eHow: How to become a Japanese Citizen

"How to become a Japanese Citizen" by Stephen Lilley

http://www.ehow.com/how_4556306_become-japanese-citizen.html

There are a few mistakes in this article (other than the clerical error that caused the article to be filed under "Chinese Culture"):

1. The age requirements are not mentioned.
2. The single citizenship requirement is not mentioned.
3. The "don't advocate overthrowing the government of constitution by force" requirement isn't mentioned, though we'll assume that this is part of the "history of good behavior" requirement.
4. It's possible to have stayed in Japan continuously for less than five years (if you are married to a Japanese spouse for over three years) and qualify for naturalization.
5. "Fluency" in Japanese is not necessary. And the statement that the interview is "the most difficult part of the application process" is not the opinion of most people who have naturalized. For most applicants, most difficult part of the application process is acquiring all the overseas paperwork.
   
   Now, people that have no experience speaking Japanese in Japan often have a different perception of what fluency is compared to non-Japanese residents (every Japan resident has heard a person who can't understand Japanese describe their beginner-level Japanese-speaking friend as "fluent" — résumé padding with respect to foreign language skills is quite common) — so perhaps he was referring to "fluent" from the perspective of a non-Japanese speaking tourist.
   
   However, the guidelines that the MoJ requires regarding one's Japanese level seems to be somewhere equivalent to lower elementary/grade school level. To most non-native speakers of Japanese, that would hardly be considered "fluent."
6. I have no idea what a "application of residency" is, but I guess the author is referring to applying for and getting a status of residence (via a visa) that allows you to live in Japan beyond what a 短期滞在 {tanki taizai} (Temporary Visitor aka "tourist visa"; 90 days or less) status would permit you.
   
   Whatever form(s) the author was referring to, they are definitely not available at the U.S. State Department or an American Embassy.

This author attempted to leave corrections via the comments three separate times on July 17, 2010. The comments were either manually or automatically deleted.