Naturalized Japanese Olympians, pro and international competition; changing nationality for sport

We can't refer to the protected images of
the international winter games in Sochi, Russia

Former South Korean national 安賢洙 {AN Hyonsu} — in ハングル {hanguru} (Korean syllabet): 안 현수 {AN Hyeonsu} — in his English preferred spelling: Ahn Hyun-Soo — is a world-class short track speed skating champion. He changed his nationality from South Korea to Russia, becoming Виктор Ан {Viktor AHN}. He won three gold medals and one bronze for the Republic of Korea in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Now, in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, he has won a gold medal for the hosting country, the Russian Federation (ロシア連邦 {Roshia Rempō}).

Athletes changing nationality is nothing new. What is unusual about Ahn is how high profile and how he had such a long and successful sports winning career with his previous country. Compared to most naturalized elite athletes, and his motives for changing nationality were a little unusual: he had a falling out with the sports association in his home country.

The reason that most athletes change citizenship is because of one of these reasons:

• their home country either doesn't have or support their sport
• their home country has so much depth and talent that they wouldn't get qualify for the team
• the odds of standing out and getting more attention or better training, exposure, opportunities, compensation, or facilities in another country are better.
• a country that is not strong in a sport but wants to be is "seeding" their sports program to try to get victories early and jump-start the level of play in their own country

Some countries, such as Russia, loosen requirements for world class athletes that wish to compete under the country's flag and anthem. Other countries, such as Japan and the United States, require exceptional athletes to perform the same procedures and same rules that other naturalization applicants go through. According to the New York Times, ice short-track team coach Jang Kwon-ok

… did say that the process for [AHN Hyun-Soo / Viktor AHN] receiving Russian citizenship was “very, very easy,” compared with the layers of paperwork and the residency requirements that would be expected of someone trying to gain American citizenship.

When athletes naturalize to Japanese nationality, they must still meet the residency requirements for either regular naturalization or simplified naturalization (if they have living Japanese national immediate family connections). There is actually a third option for naturalization, dubbed "extraordinary naturalization" in English (大帰化 {taikika}), which in theory could be used to "fast track" an athlete's acquisition of Japanese nationality and bypass all the requirements, but not a single person, no matter how special, has ever naturalized using extraordinary naturalization.

When athletes decide to take Japanese nationality, they do so for reasons often connected with continuing to be related to the sport even after their athletically prime years.

大相撲 {Ō-zumō} (Professional Sumo wrestling)

At 203cm & 227kg in his prime, AKEBONO wasn't the largest,
but he was one of the (literally) biggest and most successful.

You do not need to be a Japanese national to participate in professional sumo — or even reach its top rank, 横綱 {yokozuna} — a title granted by deliberation not just by one's win-lose record (there can be more than one at the same time). Once one becomes a 横綱 {yokozuna}, they cannot lose the rank or be demoted; it is expected that one gracefully retire if they can no longer sustain a caliber of performance befitting the title. There have been more than a couple foreigners who have achieved the top rank. 曙太郎 {AKEBONO Tarō} (né Chad Haaheo ROWAN of Waimānalo, Hawai'i), was the first. He would eventually naturalize to Japanese.

ハワイ {Hawai} (Hawaii)

ブルガリア {Burugaria} (Bulgaria)

The first wrestler to naturalize, however, was 髙見山大五郎 {TAKAMIYAMA Daigorō}, formerly Jesse James Wailani KUHAULUA, who would trail blaze the path for many Hawaiians and Pacific islanders into the Japanese sport for years to come in the seventies and eighties. The first European origin wrestler to naturalize was 琴欧洲勝紀 {KOTO-ŌSHŪ Katsunori} né Калоян Стефанов Махлянов {Kalojan Stefanov MAHLJANOV} from the Republic of Bulgaria in 2014.

The reason most foreign wrestlers naturalize is so they can obtain 年寄名跡 {toshiyori myōseki}, aka 親方株 {oyakata kabu}. There are only 105 family names allowed for professional sumo coaches / stable masters, and you need a license to have one. In order to obtain a license, you need Japanese nationality as sumo is considered to be a national sport of Japan. When 髙見山大五郎 {TAKAMIYAMA Daigorō} naturalized, in addition to his legal Japanese name, the next professional sumo name he chose (from the allowed 105) after his wrestler name was 『東関』 {"Azumazeki"}.

The other reason professional wrestlers naturalize is that nowadays, a professional sumo stable is limited to one wrestler of foreign nationality.

