually, some time had passed since that notice, and at around the age of 25 I was feeling anxious about it so I checked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They told me that if I was using a Japanese passport and I had a Japanese family register then I had not lost my Japanese nationality therefore I had nothing to worry about. I understood this to mean that I had become Japanese.

However, last year (2015), upon deciding that I would become a candidate for the House of Councillors, I decided to confirm once again. It became clear that I had some procedures and a choice that I had to make. Before I ran for that office, I completed the choice of nationality and gave up my U.S. nationality. This was noted on my Japanese family register (refer to the accompanying image).

With this, I thought that I had completed the procedures without incident. However, due to the reporting of MPRenho's dual nationality problem in the media, a more thorough investigation has occurred, and I learned that according to U.S. law I had not given up my nationality. I am currently in the process of giving up my U.S. nationality. Regarding my lack of knowledge of the procedures on the American side relating to making an effort to my duty to relinquish my foreign nationality, I'd like to deeply and humbly apologize to everybody for causing so much concern. I will endeavor to make sure I do no cause so much worry by carefully following procedures.

An interesting aspect of this case is that Kimi Onoda was born before 1985— meaning she is not legally obligated by law to do the Choice of Nationality procedure. For these cases, it is assumed that Japanese nationals born before this date. This means that at least in the world of politics, it is also assumed that people born before 1985 will also endeavor to legally and formally rid themselves of non-Japanese nationalities.

The succession of lawmakers that are supposed to exclusively represent the will of the Japanese People being discovered to be legally connected to foreign governments and laws has led some to call for legislation banning dual nationals from assuming public positions with legislative, judicial, or executive powers. (executive powers can include things such as police officers, fire fighters, and even teachers as these positions are given rights to order Japanese to do things). While many countries in the world have laws banning those with dual or one foreign nationality from certain positions, Japan does not yet have laws which ban multi-nationals from certain positions. It does have laws preventing non-Japanese nationals from certain public positions.

55% of weddings in Japan are "western" style (2014)

Often times, when people learn that I have Japanese nationality, they ask me, "are you married to a Japanese?" When I answer yes, they often say, "oh, that's why," perhaps concluding in their head that it was marriage that enabled me to obtain Japanese nationality.

However, many are then surprised to learn that marriage neither leads to automatic conferral of nationality nor is it necessary in order to get Japanese citizenship. Many unmarried people in Japan have an easier time naturalizing than they do acquiring their so-called "permanent" resident status (永住者資格 {eijūsha shikaku}) for their residency in Japan.

Historically†, there have been three ways to obtain nationality "automatically", or involuntarily, in the world:

• by where you were born (jus soli; 出生地主義 {shusshōchi shugi})
• by the nationality of your parents (jus sanguinis; 血統主義 {kettō shugi})
• by marriage (jus matrimonii; 婚姻主義 {kon'in shugi})

In some countries, religion, marriage, and nationality/citizenship (and sometimes even sex) are connected and sometimes inseparable (particularly in some Islamic states); marriage to a national of that country would confer, whether you desired it or not, the assumption of nationality and also religion on the person).

India abolished jus soli in 2004.

As a general rule of thumb, countries from the "Old World" of Europe and Asia tend to be jus sanguinis ("right of the blood"), whereas countries from the "New World", which were created by settlement from Europe, tend to be jus soli ("right of the soil"). Modern democracies tend to be a combination of the two with policies weighted towards one method, with the majority of the world favoring inheriting nationality from the parents, and if they do have jus soli, it is usually "restricted jus soli" (lex soli)‡.

Some countries restricted the inheritance of nationality to the father: paternal jus sanguinis (父系優先血統主義 {fukei yūsen kettō}). Japan, South Korea (ROK), and most other countries were like this. The United Nations however encouraged countries to have nationality laws which do not discriminate on the basis of sex, so many countries changed their nationality laws. Japan changed its nationality laws in 1985 so that it did not discriminate between boys and girls (父母両系血統主義 {fubo ryōkei kettō shugi}), which ended up retroactively giving nationality to many Japanese born in 1984 and before who had a father of foreign nationality.

男 {otoko}

There are still countries to this day, however, that only give or give preference to the nationality of the father. An incomplete list would include:

• Indonesia
• Sri Lanka
• Iraq
• Iran …

Japan's Nationality Law under the Meiji Constitution (1890~1947) had a concept of jus matrimonii (right by marriage) that was combined with its naturalization laws that were biased by sex:

If you were a foreign women that married a Japanese national, you could acquire Japanese nationality. However, if you were a Japanese woman that married a foreign national man, you lost your Japanese nationality— under the presumption that you would, in addition to the man's family name, be acquiring that foreign man's nationality as well!

However, this was not the only way for a foreign woman to acquire Japanese nationality: in addition to marrying a Japanese man, a foreign woman could naturalize and become a subject of the Japanese Empire. She did not have to marry to become Japanese. There are examples, such as ballerina 霧島エリ子 {KIRISHIMA Eriko} née Елена Павлова {Yelena PAVLOVA}, originally from the Russian Empire, who introduced Japan to the world of ballet and western social dance. She is enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社 {Yasukuni Jinja}) for her morale boosting service in Manchuria during wartime, although you do not have to be Japanese (or even human — animals are okay) to be enshrined there.

In the modern era, due to the separation of ethnicity, sex, and religion from civil marriage and civic nationality, there are not many countries left in the world that outright give nationality to somebody on the basis of marriage alone. Most countries consider marriage to be merely one variable in one's favor when considering granting either medium to long term (there's no such thing as permanent) residency status to a foreign resident or nationality to an assimilating immigrant. Other variables, such as one's finances, education, and behavior can disqualify you from becoming a citizen despite being married to a native.

Gérard Depardieu got Russian nationality over French tax use

In Japan's case, being legally married (civil unions and common law marriages do not count) in a marriage that is recognized by Japan, regardless of whether the marriage was done in Japan or overseas, providing the marriage is judged as stable and legitimate, can lead to either an easier path to permanent residency status (永住者資格 {eijūsha shikaku}) or to "simplified naturalization" (簡易帰化 {kan'i kika}), which simply means that the length of continuous time you need to be legally physically present in Japan is lowered from the minimum of five (5) years. Just because you are legally married on paper, however, does not mean your marriage will be judged as stable and legitimate: you will need to show that you have been living together for at least a few years, and both of you will be questioned during an interview process to see if you two have the type of familiarity with each other that spouses normally have.

Templo del Gran Jaguar

Still, there are still a few countries left that give considerable weight to marriage, above all the usual factors which determine naturalization eligibility, when it comes to nationality. Guatemala's nationality law, for example, gives extra special consideration to those who marry a Guatemalan national inside the country when it comes to naturalization:

Artículo 43. La extranjera que se case con guatemalteco podrá hacer la opción por la nacionalidad guatemalteca en las diligencias matrimoniales, cuando éstas tienen lugar en Guatemala, pero las demás formalidades deberán ser cumplidas en el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, a efecto de que se reconozca la naturalización.

Translated:

Article 43. A foreign national who marries a Guatemalan may opt for Guatemalan citizenship when formalizing the marriage, if this is done in Guatemala; however, other formalities must be completed with the Ministry of Foreign Relations in order for the naturalization to be recognized.

---

• † A rare exception: citizenship to the Vatican, technically a nation-state, is via jus officii— by appointment by an existing Holy See official only.
• ‡ Japan does not give automatic citizenship to Japanese diaspora such as Japanese-Brazilians, but per lex sanguinis, gives a foreign resident status of 定住者 {teijūsha} (long term resident), which is very similar to a permanent resident, to those of third generation or less that meet all the requirements.

These two men became Japanese subjects during the Empire and popularized American jazz from the Philippines.

Raymond Conde is one of the most famous Filipinos to have ever immigrated to Japan. He is known as being one of the many to bring and develop jazz music within Japan, introducing both American styles and influencing Japanese styles of the genre.

Jazz, invented by Americans, was introduced to the Philippines by American colonizers as early as 1898, which marked the end of the Spanish-American War, the declaration of independence by Emilio Aguinaldo, and the non-recognition of that declaration by the United States, which believed they acquired the Philippine Islands via the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

The new American colonizers, primarily Black American soldiers, would bring both their harmonicas and their jazz culture to Manila. By the 1920s American occupiers would bring gramophones and jazz records from the States and play them in music halls and clubs. This imported culture would be adopted by many Filipinos such as Raymond Conde, and they would learn it and eventually evolve it, incorporating traditional Filipino folk songs and their own jazz riffs into the originally American music.

During the dawn of jazz just before World War Ⅱ, the Filipino musicians grew up knowing both Spanish colonization and later American colonization of the Philippines, and contempt for the native ethnic populations was rough. Even among musician peers, it was not uncommon for Filipino musicians to be casually referred to by ethnic slurs.

Fireworks over the Taiwan Hall at the Exhibition

During the Taisho and early Meiji eras, New Orleans style jazz was being brought to the ports in both Kobe in the west and Yokohama in the east. Japan was holding its 平和記念大博覧会 {heiwa kinen dai hakurankai} (the Tokyo Peace Memorial Exhibition), running in 1922 (昭和 {Shōwa}１１年 {nen) from March 10th to July 31st at Ueno Park in Tokyo. One of the performances was a minstrel show, with Dixie Jazz being played as the accompanying music. Inside that band were three jazz men who were the Conde brothers (Vidi, Raymond, and Gregorio) from the Philippines. It was their first visit to the country that would become their permanent home.

