Becoming Japanese

[This post has been edited and corrected to reflect input, feedback, and research received directly from Robert Whiting. The original post hypothesized that there was no evidence in the Official Gazette proving that Nicola Zappetti had naturalized.] Robert Whiting is the author of the book, "Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan" . The bestselling book in Japan is a combination history lesson about postwar Japan corruption and a biography of a Italian-American, Nicola Koizumi né Nick Zappetti, who came to Japan as a U.S. Marine, right after its defeat in World War II, and proceeded to use Japanese yakuza and American mafia organized crime connections and the black market to make a name for himself in the new rebuilding Japan. He supposably is credited with making American style pizza popular in downtown Tokyo and establishing Roppongi as the nightlife place to be. In the twilight of his life in Japan, he eventually loses everyt...

This question came from a reader from the internet. Every situation is different, but to answer your question in the simplest way, the answer to your question is yes, naturalization as a family/group is possible, and some of the forms — such as the 親族の概要 { shinzoku no gaiyō } (Relatives Overview) — even have sections where you mark those who are applying with you as a set. The reason for this should be obvious. If a family member wants the unconditional right to be in Japan for the rest of his or her life, it makes obvious sense that he or she would want the family he lives with to have the same right as well. If it becomes clear, in the very unlikely case, that one or more of the family would not qualify for naturalization yet others would, the family would be consulted as to how they wish to proceed before anything that is irreversible would occur. In fact, if you look at the 官報 { kampō } (Diet's Official Gazette) listings, you'll see that families naturalizing...

Depending on the country, sometimes the Japanese naturalization procedures require you to renounce your former citizenship(s) after acquiring Japanese citizenship -- within two years. This is for countries like New Zealand and the United States. However, For most countries, such as South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the People's Republic of China, Japan requires you to renounce/legally abandon your former nationalities prior to receiving Japanese naturalization. Note that they won't ask you to do this until they've confirmed that every other detail of your application process will pass the requirements, so there's no risk of you renouncing your citizenship and then finding out that you won't be receiving Japanese citizenship. Even so, some countries have a "safety boomerang" clause for their renunciation procedure. For example, if citizens of the United Kingdom renounce their citizenship but do not manage to acquire another citizenship within six mon...