Interesting The Mainichi story about naturalization

The English online publication of the 毎日新聞 {Mainichi Shimbun} (The Mainichi) ran a small Q&A story (in its "News Navigator" Perspectives section) about naturalization to Japanese after Donald Keene became a citizen:

News Navigator: How can foreigners get Japanese Citizenship?

Like most one page summaries, it simplifies details that probably won't apply to many. For example, not everybody needs to be in Japan for five continuous years; most people who have been married to a Japanese will probably only need three or perhaps as little as one continuous year thanks to 簡易帰化 {kan'i kika} (simplified naturalization). It mentions the need to be able to read and speak Japanese, but you do need to be able to write it as well — for the 動機書 {dōkisho} (Motivation Essay) — and it doesn't mention that relatively speaking, your Japanese level doesn't have to be that good for someone who lives in Japan and is planning on living there forever.

The answers it provides do contain one big mistake. When talking about methods for obtaining nationality, it says:

If, however, a child is born out of wedlock to a foreign woman and a Japanese man, there is no legal way to prove the man's paternity, and the child does not immediately receive Japanese citizenship. On the other hand, if the father acknowledges the child as his after it's born, then the child can get Japanese citizenship by officially notifying the minister of justice.

This is no longer true as of December 31st, 2011. The Mainichi is referring to a temporary law set up to solve the existing cases that existed prior to 2009 which were without precedent at the time. These days, if there is no legal way to prove that the parents are Japanese, naturalization is the route to citizenship.

On the other hand, the story does do a good job dispelling a common misperception that people have about naturalizing: people that naturalize do not "have to change their names into ones using Chinese kanji characters or otherwise make them Japanese-sounding."

Finally, I should note that the article makes two interesting assertions that I have not read in official 法務省 {hōmushō} (Ministry of Justice) documentation and was not told to me by my case worker:

1. The entire process takes six (6) to ten (10) months.
2. many applicants are residents of Japan seeking nationality around the time they got married, or hoping to have their children born Japanese citizens [survey in the 2003 book 『在日外国人と帰化制度』 {"zainichigaikokujin to kika seido"} by 名古屋大学 {Nagoya Daigaku} (Nagoya University) lecturer 浅川晃広 {ASAKAWA Akihiro}]

As for point one, my case worker hesitated to give me an exact figure, but he speculated that my application should "be done in Autumn" if I turned it in during winter. After formally submitting my application, it took eight months (two months longer than it took me to get my permanent residency), which is within the time range that this article claims.

On the other hand, Donald Keene's application took approximately four months, according to news reports talking about his application and acceptance.