The Conde brothers in Shanghai (1940) Left to Right: Vidi, Raymond, Gregorio

Raymond Conde was born in the Philippines on January 3rd, 1916 (大正 {Taishō５年 {nen) — he began playing saxophone during high school in the Philippines with his two brothers: his older brother Vidi and Gregorio. In 1932 (昭和 {Shōwa}７年 {nen) — at the young age of sixteen (16), he and his two brothers immigrated to Japan. During their stay in Japan they would often visit and perform in Shanghai, which was a designated foreign trade "Treaty port", according to the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. Not just the Japanese, but the British, and Americans had settlements there.

At the end of 1934 (昭和 {Shōwa}８年 {nen), various competing house musicians from four of the big dance halls ("Tiger", "King", "Palace", and "Amagasaki") in the Kuise neighborhood of Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture (兵庫県尼ヶ崎市 {Hyōgo-ken Amagasaki-shi}), right across the Samondo-gawa river (左門殿川 {Samondo-gawa}) from Osaka City (大阪市 {Ōsaka-shi}), united together to form the 『四ホール連盟ダンス・オーケストラ』 {"4 Hōru renmei Dansu · Ōkesutora"}("Four Dance Hall Alliance Orchestra"), an honorary name they would use with their recording label in Osaka, 帝国蓄音機商会 {Teikoku Chikuonki Shōkai} ("Imperial Records", presently TEICHIKU ENTERTAINMENT, INC.). An interesting point of note with this alliance band is that it was composed of a mixture of Japanese and non-Japanese talent. Even though he was just 27 years old at the time, the oldest Conde brother, Vidi, would often conduct this ethnically (and nationality) mixed all-star cast. At the time, Raymond (barely 18 years old at the time) and his brother Gregorio played the saxophone.

Even today, Teichiku specializes in older, traditional classical Japanese music. Ms. Mori is part of the new young generation of enka singers under the their label.

It is from this group as well as other groups (such as the all-white group "Jerry Wood and His Ambassadors") that Teichiku comprised its in-house orchestra, the Teichiku Jazz Orchestra, which it called upon for various recording projects, domestic and international.

Raymond soon began performing in an all-star parlor music band called 『松竹軽音楽団』 {"Shōchiku keiongaku-dan"} (SLMO), performing jazz, chanson française, tango, Hawaiian, and popular semi-traditional Japanese music — that would eventually evolve into the two genres of Japanese soul/blues singing (演歌 {enka}) and "pops".

In 1936, at the age of twenty (20), he was accepted and entered Waseda University's International Institute to study medicine. At this time, swing music for dancing was the rage, and Raymond Conde switched to the clarinet, identified his style as being primarily swing, and played gigs on the side while enrolled as a student.

Two years later, in 1938, he would meet the person who would become his Japanese wife, Teiko YOSHIBA (吉場貞子 {YOSHIBA Teiko}). He naturalized to become a Japanese subject simultaneously, allowing his wife to keep her nationality; per the Meiji Constitution era Nationality Laws which linked nationality and marriage together, his wife would have lost Japanese nationality (and probably automatically acquired Philippine nationality via jus matrimonii) if he did not acquire Japanese nationality as the man/head of the family. Upon naturalizing, he thus became 吉場レイモンド {YOSHIBA Reimondo}.

After Japan started the Pacific War with the United States on December 8th, 1941 [JST: GMT+0900], anti-Western sentiment was sweeping Japan. Those who were not Japanese and who had not naturalized previously and taken Japanese nationality were deported (and held in detention camps until they could be deported).

Pre-war domestic high end SW radio

Although Raymond had become legally Japanese, he was not conscripted into the Empire's military like some other naturalized Japanese. As a talented musician, the government decided he would be far more effective using his musical talents for propaganda purposes. Raymond Conde and others were asked to perform for shortwave radio broadcasts aimed at Allied and Japanese troops. They did not make broadcasts for the regular Japanese population because civilians in Japan were banned from possessing or using shortwave radio receivers during wartime. Indeed, some people, including naturalized Japanese, got in trouble with the police and military because they were suspected, based on wires that looked like antenna, of having shortwave radios.

Japan's entrance into the Pacific War caused it to have a reactionary attitude towards anything considered to be part of the Allied Power's cultures; Culture from the Axis powers (Germany and Italy) were considered to be okay, however. Their dilemma, however, was that although jazz was undeniably an American invention and phenomenon, it was too popular to ban completely because they understood how popular music helped the morale of both regular people and soldiers. Similar to the Soviet Union and Germany, Japanese censors and propaganda directors attempted to modulate jazz, music, and vocabulary so it served patriotism. Jazz musicians would stop using stage names that sounded foreign. Musical instruments referred to by 外来語 {gairaigo} (foreign loanwords) were given Japanese names — which were often awkwardly long and unwieldy compound phrases. Anything that celebrated national exceptionalism, the military, or spiritually mobilized the people was okay.

However, most of Japan's profession musicians soon learned that government censors and propaganda advisers couldn't tell the difference between modern music that was domestic or foreign, and even when they could, musicians and fans of the music were free to play their preferred songs so long as it was not too loud and obvious. Some Allied forces claimed that some of the material being broadcast by Japan aimed at them had the opposite effect of demoralizing them: they enjoyed it.

Ray Conde, with clarinet on left, and G.I.s.

After the war, around 1949, Raymond reverted to using his birth family name professionally for performances (jazz players of the time used stage names that sounded western and had their names presented first-last name order). During these American occupation of Japan, both professional jazz performers, often playing for the USO and the American military, as well as amateur soldiers, would perform both on stage and in small Japanese clubs. There were also professional jazz musicians among the rank of regular enlisted men due to the fact that it was not a volunteer force: able-bodied men in the early forties were drafted and conscripted into the armed forces.

The exposure that Japanese performers got from these Americans, playing with them and riffing and experimenting live, as opposed to listening to recordings, was huge for the development of jazz in Japan.

Many new bands were created that consisted of a mix of Japanese and military personnel.

Recorded from 1959 to 1960.

It was during this post-war time that Raymond Conde formed his most influential band. called the "Gay Septette" (ゲイ・セプテット {Gei Seputeddo}), meaning the "Happy Seven". The lineup would change over time, but being part of the group would develop many domestic and international stars:

piano: Francisco Reyes (田沢喜一 {TAZAWA Yoshikazu}) / nickname: Francisco "Kiko" (フランシスコ・キーコ {Furanshisuko · Kīko})

Like Raymond, he is was a Filipino immigrant (from Santa Maria in the province of Bulacan) who naturalized in 1937 (one year before Raymond) and became Japanese. Soon after coming to Japan he began playing at the Kobe Oriental Hotel. (神戸オリエンタルホテル {Kōbe Orientaru Hoteru}}) During the War he performed with Raymond Conde in the studio for the war effort. Starting around 1958 he began performing solo in Ginza clubs. He is known for his ad lib styles. In 1980, he was the recipient of the　"Player Award" of the 22nd Annual Japan Record Award. Born October 10, 1907 (明治 {Meiji}４０年 {nen). Passed away April 13, 1993 (平成 {Heisei}５年 {nen) at the age of 86.

drums: George Kawaguchi (ジョージ川口 {Jōji KAWAGUCHI}) / real name: 川口譲治 {KAWAGUCHI Jōji}

Drum solo begins at 2m29s

Dubbed a "jazz drums god", George Kawaguchi was born and educated in Japanese Empire-controlled Manchuria. He joined the Imperial Japanese Army Air Academy after graduating from school in China. He was musically inspired by his father, who was a violinist playing classical music in the controlled territories of Shanghai and Manchuria at the time. After the War, George started by performing at American military clubs before forming the band known as the "Big Four" in 1953 that stayed popular throughout the fifties. George Kawaguchi was known as open minded regarding musical genres, and often jammed with other stylistically very different musicians, as well as played drums in Fubuki Koshiji (越路吹雪 {KOSHIJI Fubiki})'s Royal Pops Orchestra.

George Kawaguchi was known for playfully telling tall tales. Some of his more infamous ones include:

• While playing drums in Manchuria, the Soviet Red Army was so enamored with his playing that they wanted to take him with them to Russia. To get out of it and back to Japan, he drank a whole flask of soy sauce to feign illness.
• Right after the war, a promoter so wanted him to play at the Nihon Gekijo that he was offered a roll of cash tied to a rod and twine.
• After the war, at Yokosuka U.S. military base, the Americans gave him a destroyer as payment. (In another version, he was given a B-29 bomber but had to leave it on the airfield as it was too big)
• He beat legendary drummer Buddy Rich in a drumming face-off.
• He "won"the entire Shiba Park in Tokyo (123,000m²) during a game of poker, but lost it the next day.
• While supporting the U.S. troops in Vietnam, he swam in the 瀧九龍 {Sông Cửu Long} (Mekong river) — infamous for its battles with navy swift boats & hovercraft vs. the NLF guerilla fighters — while Americans protected him. During a performance there, the area came under fire but he didn't stop the performance; a bullet even ricocheted off a cymbal. While being returned to Japan in a jet fighter, the pilot got shot, died, and he had to take over the controls and fly it to Kadena airfield (嘉手納飛行場 {Kadena hikōjō}).

