Becoming Japanese

For those naturalizing to Japan that come from republics, the thought of linking yourself legally to a state that has a monarch, even a "mere" constitutional one, may feel strange or uncomfortable. Are you a "subject"? The TL;DR answer for Japanese nationals: No. A "republic", such as France or the United States, is a sovereign state that lacks a monarch. In many republics, their formation occurred after the explicit rejection of a monarch based government. However, just because a government has a king or queen or emperor or empress and is therefore not a republic does not mean that everybody is a "subject". As a general rule of thumb, when sovereignty lies with a royal family, emperor/empress, or a king/queen, the people of the country are referred to as "subjects". When sovereignty lies with the national People, they're usually called citizens. (The United Kingdom, another constitutional monarchy, currently has both ci...

jus sanguinis ≠ "from/by blood" There are two primary ways to get "natural born" citizenship in most democratic countries: " jus sanguinis " (right by blood) and " jus soli " (right by soil). Some countries (not Japan) also given citizenship/nationality through marriage — jus matrimonium — or through religion. Confusion arises from the term " jus sanguinis " because anybody who has studied Latin knows that sanguinis means "blood". A less confusing way of understanding jus sanguinis would be to not think of it as meaning "by blood", but rather, "by a birth parent's legal nationality". "By blood" often makes people think of race. This misunderstanding is further perpetuated by the present reality of demographics in that Japanese, even those who are naturalized, are usually racially Asian ( CJK ), and by the fact that jus soli isn't common outside the "new world" continent...

Most democratic governments run a publicly funded newspaper that keeps track of all the proceedings of what goes on in their government on the public record. In Japan, it's called the 官報 { kampō } (The Official Gazette) . In the United States, it's called the Federal Register . Each country has their quirks as to what gets published and what doesn't. For example, Japan publishes the (former) name, birthdate, and home address of every person who naturalizes. In the 21st century, nobody would dream of putting this info out there due to risks of identity theft or invasion of privacy. The reason they do it, though, is because it's a legal requirement; it's been on the books since the Nationality Law was first written for the modern Constitution in the middle of last century. On the other hand, while Japan publishes statistics on how many people renounce, they do not publish the actual names and other details of those who do it. The United States is the opposit...