Becoming Japanese

You don't have to be wealthy in order to naturalize. The primary purpose of the lengthy paperwork where you outlay your assets and employer as well as your monthly expenses is basically to determine that the odds of you becoming a candidate for welfare payments anytime in your future are low. In the words of some legal sites, the litmus test is 「日本国に迷惑をかけずに生活できること」 { "Nippon-koku ni meiwaku o kakezu ni seikatsu dekiru koto" } ("can live without being a burden to Japan") Filling out the paperwork on your income and expenses, in fact, feels a lot like completing a major credit or loan application in Japan. They're concerned not just with how much money you're pulling in, but how you're spending it, how stable your employment and career is, and whether or not you have enough skills (i.e. Japanese language) so that if you were to ever lose your employment, you stand a chance of getting another job in Japan. Thus, having a well paying job with a l...

handwritten, but not in English The last time I had to write an essay regarding why I wanted to belong to anything was when I was applying for college. Like applying for college, exactly what I thought I should write was a total mystery. Should I suck up, and say how much I love everything about Japan and how being a Japanese citizen is my lifelong dream? Should I write an analysis of the Japanese Constitution, and how my naturalization relates to it: in the past, present, and future? Should I write something about how it's necessary to become Japanese in order to provide the best possible life for my family? Or perhaps I should write about how my life dream is to jump into every 温泉 { onsen } (hot spring bath) and eat at an 居酒屋 { izakaya } (Japanese pub) in every single 都道府県 { todōfuken } (prefecture) in Japan before I die. The only bit of guidance they give you is one little note in the instructions at the bottom of the page. Outside of these instructions, the fo...

You have to be an adult in Japan... You have to be an adult in both of your countries, unless your parent(s) or legal guardian is naturalizing with you (a family naturalization). This means you have to be twenty (20) years old. However, if your original country has a higher age for the recognition of adulthood, you have to clear that hurdle too. So if in your home country, you're not an adult until you're 22, you have to wait until you're 22 to naturalize. There are certain parts of the naturalization procedure that are different if you're under fifteen (15) years old: You don't sign the 帰化許可申請書 { kika kyoka shinseisho } (Permission to naturalize application form); your parent / legal guardian does You don't need to fill out the 履歴書 { rirekisho } (Personal History Form) You don't need to write the 動機書 { dōkisho } (Motivational Essay) You don't need to sign the 宣誓書 { senseisho } (Oath Statement) Your photo on the application needs...

prison in Ōsaka When I first decided to naturalize, I showed up unannounced at the 法務局国籍課 { hōmukyoku kokusekika } (Legal Affairs Bureau, Nationality Section} and stated that I wanted to naturalize but I didn't know what to do or what the procedure was and therefore I'd like a pamphlet, instruction book, and ideally somebody that could answer my questions. The first thing the clerk asked me, before answering any of my questions or providing me with any information was: "Have you ever overstayed your visa or have committed a crime, either here or overseas?" I was a little taken aback by the question. I'm used to getting asked if I can eat with chopsticks or how, after almost two decades of living here, "do I like Japan?" Did I look like a ex-felon? Should I have dressed nicer? Should I have shaved? Anyway, I tried to confidently answer without hesitating, "No." The man smiled and gave me a friendly colorful pamphlet and said, ...