George Kawaguchi passed away in 2003 at the age of 76. His son follows his footsteps, playing and performing in a band called the "New Big Four (plus one)".

Umeki was not expected to win, especially given the era.

vocals: Nancy Umeki (ナンシー梅木 {Nanshī UMEKI}) / real name: 梅木美代志 {UMEKI Miyoshi}

Umeki was born May 8th, 1929 (昭和 {Shōwa}４年 {nen), in Otaru City, Hokkaido (北海道小樽市 {Hokkaidō Otaru-shi}) which was frontier territory back then and right next to the birthplace of Japanese whisky. She began her career as a nightclub singer in Japan and recorded several records. Her obvious gift attracted talent scouts, who recruited her to come to New York City in 1955 as part of the first generation of Japanese (新一世 {shin issei}) after the War.

In 1959, she won a Tony Award for playing a Chinese mail order bride in the Broadway musical "Flower Drum Song".

Even to this day (2016), she remains the only Asian woman to have won an American Academy Award for acting: an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in "Sayonara" (1958)— starring Marlin Brando — where she plays a woman in Japan who falls in love with a U.S. serviceman during the U.S. occupation, yet both her family and the U.S. military are against it. Spoiler Alert: like Romeo & Juliet, they both commit suicide when it becomes impossible for them to be together.

In addition to three more movies, she had a long career on American television, appearing as a guest on many variety shows and having a recurring role in a sitcom. She retired in 1972, claiming she preferred to spend her time being a wife and mother rather than being part of Hollywood. She lived for a time in Hawai'i before moving to Missouri in the nineties to be close to her family. She passed away in 2007.

What they call "jazz" in this film would be unrecognizable to most contemporary listeners.

vocals: Toshio Oida (笈田敏夫 {OIDA Toshio}) / nickname: ゲソ {Geso} (tentacles)

Toshio Oida was born in Berlin, Germany in 1925 to two musicians: his father was a pianist and his mother was a singer and actress. After the war, he performed in various bands before finally getting a record deal to debut on Victor Records in 1953. The year after graduating from Keio University in 1957, he appeared in the color film 『嵐を呼ぶ男』 {"Arashi o Yobu Otoko"} ("Man who Causes a Storm"), which is about a convict, just released from prison, looking to make it big as a drummer in night clubs while being accepted by his mother, who hates his pursuit (a predecessor of both "Footloose" and "8 Mile"). Many Japanese books and manga have remade and reinterpreted this story.

Toshio's record success and popularity landed him eight consecutive appearances on NHK's 紅白歌合戦 {Kōhaku Uta Gassen} (Year-end Song Festival) from 1953 to 1960. During the beginning of the television era he would often appear and perform live as many as thirty (30) times in one month.

However, he was arrested in 1961 for hiring a organized crime member to blackmail a rival lover for his mistress for ¥300,000 (adjusting for inflation, that would be over a million yen in 2016). He spent a month in jail and was found guilty and given a two year suspended sentence. Because of his conviction and his association with unsavory elements, he was shunned by showbiz for decades before making an appearance on TBS' romance drama rotating series featuring the story 『家族って』 {Kazoku-tte} in 1990. He did his last public concert in New York in 1994 at the age of 69.

Lots of these on Japanese auction (not shopping) sites

In 1986, he was awarded the 南里文雄賞 {NANRI Fumio-shō} (Fumio NANRI Award; named after the Japanese jazz trumpter that passed away in 1975) by "Swing Journal". In 1995, he was awarded the 勲四等瑞宝章 {kun-shi-tō zuihō-shō} (Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th Class) from His Majesty the Emperor for distinguished achievements in his field.

He collaborated with Hawaiian music (steel guitar and ukulele musician and singer) 大橋節夫 {ŌHASHI Setsuo} for many years; he also received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class, in 1995.

He passed away in 2003 due to kidney cancer.

vocals: Martha Miyake (マーサ三宅 {Māsa MIYAKE}) / real name: 三宅光子 {MIYAKE Mitsuko}

EP albums run at 33⅓ RPM

Martha Miyake, born in Manchuria in 1933 (昭和 {Shōwa}８年 {nen), joined Raymond's Gay Septette in 1954 (昭和 {Shōwa}２９年 {nen}) and sang exclusively for it for two years. An alumnus of Japan's School of Music, she became pro soon after graduating, performing at American camps during the occupation. "In order to provide for myself, I became a singer out of desperation," she said. Her record debut was in 1955 under Mercury Records, but her first EP album wasn't released until 1958: "Tokyo Canaries". She would go on to record over a score of albums, with at least a dozen in modern compact disc form, as well as author two books.

Her marriage in 1956 (which would end in divorce in 1967) to jazz critic then TV & radio personality, writer/essayist/critic 大橋巨泉 {ŌHASHI Kyosen} produced two children who went on to become jazz singers themselves: 大橋美加 {ŌHASHI Mika} and "Chika" (豊田チカ {TOYOTA Chika}). In 1972, to train the next generation of singers, she opened a school: "Martha Miyake Vocal House". The school has tutored at least three women who went on to become professional J-Pop vocalists.

Gold Rays with Rosette

In 1988, she was awarded the 南里文雄賞 {NANRI Fumio-shō} (Swing Journal's Fumio NANRI Award) for jazz vocalist — the first woman to be awarded the prize. In 1990, she won the 6th Grand Prize for Japanese Jazz Vocalist from Jazz World magazine. She also won the 1993 芸術祭賞 {geijutsu-sai shō} (National Arts Festival Award) for the Japan Agency of Cultural Affairs (文化庁 {bunka-chō}) — another first for a Japanese jazz female vocalist. In the year 2000, she was presented with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in the name of the Emperor. Finally, in 2006, she was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class (旭日小綬章 {kyokujitsu shōju-shō}) in the name of the Emperor for the promotion of Japanese culture.

Starting in the fifties Raymond began to perform solo, often performing in clubs in the posh areas of Ginza and Roppongi in Tokyo. Legends such as Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫 {MISHIMA Yukio}) were said to have enjoyed watching him perform at exclusive jazz clubs such as the Manuela, wearing black tie tuxedos, with Japanese stars such as Takarazuka Revue alumni and chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji (越路吹雪 {KOSHIJI Fubiki}).

Did "for good" mean "final"?

In 1991 he celebrated 75 years in the jazz business with the album "Raymond Conde Sing & Play for Good!" (which is actually mastered on a collector's Gold Compact Disc), along with an accompanying concert.

Over the span of Raymond Conde's career, he received, in addition to constant good reviews and press, several rewards and honors, such as:

• 1980 (昭和 {Shōwa}５５年 {nen): "Player Award" from 22nd Annual Japan Record Award (he received this along with Francisco Kiko)
• 1987 (昭和 {Shōwa}６２年 {nen): Special Prize for the Japan Jazz Vocalist Award (3rd Annual Award from the Jazz World paper)
• 1998-1999: the Geidankyo Distinguished Service Award to the Entertainment Arts as a performing musician and clarinetist

RIP

Raymond Conde passed away in a hospital in Suginami City, Tokyo (東京都杉並区 {Tōkyō-to Suginami-ku}), on December 23, 2003, at the age of 87. A Catholic memorial mass was held for him at the Catholic Kaminoge Church in Ueno. His wife of 65 years, Teiko (貞子 {Teiko}), was the head mourner.

While jazz in Asia and especially Japan lives on thanks to him and many of his peer pioneers, much like even in its birthplace in America, jazz got pushed out of the mainstream by future popular music, with most musicians these days in Japan, the Philippines, and even America, being pushed underground into hotel lobbies and dive bars. While jazz is no longer mainstream, its legacy remains powerful and its fans are still devout. Not just in America, but in Japan and the Philippines as well.

The Application Paperwork, in multiple copies. Each envelope is one full set.

From 2014 to 2016, when I went through the process of naturalisation, I wrote a whole series of articles about it on my blog. One of those articles was an account of my naturalisation interview, in March 2015, which I wrote on the evening of the interview. Everyone's interview is different (if you are single, for example, your spouse won't be involved), but people nervously waiting for their interview may be interested to see what it was like for me, so I am reposting the account here.

Let me start by telling you:

YES! It is possible!

And ALL you need are 3 things.

1. Language knowledge 
2. A stable income 
3. A sincere reason WHY do you want to be a Japanese citizen. 

photo used under license from iStock/Getty

Since Donald Trump was elected president by the electoral college, many U.S. columnists have been writing columns about emigrating to other countries. Some of these are tongue in cheek, poking fun of celebrities and people passionate about politics who threaten to leave America if their candidate of choice does not get elected (this happens every four years during every election, by the way). Others are dead serious. In these articles, the normal destination country of choice for Americans is Canada. Interestingly, during this cycle, a few journalists and bloggers have actually written about Japan as being a prospective target for immigration for well-to-do liberal mobile American globalists.

