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Japanese Civics Quiz
In an old post, I mentioned how unlike the United States, Japan has no civics test quizzing applicants about their knowledge of the constitution, the country's history, geography, or government. In...
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Japan's Melon Bread Origin and Nationality in Meiji Japan
Photo credit [CC BY 2.0] to Hideto KOBAYASHIThere's a great article in The Armenian Mirror-Spectator about the origins of the "Melon-pan" (メロンパン {meron-pan}), sometimes called a "Sunrise" (サンライズ...
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Is it possible to avoid paying student debt by becoming legally Japanese ?
A few months ago an American interested in becoming Japanese mentioned to me that he looked forward to not needing to repay his crushing student debt he left back in America.The United States has gone...
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Is the order of the naturalization steps the same for everybody?
This old description implies that the paperwork and forminspection and reception always occurs before theinterview (and request for additional paperwork)A person who is currently undergoing the...
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A big difference between Japanese Permanent Residency and Citizenship: the...
This little guy completely changed the notion regardinginternational freedom of movementIn early interviews with people done many years ago, people would often ask me, "Why did you naturalize? Why not...
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First Naturalized Japanese to be featured in a major Hollywood production
Nick Zappetti, American "mafia boss of Tokyo"A few years ago, I reviewed the excellent book "Tokyo Underworld" by Robert Whiting, which featured an Italian-American by the name of Nicholas aka Nick...
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Court rules in favor of Japan's ban on dual nationality
Eight former Japanese nationals, aged 30 to 80, men and women, six who have acquired Swiss or Liechtenstein nationality and two others who plan to obtain Swiss or French nationality, led by Hitoshi...
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Update: Certificate of Alien Registration Card no longer necessary for...
The website has been around for over 10 years. As with everything, things change, and previous information written years ago on this website will become obsolete.When that happens and old information...
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Age Requirement for Naturalization to Drop from 20 to 18 on April 1, 2022
Not just for 20-year olds anymoreUntil a few decades ago, the age of majority for being able to do anything in Japan, was twenty years of age. That was when you were considered to be an adult.Over...
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Choice of Nationality Deadline to change from 22 to 20?
Japan has been, for the past six years, slowly changing all its laws that define an adult from 20 years of age to 18 years of age. This process will complete next year. This also means that one will be...
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Why did I decide to apply for Japanese citizenship?
Do I really want to do this?Hello everyone! My name is Den (pen name for now). I come from a country in Southeast Asia, and I am the newest contributor to "Turning Japanese". I am currently in the...
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Naturalization Story Part 1: First Consultation at the Legal Affairs Bureau
Hello everyone!In a previous blog post, I talked about my motivation for obtaining Japanese citizenship. This time, I will go into detail regarding the steps I took to apply. All of the conversations...
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Naturalization Story Part 2: Second Naturalization Consultation & Prep Work
A+!Hello again! This is the second part of my documentation of the naturalization process. If you haven't already, please read part 1 here.In the previous post, I talked about the first consultation...
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New documentary film to be released: "Being Japanese"
The official poster for the filmWhat makes a Japanese person Japanese?Is it the blood that runs through their veins? A parent they were born to? The country they grew up in? Is it how they look? How...
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What possible penalties are there for not properly getting rid your original...
Actually, a passport is not proof of nationality.A Japanese family registry is, however.This question was actually posted in the Reddit group "Residents in Japan", and I answered it there, but...
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Naturalization Story Part 3: Final(*) Consultation
An (emotional) approximation of how much documents I gatheredHello everyone. This is the part 3 of my naturalization story. Part 1 and Part 2 linked. At this point, I have prepared all the documents I...
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Is the COVID pandemic affecting the naturalization process (in mid-2021)?
...the Bureau of Legal Affairs is, tooTL;DR: yes and no, sometimes in surprising ways. So since I have finished the document-gathering and initial submission phase of my application, I thought I would...
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Can Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency count as assets for the naturalization...
One of the requirements for naturalizing is to show you have a reasonable chance of supporting yourself financially until the end of your days without ending up in poverty or on welfare in Japan.Being...
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Can you be denied entry into Japan if you're naturalized?
The "No Entry" road sign in Japanis also the same in much of Europe.Legally in Japan, there is no difference in the rights between Japanese nationals who were born with the nationality (often called...
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Are naturalized people subject to more scrutiny from financial institutions?
The system for how Japanese banks reports AmericansUnfortunately, the answer to this is "sometimes." And this includes Japanese financial institutions, even though it's not Japan's fault: their hands...
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Can you ever become stateless after becoming Japanese?
Statelessness is the condition where a person has no legal nationality associated with them.The Japanese Constitution, Article 22, specifically grants Japanese nationals the right to lose Japanese...
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Does the Minister of Justice actually approve applications for naturalization?
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry seal &the Fair Trade Commission SealThe nationality law for Japan says that all applications must be approved by the Minister of Justice (法務大臣 {hōmu...
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Previously paywalled documentary movie "Being Japanese" now free on YouTube
Greg Lam is a professional videographer who is probably best known to Japanophiles from his YouTube channel(s) "Life Where I'm From".He's been producing vignettes about what it's like for a Canadian or...
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Naturalization Story Part 4: The interview, the long wait, and the result
I believe I made the choice the moment I appliedHello everyone. It has been a year since I formally applied for citizenship. I am happy to announce that I finally have an update: I am officially...
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How much did it actually cost to naturalize?
Pennies, compared to most other developed countriesIn 2010, an article was published here about how much it costs to apply for naturalization. It was true then, and it's still true now in 2022: The...
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