Writing the statement of intent

One of the requirements for naturalization is a statement of intent, or 動機書 {dōkisho} (motivation essay) in Japanese. For me, this was one of the most frustrating parts of the process, simply because... there are very few rules at all. The 動機書 {dōkisho} must be written by the applicant, in his or her own handwriting, in Japanese. Other than that, the case worker probably won't give you any information as to what kind of thing they're looking for, and the only examples I was able to find on the internet (after extensive searching in Japanese) were not actual 動機書 {dōkisho} (motivation essay) that had been submitted in the past, but very general samples on lawyers' websites. I understand why this is. In writing about your reasons for coming to Japan, deciding to stay, to make it your permanent home, and finally to naturalize, I imagine that some 動機書 {dōkisho} (motivation essay) can become personal, emotional documents that people may not want to share with the Internet as a whole. In my case, however, at least after three years of having it sit here collecting virtual dust on my hard drive, I don't think there's anything here too personal to share. So, here you go:

An actual 動機書 {dōkisho} (motivation essay) used in a successful application for naturalization

and

A rough English translation

This may seem like extreme common sense, but for your own sake, please do not simply copy my statement as use it as your own. I have no idea if they run the text of every 動機書 {dōkisho} through a search engine, but there's no reason to jeapordize something as important as naturalization with a sloppy copy-paste job!

Finally, a bit of advice for writing your own 動機書 {dōkisho} (motivation essay), again from someone who is in no way a professional, but who at least was successful in her own attempt.

1. Use Japanese that you actually know. This may seem like a no-brainer, but if you've ever taught English in Japan, you've probably come across those students who come to class fully prepared! ...with a long, nonsensical, poorly pronounced sentence that includes "one's" instead of "his," hers," and "theirs," and turns every verb into an infinitive. Yes, that is what happens when you let the dictionary (or an online translator) write in a foreign language for you. You'll end up with a much more "advanced" sounding document if you use simpler vocabulary and grammatical structures that you actually know and can use on your own. If you must use a dictionary, reverse-check in a Japanese-English dictionary, or better yet, ask a native speaker to proofread it for you.

2. Try to write in Japanese, instead of writing in English and translating. See above English-student anecdote. I actually had to think about how to translate my own Japanese sentences into English in the above documents. You'll end up with more natural expressions if you don't translate, and it will also give the case worker a good idea of how good your Japanese actually is. If the Japanese in your 動機書 {dōkisho} (motivation essay) and the Japanese that you speak in interviews are too different from each other, it may raise a red flag.

3. You have to turn in a final handwritten document... but there's no reason you can't type it first. I typed mine, printed it in a large (size 16, I believe?) font, and used it to double check all of the kanji as I copied it over by hand. It's also nice to have a saved copy for your records.

4. Get a native speaker to check it. It doesn't have to be a professional proofreader... a family member, co-worker, or friend will do. Just make sure you haven't accidentally insulted your case worker's mother or anything. My husband didn't correct anything in mine, but just hearing him say that it seemed okay gave me a huge burst of confidence!

5. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. This last one might be completely off-base, but content-wise, I really tried to focus on the benefis for Japan and for existing Japanese citizens (namely, my family, but that could mean your community or colleagues or your customers/clients/patients/etc as well), rather than the benefits that naturalization would have for me personally. In my case, you can see that I focus on raising my children (Japanese citizens) in Japan, taking care of my in-laws (Japanese citizens) when they are too old to live alone, and getting a licence to work at a daycare in order to teach (Japanese) children and help (Japanese) parents. That may not have been a necessary approach at all, but in my case at least, I don't think it hurt.