The interest in Japan as a target for immigration is due to the recent announcement in the slight relaxation in the path to permanent residency status via points system rules making waves in the press. A points system for immigration is not novel or unique to Japan. Japan's point system (as well as its rules for naturalization) merely mimics similar points systems used in other countries like Germany. And like the system in Germany, it doesn't bring in very many because it is still pretty demanding.

As a footnote in many of these articles on the point system and permanent residency in Japan, many writers have mentioned naturalization. One such article is written by Chris Weller for Business Insider: "It just got easier to become a permanent resident of Japan — here’s how you do it".

Only some successful naturalization candidates get any sort of formal ceremony

Overall, I'm impressed with the overall tone of the content compared to journalism of five years ago regarding naturalization. The dismissal by most articles written before 2010 regarding becoming legally Japanese was: "don't bother. It's impossible. Not even Koreans and Chinese who were born and lived in Japan their whole lives can do it." Compared to many bloggers, overseas commenters, and even professional journalists and academics, Chris Weller gets a lot correct. It's obviously that he tried to check official reliable government and lawyer sources rather than internet rumor boards and other journalism. Examining what he claims are the requirements:

New citizens must be at least 20 years old …

Essentially true, with exceptions for minors (19 and under in Japan) naturalizing with their families.

… have lived in the country for at least five years …

Essentially true, but again, with exceptions for those qualifying for the simplified naturalization process, and he forgot an important qualifier: not a total of five years, but almost continuously and physically present for five years.

… be willing to renounce their former citizenship …

Essentially true, and I appreciate how he uses the word "willing" as there are some special cases for countries where doing so is legally impossible thus they use an alternative process.

Officials will perform a …

… background check, …

Both domestic and international, and this should be obvious as having a clean criminal and immigration record is considered to be a good indicator as to whether one will obey the laws of Japan. As for what they look for and how they look for it, this is not disclosed for security reasons.

… mental-health exam, …

This is the only thing in this article that is completely false.

In fact, there is no health check, either physical or mental, for naturalization, and this is one thing that makes it different from applying for permanent resident visa status in Japan, which does state that the candidate should be in good health. Most countries have this provision in their immigration requirements to prevent people from immigrating exclusively to use taxpayer guaranteed medical benefits of the country. Obviously, like signing any important contract, if the examiner determines you are not mentally competent or lack the mental capacity to understand the consequences of changing your nationality, your application may be denied — just like it would anywhere else in the world where entering into a permanent serious contract is required. But no, there is no mental health exam.

… will request a long list of documents related to your life and your family.

This is true. In order to both build your Japanese national family register, indicating your parents, your children, and your spouse, as well as to determine if you qualify for simplified naturalization, they will require official vital records for both yourself and your immediate family.

They may even inspect your home and workplace if those details are hard to verify online.

True, and I appreciate how he did not repeat the trope about how the work and home inspection is done to see if you act "Japanese enough".

The whole review process takes roughly six months to a year.

Every situation is different, and I have seen the process take from as short as four months to as long as eighteen months. The article cites the site "Just Landed", which actually got its information from this site after we cited it as having huge amounts of misinformation in it regarding Japanese naturalization. However, this article misquotes the revised Just Landed page on Japanese naturalization. The Just Landed page (as well as this site, which it used), does not say "the whole review process" (that is, the process that begins after your paperwork is formally submitted), but rather cited the amount of time it takes for the individual to collect and prepare all their paperwork.

Citizenship requires knowing Japanese at a 7-year-old reading level (while permanent residence comes with no such requirement)

This is partially true. There is technically no Japanese language requirement, but there is the requirement that you possess the life skills necessary to make it in Japan, and for most everybody, this means having at least rudimentary Japanese language skills to work at a low level job in the Japanese language only. If they do decide to evaluate your Japanese, it can be oral, ad-hoc (just speaking with and understanding your case worker and the documents he or she presents to you is often enough to satisfy the language "requirement"), and may involve reading and writing.

Overall, this article is not bad, in that most of its claims are generally correct and it looked like the author make an honest effort to convey complicated procedures correctly for a very short segment of space. I would give it a grade of "B" to "B+" if it were not for the erroneous claim about needing a mental health exam. My Final Evaluation: C.

For many people, their first official romanisation

Despite its widespread use in bilingual signage at stations, government buildings and facilities, etc., it can come as a surprise to learn that the latin alphabet is not actually used in Japan in any official capacity. What this means for native born citizens is that until they apply for either a passport or a credit card, there is no official way to render their names internationally.

A lack of official use does not mean a lack of guidelines though. When applying for a first passport, the guidelines state quite specifically that the name has to be rendered in strict accordance with the strictest interpretation of the Hepburn convention. And while the Hepburn convention for the most part does a perfectly decent job of presenting Japanese words in a way that English speakers in particular can pronounce almost recognisably, there are times when a little flexibility is desirable. For example, the "Ō" in 大澤 Ōsawa is pronounced differently from the "O" in 小澤 Ozawa, but a strict interpretation of Hepburn would render both simply as "O".

A more charitable interpretation would allow the first to be rendered as "Oh" or "Oo" depending on context so it's closer to the original pronunciation, and the passport guidelines have graciously conceded that this might sometimes be possible if you ask really nicely. In fact, they have a special box on the form for just such a circumstance—strict Hepburn goes in the main body of the application, alternative spelling for consideration goes on the back.

Of course, this is old news for anybody in an international marriage with a Japanese spouse, as openly acknowledged by the two examples the passport application guidelines actually provide:

• When an adult has taken the surname of their foreign national spouse (who is presumably from a country that uses the latin alphabet), the name as written in the passport may reflect the spelling of the name in its original language, rather than a strict romanisation of the legally registered katakana phonetic rendering of the same name.
• When a dual-national child has their birth registered in another country (presumably one that uses the latin alphabet) they may likewise have their names written in accordance with the foreign birth document, either in place of, or in addition to a strict romanisation of their Japanese name.

And though not mentioned specifically, naturalised citizens have also been known to take advantage of this if their Japanese name is based directly off of their former foreign name. In all instances, it states that documentary evidence such as a birth or marriage certificate must be provided.

So this leads us naturally to a slightly harder to read hypothetical scenario. What would be the rule when a naturalised citizen of a western country marries a native Japanese citizen, and they give their children western sounding Japanese names complete with a western spelling that foreign family members all use?

Legally, the child is Japanese only, and the kanji or kana name in their family records is their only "real" name—a birthday card does not have as much legal clout as you might imagine.

On the other hand though, a birthday card carries considerable social clout, because the name that you and the people in your life actually use is a defining part of your personal identity.

As the husband and father in that very specific hypothetical situation, I decided to find out the answer for myself earlier this month when we applied for a passport for our 17 month old daughter. To recap, I was a citizen for nearly a decade before she was born, and while her legal name is very clearly Japanese in origin, it also works as a western name, and all of my overseas family use a specific local spelling when referring to her.

When we filled out the front of the passport application, and had to render her name in strict Hepburn romanisation, we both let out a sigh—we didn't want that on her passport because it's just not her name, but we knew we may have no choice in the matter. Regardless, we put the preferred spelling in the box on the back of the form so we could at least say we tried, and headed for the passport office.

We also packed a couple of birthday cards from her British family, just in case...

At the preliminary paperwork check, the lady behind the counter's attention was drawn to the fact that despite our daughter being Japanese only, we had requested a somewhat alien rendering of her name. She mouthed the letters out to herself, and nodded with some vague satisfaction that it probably was pronounced the same in some other language. She looked up at me, then she looked at my daughter, then she looked back at me again and asked if that was how we usually spelt her name. We both nodded that we did, and I added that it's the spelling all my family use too—and that we have some birthday cards if she'd like to see them. She glanced at them disinterestedly, more likely to appease us than anything else, but accepted the form for processing nonetheless.

After a wait, our number was called and we proceeded to a different counter where a different lady went over the paperwork again. Noting the request for an alternative spelling, she checked the front of the form where it stated that she held no other nationality, and then checked the rear again; and like the first lady, she then looked up at me, looked at my daughter, and then looked at me again. She asked directly if our daughter had a second nationality, and we confirmed that she didn't. She then asked if we were sure that the name we requested is the one we want in the passport, because we can't change it later. We confirmed that we did, and that was the end of that part of the conversation.

One week later, we picked up the passport, and there was her name in all its non-Hepburn compliant anglicised glory.

My interpretation of the way the rules were applied is that although our daughter didn't satisfy the technical requirements to allow for a preferred spelling, it was clear from the circumstances of her birth (her apparent western lineage) that she fell within the scope of the intent of the guideline, which is most likely that of prioritising a valid personal identity over a legal identity in the event that there's some conflict between the two. That they allowed us to use the spelling we provided without any documentary evidence was surprising though, as it stated quite clearly in the guidelines the sort of proof that would be required. Most likely, the reasoning behind the requirement is so that they can verify for themselves that the form has been filled out correctly, because as we were told, mistakes can't be corrected later. This seems to be the case in quite a number of circumstances—many native Japanese are not comfortable using the alphabet and may not spot simple mistakes, so having guidelines in place as to the precise way their name should be written that can then be verified by passport office staff can be instrumental in preventing mishaps, but again, it was clear that this was not our situation.

But regardless of the reasons, this clear example of cold bureaucratised flexibility allowed us to get what we entirely reasonably wanted, and that's what matters.

If they gave nationality on the basis of being smartly dressed, Chris Hart would be an honorary citizen of every nation in the world.

Two years ago I wrote a post about the famous J-Pop singer with the incredible voice, Chris Hart, expressed on his blog how he wished to naturalize.

This became official on February 23rd, 2017, according to the Official Gazette of the Japanese government (官報 {kampō}), which by law has to publish the name of every single person who acquires nationality through naturalization by the Ministry of Justice (法務省 {hōmushō}).

Although this may sound like it took him almost two years to naturalize, it does not mean the actual length of time it takes is two years. There are two parts or phases to the application process:

1. The stage where you collect the paperwork at your own pace (and the type and complexity and difficulty of getting that paperwork depends on your personal situation and well, how busy you are), which consists of going back and forth reviewing the collected paperwork with your 相談員 {sōdan'in} (personal public consultant assigned to you)
2. The stage where the MoJ reviews your formally submitted paperwork collected during step #1 and approves or rejects you.

Step #1 is self-paced and there is no real time limit (other than the fact that some of the paperwork you collect has to be recent and its validity can expire if you take too long). The shortest amount of time I've witnessed for phase #2 is a few months. The longest I've ever heard of is 18 months for the second part. It personally took almost five months for me to be approved as an American.

Remember that when you read stories on the internet about how it takes years or decades to naturalize to Japanese, these people are often calculating in the time it took people to collect paperwork, self-paced at their leisure. And they may be counting the residency requirement of five (5) years before applying. And they may be (mistakenly) adding the time it takes to acquire foreign permanent resident status in Japan, which is not a prerequisite for Japanese naturalization.

He announced it to the public and fans during his 2nd all 47 prefecture nationwide "~my hometown~" concert on April 6th in Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県 {Kagoshima-ken}) where his Japanese in-law family lives.

Born Louis Christian Hartbanks (ルイス・クリスチャン・ハートバンクス {Ruisu · Kurisuchan · HĀTOBANKUSU}) in San Mateo County, California on August 25th, 1985, he grew up in San Francisco. He began studying Japanese about twenty years ago in 1997 before immigrating to Japan in 2009 and getting a break in 2013 due to his amazing Japanese singing ability. He has said that ever since studying Japanese, his dream has been to live in Japan.

Since then, he has been busy non-stop releasing albums, performing concerts nationwide, and lending his abilities to everything from commercials to music videos to appearances around the country.

Regarding his naturalization, he had this to say on his official LINE blog:

それから日本人の友達もたくさんできて、皆僕を応援してくれました。

日本に住むために色々な仕事をしたり、日本語でバンド活動をしたりしていました。

ようやく日本に住むことができるようになり、音楽仲間ができて、妻にも会えて、家族が増えて僕の人生は大きく変わりました。

日本への感謝の気持ちを伝えるため、日本との絆をもっと深めたいと思い、2年前に帰化申請をしました。

Loosely translated, it says that since his time in Japan, he has made so many friends and everybody has supported him. In order to live in Japan, he worked in various jobs and performed in a band singing Japanese. After settling in to living in Japan, making many Japanese musician acquaintances, and meeting his spouse, his family has enlarged and his life has changed. Chris expresses his feelings of gratitude and wishes to deepen his connection of friendship with Japan, so he decided to naturalize.

Regarding his name, Chris announced that he decided to "keep" his name considering his [American] family. I typed keep in quotes because although he will be able to have his name spelled "HART>>CHRIS" on his Japanese passport in Latin letters for the purpose of identification outside of Japan, the Japanese family register system (戸籍 {koseki}), which forms the proof of domestic Japanese national identity, does not permit middle names, mononyms, or names in characters other than the Japanese syllabet (仮名 {kana}) or Japanese sinograms (漢字 {kanji}).

You can't have "exotic" or archaic/obsolete Japanese characters for your legal name, either. And this includes 絵文字 {emoji} (Japanese pop pictogram characters). So it means he probably didn't attempt to register his stylized logo as his legal name like Price did: 💙Ｃ

This probably means he chose 『ハート　クリス』 {HĀTO Kurisu} as his legal Japanese name, though it's not possible for me to confirm this via public records. Note that "Chris Hart" is not a 100% stage name derived from his birth name; his mother's maiden name (according to his U.S. vital records) is "Hart", and Chris has stated in interviews that his parents divorced when he was two, and he was raised by her as a single mother.

It's not uncommon for musicians, celebrities, and politicians who naturalize to choose to keep using their previous name or a stage name for professional use — either in Japan or other countries; artists prefer to have names that are easy to remember or catchy. Some who choose 当て字 {ateji} (invented Japanese sinogram combinations that correspond phonetically to a foreign word or sound) may also prefer to write their name in 仮名 {kana} (Japanese syllabet) because it's easier to remember and faster to write — which is of critical importance when one has to hand write candidates names at the ballot box during elections (Indeed, many natural-born Japanese politicians depict their names in 仮名 {kana} in public, even though they have 漢字 {kanji} names, for this reason — it also has the psychological benefit of making common / simple names stand out and look unusual. Some examples include:

Professional / Stage / Legacy names used by well-known Naturalized Japanese

birth name	legal Japanese name	type	public name / alias / nickname
Francisco Reyes	田沢喜一 {TAZAWA Yoshikazu}	native	フランシスコ・キーコ {Furanshisuko · Kīko}
Raymond Conde	吉場レイモンド {YOSHIBA Reimondo}	native + syllabet mapping	レイモンド・コンデ {Reimondo · KONDE
Claude Ciari	智有蔵上人 {CHIARI Kurōdo}	sinogram mapping	クロード・チアリ {Kurōdo · CHIARI}
Martti Turunen	弦念丸呈 {TSURUNEN Marutei}	sinogram mapping	ツルネン・マルテイ {TSURUNEN · Marutei}

Chris Hart, as we see, is not the first foreign origin musician to become famous and Japanese in Japan. He probably is the first naturalized musician with both an iPhone app and Android app.

If you're interested in seeing Chris Hart live in concert, have a look at his schedule published on his official web site.

Last year in autumn a Canadian professional videographer by the name of +Greg Lam , who creates content for a very interesting YouTube channel called "Life Where I'm From", asked if he could interview me in my home in my man-cave/home office (the other two walls have whisky and computers instead of books). It took some time to edit the footage, but I think he did a wonderful job of making a very wonky and dull subject (Japanese naturalization and me) into something that is easy to watch and entertaining.

The ten minute glossy abridged version is here:


The longer, almost unabridged, one hour version, is here:


If you enjoy his videos and wish to support his work, you can do so via Patreon. If you're a business and need professional video work, you can contact his business, Small Biz Doer Videos.

One dot represents about 30,000 people. Geographic distribution is artificial.

Dot representative population graph derived from 2016 data from the SBJ, MoJ, JTO& JEES

Try spotting the red and yellow dots in the map (those who can speak Japanese). Those dots statistically represent the people-of-foreign-origin or nationality that can understand Japanese — although it does not represent where they actually live.

Not many of them, right?

(If you're wondering why the colors I chose are hard to see, especially the brightness between gray & black and the colorblind traits of blue & yellow: that was intentional as in real life, it is not easy to differentiate between tourists, and short- medium- long- permanent term residents)

●: black

American / African / European / Russian / Indian / Australian / Southeast Asian tourists, short term visitors, and business people in Japan for 90 ~ 180 days or less.

●: gray

Medium to long term (including permanent resident status) to permanent (include special permanent) residents of Japan (either Asian or non-Asian).

●: blue

American / African / European / Russian / Indian / Australian / Southeast Asian people who are medium to long term (including permanent resident status) residents of Japan who can use and understand the Japanese language less than fluently to not at all. (i.e. can't hold a conversation beyond simple ordering from a menu or asking for directions etc)

●: red

American / African / European / Russian / Indian / Australian / Southeast Asian people who are fluent in Japanese (able to listen, read, write, and converse at a JLPT N1 level)

●: yellow

American / African / European / Russian / Indian / Australian / Southeast Asian naturalized Japanese citizens

Rightly or wrongly, a Japanese native who encounters people who do not "look" like a typical Japanese is not going to encounter, through random chance, a non-Japanese westerner, etc., who is integrated into society such that they can communicate with them the same way they can communicate with people who were born, raised, and educated in Japan.

Let me be clear and say that this does not mean that Japanese are unable or unwilling to accept people who do not appear to be Japanese. Sociological evidence and examples through history and even popular culture of today shows that Japanese are more than willing to accept Japanese as one of their own if they are ethnically Japanese: that is, behave in a Japanese manner and communicate in Japanese and practice Japanese customs and live in Japan, which are traits common to >99% of the Japanese populace (if we include those who are legally foreign under the status of Special Permanent Residents).

When we meet people, we go through four general stages of acquaintance:

In Japan, you need to get to at least the Acquaintance Level for most people to not think about initiating conversation in Japanese.

1. initial impression from appearance
2. initial impression from simple dialogue
3. impressions from content of their conversation and their behavior
4. a sum of a collection of encounters from the first three stages

Go to places that tourists or globalists can't go to

Colombia is the only South American country that has a coast on the Pacific Ocean & Caribbean Sea

Hi, my name is ロドリゲス オスカル {RODORIGESU Osukaru}, a Colombian-born, Japanese national.

As you can probably infer from my name, I have no Japanese, or any kind of Asian ancestry. Prior to arriving in Japan on 2008, I had no particular connections to Japan, yet here I am, as a naturalized Japanese national.

I left Colombia on some pretty good terms. Without being particularly wealthy, I was a 20-something professional working in IT in Colombia when I decided to come to Japan as a graduate student. I still am in very good terms with my family and friends back there, and I visit about once every two years-ish as budget allows.

(ｲﾒｰｼﾞ {imēji}: not actually the author of this post)

Unlike many people who naturalize, I didn't have permanent residence when I applied; I had been on a renewable 技術 {gijutsu} or "Engineer" status of residence, working for a Japanese company, earning around average, or maybe a bit below average for my age group.

And to top it off, I was not married when I applied, or when I got naturalized. I am married now to a Japanese-born Japanese national, and indeed, as we started discussing marriage with my now wife, I wanted to finish my naturalization process before marrying, for many reasons, one of which is to prove that it is indeed possible to naturalize being single.

So, how come a person with under a decade of living in Japan, no prior connections to the country, no family in the country, no permanent residence, and not particularly wealthy, ends up as a naturalized Japanese national?

If you have been reading this site often, you will understand that there is no particular part of my story which would disqualify me for naturalization:

• 20 years old or older? Check.

• (ｲﾒｰｼﾞ {imēji}: not actually the author's school)

  5 years legal residence? Check. Time with a 留学 {ryūgaku} or "Student" status of residence does count, even though some incorrectly claim it doesn't.
• Good conduct? Check.
• Able to make a living? Check, although not precisely a luxurious one.
• Willing to give up previous nationality? Check.
• Not planned to destroy the constitution of Japan? Check.
• Willing to choose a name in a combination of hiragana, katakana and/or kanji? Read on, but ultimately, Check.

(Most graphs in this post are redrawn to reflect absolute numbers instead of percentages)

Last year, I encouraged people who were native English speakers in living in Japan, regardless of whether they were naturalized Japanese citizens or not, to participate in a short 26 question survey run by Victoria Ferauge, an American academic expat (and political advocate relating to various nationality issues) who has lived in various parts of the world including Osaka and Versailles, France. Over six hundred (615) valid participants were tabulated from June to August of 2016, and the results were published for the University of Kent on March 24th, 2017 as part of a master's dissertation. I received permission to republish the raw data and add my interpretation here.

Of the questions, the first two questions:

1. Do you live in Japan?
2. Are you a native speaker of English?

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Disclaimer: while the collected raw data, initial tabulation, and some of the graphs below were created by Victoria Ferauge, the analysis accompanying each graph below is neither her opinion nor analysis; it is mine, and I bear the responsibility for any misinterpretations, misunderstandings, errors, or deviations from the original researcher's opinion and intent. I encourage people who are interested more in this data to read the original report and contact her directly at <v………@yahoo.com> for questions regarding the original data and report (and to contact me for questions about my interpretation and opinions).

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The Results & Commentary on the

Native English Speakers Residing in Japan Survey

(conducted from June to August 2016)

What is your age?

N=603

I wish the category for "18 to 29 years old" was more granular, because I have a hunch that there is a distinct line between those English speakers who come to Japan straight after higher education (around age 21 to 22) "to see and try living in the world before beginning their real life back home" have a different living style and pattern between those nearing their thirties who have settled in and possibly have a different career from being a worker at an English conversation school, which is generally not viewed as a long term life career choice due to the nature of the industry in 2016. Especially since over 20% of the applicants have stayed in Japan for six (6) years or less, and the survey did not ask when or if the applicants planned on leaving Japan.

What is your sex?

N=603

"Other" is for people who prefer to identify as transgender, intersex, or neither male nor female. The original survey used the term "sex" rather than "gender". The definitions of these two terms are the same to some people, but different to others. While some country's domestic and even international (ex. passport) identification cards allow for the mark of "X" in the "Sex" field, as of 2016, Japan's domestic and international identification only allow for "M" and "F". Japan will change both domestic and international identification from the sex designated on one's birth certificate if they have official recognized government documentation documenting the change.

What is your relationship status?

N=578

The phrase "legally married" was used in the survey and it did not attempt to differentiate as to which country one's marriage was legally recognized, nor did it attempt to differentiate between common-law or de facto marriages.

What were your parents' occupations?

According to the original report, the researcher

… coded the answers to this question using the broadest categories (0-9) of the ILO's International Standard Classification of Occupations document ISCO-08…. And then [she] added three categories based on the responses (like “parent”) that did not fit the ISCO classifications.

Fathers

N=505

The interesting thing about this data to me was the disproportionately high percentage of occupations in the "Craft and Related Trade" category #7. It would be interesting to know exactly what sort of crafts and trades these fathers are practicing as a profession.

Mothers

N=506

Again, a comment from the original researcher:

The idea was to get some idea of the socioeconomic status of the migrant's family back in the home country. Was mom a teacher or a lawyer? Was dad a truck driver or an accountant? Something I have never seen a study look at in migrants from North America or Europe or Oceania. Were they upper-class, middle-class, working-class? Can we get a feel for that from the parent's professions?

What is the highest level of education you have attained?

N=564

Technical or vocational schools (which are more popular in some countries such as Japan), were not included. Additionally, there are no questions as to whether one attended an "international" high school or International Baccalaureate® (IB) High School, or whether they spent time in an overseas exchange (留学 {ryūgaku}) program, especially with Japan, as is common with many expatriates.

If you have a university undergraduate or graduate degree in what subject(s) did you obtain your diploma(s)? (Please select all that apply.)

Note that "Engineering" and "IT" are lumped together, whereas people that are actual Professional Engineers, as well as the various differentiations of information technology (system administrators versus software programmers and computer scientists) may object to this generalized association.

What is your monthly after tax income in Yen?

The survey asked for the currency in yen, reasoning that people wouldn't want to do the conversion. However, it did not ask which countries handled their financial assets and how they paid taxes. Also, there was a small most likely typo in the original results were the least significant digit for the low end of the ranges was in the ¥1,000 order of magnitude (4th digit), not the single yen,

Do you own your own home in Japan?

This is perhaps the most surprising statistic to me, as although homes can be flipped/AirBNBed/vacant investments, etc., home ownership indicates strong established roots to a community. It is evidence of the advanced age (and advanced education and professions) of many of the survey participants. The survey did not attempt to ask what type of home: detached or マンション {manshon} ("mansion" shared multi-story condominium / apartment dwelling), and whether the home was urban, suburban, or rural.

Have you ever served in the U.S. armed forces?

The survey did not ask whether one was still serving with the U.S. military (except in the later questions below), and did not ask whether all or part of the military service involved being stationed in Japan. It also did not ask about countries other than the United States, as the survey was intending to judge Japan residents who are U.S. military personnel under SOFA.

If you have children what language(s) do you speak with them?

The survey did not attempt to drill down as to how much of each language is spoken, nor did they ask about the children's fluency in the language, which would be a key indicator as to whether a family was assimilated into Japanese society and the next generation would live and work in Japan.

What is your country of citizenship?

The survey did not attempt to determine how this citizenship was acquired (natural-born or naturalized). Also, the term "citizenship" rather than nationality was used. While most people think of them as the same thing, there's actually a difference between a national and a citizen in some countries (like the United States), and some people interpret the term "citizen" in less legal terms (ex. "citizen of the world").

Please list your second country of citizenship (if you have one)

The survey did not attempt to discover if the respondent had more than one nationality, nor did it ask if these extra nationalities were active or being used or which nationality the respondent considered to be their "main" one (if any).

If you are a naturalized Japanese citizen what is your former country of citizenship?

This data actually tracks very closely both to the personal responses and questions we get from individuals who contact this site as well as the indirect data we get from geo statistics from our web analytics. Knowing this site's stats and people I have talked to, I would have expected the number from India to be slightly higher than a single digit. Angola and Costa Rica are obviously surprising, but since both countries columns are not only single digits but literally one person each, I think it is safe to dismiss them as outliers.

Why is America so much higher than Canada and the United Kingdom? Most likely because of the modern State of Japan's (as opposed to the Empire of Japan) intense historical, military, and especially economic relationship with it, greater than any other western country, since the 19th century.

What year did you arrive in Japan?

I often quip that you can categorize foreigners who come to Japan into the following era stereotypes:

The next generation of immigrant? ☺

• 1945+: Those that came in the fifties and sixties came for their country (the Allied forces [U.S.] military).
• 1970: Those that came in the seventies came for God (missionaries).
• 1984: Those that came in the eighties came for the money (the "bubble era").
• 1993: Those that came in the nineties came for the women (relationships)
• 2001: … and those that came after the millennium came for the animé ☻.

Joking aside, I actually believe that a combination of internet, translation technology, and international air travel deregulation, both in the world and in Japan, has contributed to the massive increase in native English speakers in Japan (and in other advanced/advancing countries in the world with languages and cultures very dissimilar to English countries, like Korea and China).

Since then did you leave Japan, move to another country and then return to Japan?

The survey does not attempt to ask how many times a person has done this. There are some people who live a multinational lifestyle where they spend a portion (usually half) of their time in one country and the other half in their home country. For retirees that are sensitive to the weather in their advanced age, often their migration patterns are seasonal.

For others, it is a matter of contract work booked through the internet.

For people that desire to become legally Japanese, being outside of the country for more than 100 continuous days or 150 total days in a 365 day period disqualifies that year from being counted as a "consecutive year of physical residence", which is a qualification for becoming legally Japanese.

If the answer is yes, which country (or countries) did you live in before returning to Japan?

For native English speakers, especially those who worked in Japan as English teachers, much of this graph makes sense. The Republic of Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand are popular destinations for native English speakers wishing to work as EFL teachers in Asia. For native English speaking Europeans who are part of the European Union, the particular country one re-migrates to for work need not be their "home" country. Both New Zealand and Canada are known for having "Citizens of Convenience", where a very large percentage of their national citizens leave to find employment and life overseas (often creating a "brain drain" problem that is large enough to affect their macro-economy).

How many years have you lived in Japan?

Exact numbers for this question are unavailable.

This graph is different from the others in that it lacks information on the number of respondents (N=…), so it is copied verbatim from the original report. I was expecting the largest percentage to be three to six years, with the second largest being six to eleven years.

Perhaps the reason that this survey skews so large towards the 20 to 30 years in Japan (definite long timers) is because of the venues that the survey availability was promoted on (such as this site, Becoming Legally Japanese).

What is not surprising is how long people are staying these days in Japan. Due to globalization and the access to both English and English based entertainment and English speaker networking, facilitated by the internet in the late nineties, living in a country with a very different culture is easier than ever. Technology (such as e-shopping like Amazon) has made it easier and easier for a person to get by without the friction of dealing with a foreign land, culture, and language.

Prior to the late '90s mass availability of the internet, streaming ubiquitous English media, the average time a foreigner spent in Japan was about one (1) to three (3) years, with five (5) years being considered to be a "long timer."

These days, due to technology assists for both the tongue and the soul, the average time appears to be longer than three years, and English language people living in Japan for more than five years is not as unusual as it once was.

What were your reasons for initially coming to Japan?

The two columns that stands out to me here is "Economic" and "Immigration", implying that most native speakers of English come from well-off countries that have many economic opportunities and are politically safe and stable.

What was your immigration status when you originally arrived in Japan?

"Transfer" is abbreviated, for the sake of fitting on the graph, from intra-company transfer, which implies that a multinational corporation sent an employee to work (almost always temporarily) in the Japan subsidiary, and usually has many to most to all aspects of life (including language) taken care of — but not always.

"Tourist" refers to a temporary landing permit, which is not actually a Status of Residence, and depending on one's nationality, can be either 15 days, 90 days, or 180 days, and sometimes can be extended once. There is a maximum amount of times that this permit can be used per year, and you are never allowed to truly life and work freely like a resident can.

SOFA is almost not technically a Status of Residence, and how long and how you can live is directed by the United States military.

If you came to Japan on a work visa, please specify what kind of work visa you had (Instructor, Skilled Labor, Business Manager, Artist…)

Some of these Status of Residences (在留資格 {zairyū shikaku}) seem redundant due to the nature of immigration law changing over time. For example, "Engineering" (which includes both P.E. and software engineering and programming and computer system administration) used to be a separate classification back when I had the status in the 90s. Today, Engineering is lumped together with the "Humanities" status, which includes things such as Japanese to English translation and 英会話 {eikaiwa} (English Conversation) school workers.

If you came to Japan to work describe in your own words the first job you had (job description, employer, part or full-time, permanent or contract or self-employed)

It's not clear why "International School" is zero. Perhaps this category was merged into "English teacher?" Also, the categories here have a section for The Jet Programme's CIR position, but they do not have a separate category for the much larger ALT position. Instead, ALTs are most likely grouped in with "English teacher" (or perhaps "Other").

Did you stay longer in Japan than you originally intended?

This jives with my personal experience and I suspect with anybody else who initially came to Japan under a finite length contract. When you are still learning the language and Japan is new, a realistic person who naturally assume that the barriers to learning and adapting to the culture would be insurmountable and extending that contract or doing something new would be extremely difficult.

If you are still employed in Japan today describe in your own words the job or jobs you have now

The professions listed here may sense when compared to the other graphs showing the average monthly salary in yen and the amount of years one has lived in Japan. The only data here that stood out was the amount of people who claimed to be a religious missionary, especially when you compare this data to the earlier graph showing the amount of people that live in Japan under the "Religion" Status of Residence.

In Japan do you consider yourself to be: immigrant, migrant, expatriate, [or] other?

This is a difficult one to analyze, due to the loaded meaning these terms have unfortunately acquired over time. While the dictionary definitions are clear enough, some of the above terms have acquired both positive and negative connotations, especially in the context of native English speakers.

For example, there are some people who criticize that the terms "expatriate" and "immigrant" have become racially loaded: some critics claim that "expatriate" or "expat" is more likely to be used to describe a person who is white or Caucasian and an "immigrant" or "migrant" is used to describe someone who isn't. "Migrant" is an especially polarizing term as is has become the politically correct term used by the media to obfuscate the differences between a refugee seeking political asylum and "economic migrants" who would not normally be recognized by UN rules regarding countries' obligations to accept them.

The older image of the "expat" lifestyle.

Even the term "expatriate" and especially the clipped "expat" can have negative meanings among those who live overseas: expatriate can often conjure up the image of somebody who is living on assignment (usually very comfortably; in other words, "spoiled") by a large corporation who makes sure that the expatriate is as "inconvenienced" and "challenged" as little as possible by their "sacrifice" of taking an assignment in an exotic and strange locale.

This connotation could have been birthed by corporate terms such as "expat allowance", "hardship stipend", "gated international community" and exclusive ultra expensive clubs that only large corporations and the wealthy can afford. To a person who volunteered to move, live, and work in Japan, it's inconceivable that one would need additional numeration for the "hardship" of living in one of the most advanced, clean, safe, rich, and developed countries in the world such as Japan. "Expats" are thought of being out of touch and shielded from the true adventure and calling of living and working in a foreign land.

These days, however, even English conversion school teachers call each other "expats" (perhaps because they want to be associated with having money and a comfortable life?), so the term's negative connotations has been muted this decade.

Finally, "Japanese" itself is a loaded term which has three possible different defining aspects to it:

A Venn Diagram of the three things most people think can make a person "be Japanese".

"Race"

This is one's visible appearance acquired through genetics, aka one's "phenotype", colloquially (though technically incorrectly) known as (the social construct of) "race". As it is a low level biological trait it cannot be changed after birth.

Ethnicity

This means the everyday culture and traditions and especially language, in the case of Japanese. In the case of Japanese it is something that can be learned and acquired by anyone and is acquired after one is born — usually the earlier the better (especially for speaking a language without a foreign accent). One's mastery of acquisition is relative and subjective to external observers and difficult (though not impossible) to objectively quantify, evaluate, and compare to others.

Nationality

This is one's legal ties, and the accompanying legal duties/responsibilities and rights, to a nation-state and its government and laws, recognized under international law. Can be acquired, and one's possession of it can be objectively and easily determined.

"I Have a Dream."

I have found this to be true not just by observing how Japanese society classifies both historical and current popular people who are ethnically and/or legally Japanese yet not "racially" Japanese, but also from interviewing hundreds of not so famous, anonymous legally Japanese people — arguably the largest ad hoc unofficial anthropological study of the population that anybody has ever done. This survey, in particular this and the final question, reinforce what I have observed first hand.

Of course, the above claims and opinions are very controversial to the Japanese (and other, especially Asian) diaspora. This is because those born and raised overseas have often been the unfair targets of racial and ethnic discrimination or prejudice in the land they were born and raised in. Thus, they often take solace and comfort in the belief that there is a place where their "identity" is accepted, and that identity is defined by something other than ethnicity, language, or culture: their race.

Do you speak Japanese?

The word "fluent" here is controversial, as many people have differing definitions of "fluent". To some, it means the same thing as "native": a speak and rhythm and vocabulary and pronunciation that is indistinguishable from somebody who was born, raised, and education in Japan in an exclusive Japanese language environment.

To others, the definition of "fluent" is equivalent of "self assessment", and thus can mean anything from "indistinguishable when compared to a native born and exclusively raised in Japan speaker" to the much less impressive "I don't often get into situations where foreign language ability impedes my desire to do something". Thus, if one is capable of ordering from (often a picture) menu in a tourist district and engaging in "bar banter" after work with a few "internationalized Japanese", code-switching in-and-out of Japanese and or heavily interspersing their Japanese or English with words from the other language, this is also considered to be "fluent" by some.

For people who have never lived in Japan and been exposed to both the globalization subculture among expats (and the globalized Japanese who reside in it with the foreigners) and real Japanese society, they are often incredulous that English expats can be so unaware of their actual Japanese ability, to the point where it appears to be dishonest.

But the Dunning-Kruger effect regarding foreign language ability can't occur in the actual land where 99% of the population use the language exclusively, no? Surely how one assesses their language ability in an anonymous, private survey will be more accurate that how one assesses their language for the purpose of employment or peers?

Without their lifeline of the English web, many foreign globalists couldn't breathe.

You would be surprised. But in the modern 21st century, many expatriates are not consciously aware of how much they rely on technology to assist their (lack of) acclimation to a foreign environment and foreign language. Just because they don't live in a gated community of well-to-do foreigners or have assistants and servants to aid them in interpreting their land, they assume they are "living on their own", when in reality, much like an astronaut needing an environmental suit to survive in outer space, it is actually the Internet cloud and smartphones and streaming Hollywood media that is keeping them from suffocating under foreign stress: functional and emotionally healthy outside their home culture and language.

Similar to how some overweight people often have no real idea how many calories they are consuming per day ("a latte is coffee because it comes from Starbucks, right? Surely that doesn't have that many more calories than normal coffee with sugar and cream!"), expats very rarely measure their consumption of English as done through computer or phone screens during the day.

Whether or not this is healthy in the long term for everybody is debatable. It is also debatable whether just anybody, regardless of their mental and emotional health, can or should attempt to completely assimilate.

According to informal analysis I've done on expats in Japan who claimed to be "functioning" in Japanese (language) society, I've found that of the 16 waking hours of the day, over 85% of their day is done in the English language: as measured by the amount of English web pages, English texts and email, and English media (YouTube, Netflix, etc) they consume.

The reason for this disparity is probably due to people only counting real life, flesh and blood, experiences and not being aware of how much time in a modern person's life is spent in front of a screen.

Do you feel integrated or do you not feel integrated into Japanese society?

"Integrated", for those that follow immigration policy, is a political code word that is used to contrast with "assimilation". There are many arguments as to exactly what the word means, but the general consensus is that while both are pro-immigration, "assimilation" is used to describe the immigrant strategy where the immigrant succeeds in society by proactively adopting the ethnicity and culture and language of the land as their own for their daily personal lives (often at the expense of shedding or repressing parts or all of their other ethnicity), and raise their children exclusively using the new culture and language.

This is the strategy used, with great success (debated) by Japanese-Americans and other Asian-Americans in the last 20th century. as measured by the amount of immigrants in America whose prosperity increased with each successive generation of assimilated families: first generation Japanese-Americans tried to ensure that their children's first and native language was English, even if that language learning for their second generation children meant that their Japanese language ability would not be strong enough to compete in the Japanese business world run by first-language speaking Japanese natives. The business world, be it English (less so) or Japanese or another language (much more so), relies on one's deft use of language as a communication tool — and generally a person that speaks it as a second language is usually no match for somebody who speaks it natively.

21st century immigration philosophy, though, is heavily tied to "identity politics" (which emphasizes that having an identity in addition to the generic default of Globalized English and Euro-Americana culture whose common culture reference points lie with Hollywood and English mass-media), now proposes an alternative immigration strategy as an attempt to preserve and strengthen identities other than the "McCulture" of the dominant internet (Facebook/Amazon/Netflix/Google) which often becomes the dominate "ethnicity" of "globalized citizens".
For those with the means (which are often native English speaking expatriates, who are statistically more likely to be from richer countries and thus have more wealth than an immigrant to Japan from Asia), they often take deliberate measures to prevent their children from "naturally assimilating." They send them to (often very expensive) "international schools" to ensure that their first language (and thus the culture connected to it) of their overseas is English — even if this often means that their children will not have native language and cultural skills good enough to work and live in that society (except for the "globalized" multinational corporations and subcultures that form around globalized long term expats).

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Thoughts, Conclusion, Thanks, and Caveats

Licensed under Creative Commons Zero - CC0 terms

I have run this web site, along with over a dozen other authors and contributors, since 2010. During that time, according to both my personal email, this group's email folder, and other messages and posts from social media:

• I have exchanges emails, interviewed, and answered questions with over 300 different English speaking people who have become legally Japanese. This includes people of most English language speaking (first or second language) countries, including many in South America, eastern Europe, Russia, India, etc. These interactions are usually questions about naturalization, life post naturalization, and include the applicant's biography and concerns about the process.
• I have had lunch, dinner, or just a long coffee session at a cafe, personally, with about two dozen English speaking people who have become legally Japanese, which implies a deep conversation / interview of at least 45 to 90 approximate minutes.
• I have become "friends" (defined as met more than once, semi-regularly) with about four English speakers who became legally Japanese.
• Very, very, few of them are active on the open public "English social media internet". So you won't see the "assimilated" in the places where people converse in English, even if these people are residents of Japan. Because if you are spending too much time in the English internet, one could argue that you're probably not trying that hard to integrate or assimilate.

I think have personally met (both digitally and in real life) more naturalized Japanese who were not Special Permanent Residents — such as most 在日 {zainichi} (legally Korean but usually ethnically Japanese foreign national permanent residents) — than almost anybody in the world with the exception of immigration officers and municipal office workers.

Of these countless people I have met, they often end up mentioning this to me, either before naturalization or after:

"Isn't it weird how the only people that will tell you you can never really be Japanese or never be accepted... are non-Japanese — and Japanese that hang out with the expat community?"

This is something people often bring up with me almost every time naturalized people talk about their experience. It's a bit of an very inside joke. As in, most people who are accepted parts of their Japanese community will note to me that "the only people that have ever tell me I can't ever be accepted as a Japanese are non-Japanese — or Japanese-Americans or other Anglo-sphere people from the so-called global community.

And this is especially prevalent among: the bitter, jaded, and racially-politically active people", in that they will judge you for your decision and express their opinion on the matter even if you don't ask for it.

It is true that there is a "first impressions / preconceived notion" initial barrier to overcome with new people you meet — people initially judge by skin color and maybe by your accent initially. But if you actually:

• live in the real Japanese world (as in, communicate 100% in Japanese and participate primarily in real Japan society rather than the English digital bubble and expat scene)
• and your connection with that person persists and are quality connections based on your participation in society

There's always that one outlier.

then Japanese in Japan will, 9 times out of ten, accept and treat you just like a (born ethnically) Japanese person;
I'm qualify by excluding 10% to allow for the occasional racist which exists in every society. Once Japanese people get enough time to know you past your skin color and accented Japanese — in other words, get past the "first impression" stage, then provided your language ability is fluent and intelligent and communication is smooth and effortless, they will assume that your life experiences in Japan can be the same as theirs and your opinions and thoughts count as "Japanese." They will no longer focus and concentrate on your foreign origins.

If you plan to (or can't help but) live a lifestyle where you don't plant roots and hop from employer to employer and home to home in Japan so it's Groundhog Day every day and every Japanese you meet is a first or close to first encounter, yes, you may never be "accepted."

As long as Japan is racially and ethnically 98%+ Japanese/Asian and 20,000,000+ tourists a year who can't speak a lick of Japanese keep visiting, that "first impression" obstacle to overcome will always exist. If you are impatient and triggered by this, please don't come to Japan. It's not for you. You will always get the English Menu or the "Can you use chopsticks?" and "Wow! You can speak Japanese!" from strangers for the rest of your life.

An interesting twist I've discovered from talking to naturalized people: the supposedly "non-racist" Japanese who agree that non-Japanese can never be accepted as ethnically Japanese or truly integrated are ironically the most "international": people with the best English and the most extensive English language friend networks within and outside of Japan and the most overseas experience. It's as if these "internationally minded" Japanese mistakenly learn from their English language expat network that becoming Japanese isn't possible, and expats in turn learn this prejudice from them and they count this as a "typical Japanese opinion" in their anecdotes: A vicious feedback loop.


It is also true that just because it is possible to be accepted doesn't mean that anybody can be accepted or integrated unconditionally. "Acceptance" and integration is earned, it's not an "identity politics" right like in the West these days. You cannot force or sue people to accept you. Just like everybody has the RIGHT to the pursuit of happiness and acceptance, that that right doesn't guarantee or entitle you'll be happy or accepted.

Thus, it is conceivable that there are some people, due to them just being social misfits, bad at foreign language mastery, unable to adapt, that can't "become accepted"— even if they really, really, want to be.

That's a very sobering thought to keep in mind: assimilation / integration into a foreign culture, and the prerequisite mastery of a foreign language very different from English takes years. It's really hard. It requires both intellectual and emotional stamina. Not just for a few years. It takes more like a half decade minimum. It will be the longest investment in time for something for most people in their lives... longer than their college education often. And to find out after all those years and tears... that despite wanting it bad, you "just don't have the [adaptable] social or language skills"... that's a huge chunk of your life you will never get back that perhaps were better spent (in terms of comfort) in the foreigner English digital and pub bubble.

Perhaps that is why some expats say it's not possible: it gives them an "easy out" and excuse for either:

• not trying to be accepted or integrate (which as I said, is a LOT of work with no guarantee of success),
• or trying and failing / giving up.