プロ野球 {puro yakyū} (Nippon Professional Baseball)

Played for 7 years as ROC national

In the past, the NPB league used to have a "two guest — as in non-Japanese national — player per team" rule. Some players of the past, such as Taiwanese 佳久源治 {KAKU Genji} (né 郭源治 {GUŌ Yuánzhì}), became naturalized Japanese.

However, these days, foreign players are, by the rules, treated more like Japanese nationals: the limit on the number of foreign players per team has been abolished, and foreign nationals are eligible for free agency in Japan just like Japanese nationals.

Additionally, for the World Baseball Classic, an international competition consisting of the best baseball players from around the world (pro & amateur), being a national or citizen is not a requirement for representing one's country; having permanent residency or being in the process of getting a passport or nationality is enough to represent a country. Thus, cases where one naturalizes for the sake of this event are not common.

サッカー {sakkā} (Soccer / Association Football)

Because many soccer competitions are international and based on national teams, cases of players changing their nationality are quite common. Professional soccer was introduced to Japan in the form of the J-League in the nineties, Japan's competitive level started rising as Japan imported more and more talent from powerhouses such as Brazil.

RAMOS Ruy

SANTOS Alessandro

Some of the most famous footballers from Brazil who became Japanese include ラモス瑠偉 {RAMOSU Rui} né Ruy Gonçalves Ramos SOBRINHO — who represented Japan in the 1993 World Cup held in the United States and was one of the first early stars of the new J-League (you could see him in ads endorsing products all the time in Japan) — and 三都主アレサンドロ {SANTOSU Aresandoro} né Alessandro dos SANTOS — who represented Japan in the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea. Some of these "first generation" (一世 {issei}) naturalized Japanese have sired children who are natural-born Japanese pro soccer players: The Havenaar (ハーフナー {HĀFUNĀ}) and Coimbra (コインブラ {KOIMBURA}) families are multi-generation Japanese national soccer families who immigrated to Japan and naturalized.

While some, such as 安倍晋三総理大臣 {ABE Shinzō Sōridaijin}　(Japan Prime Minister Shinzō ABE) approve of foreign soccer players naturalizing to Japan and are proud of and recognize them as Japanese, other people who regulate the sport internationally have expressed concern over the imbalances in world talent caused by the practice of changing one's nationality in order to compete in the FIFA World Cup (Ｗ杯 {daburu hai}). FIFA President Joseph "Sepp" Blatter has said that when one country's league (such as the Premier League) can take all the best foreign players via money and incentives, then other country's will have difficulty fielding competitive squads. Blatter said:

"I want to try to, if not persuade [the chief executive of the Premier League and] at least influence him in his thoughts that to have a minimum of local players will enhance the quality of his league."

FIFA President Blatter has also said this regarding the limitation of international "journeymen" — athletes who change nationality via simplified procedures for the sake of international soccer competition:

"We need to find a solution to putting the brake on player naturalization. If we don't be careful, not just Europe, but Asia and Africa will be overrun with Brazilian players."

Other sports

The reason people naturalize for competing in international and domestic sport for Japan tend to fall into two main categories:

1. Those who need the Japanese nationality because the requirements for joining teams are nationality based.
2. Those who need Japanese nationality because their is a limit on the number of non-Japanese that can be on a team. By naturalizing they bypass this requirement.

softball (womens)

• 宇津木麗華 {UTSUGI Reika} née 任彦麗 {RÈN Yànlí} from China

table tennis (womens)

• 小山ちれ {KOYAMA Chire} née 何智丽 {HÉ Zhìlí} from China

basketball (mens)

• マッカーサー・エリック {MAKKĀSĀ · Erikku} (Eric McARTHUR) from the United States
• 桜木ジェイアール {SAKURAGI Jeiāru} (J.R. SAKURAI) né Milton HENDERSON Jr. from the United States

basketball (womens)

• 河恩珠 {HA Unju}, from the South Korea, chose to keep using her 漢字 {hanja} (Korean sinograms) for her new post-naturalization Japanese name and use a 仮名 {kana} (Japanese syllabet) non-standard "reading" (よみがな {yomigana}) that sounds similar to her birth name: 하은주 {HA Eun-ju}.

volleyball (mens)

• 杉山マルコス {SUGIYAMA Marukosu} né Marcos Sugiyama ESTEVES from Brazil

volleyball (womens)

• 高木貴子 {TAKAGI Takako} née 白井貴子 {SHIRAI Takako} from Korea — had 朝鮮籍 {chōsen-seki} aka "Korean domicile"

ice hockey (mens)

• ブライト・クリス {BURAITO · Kurisu} (Chris Bright) from Canada
• 大城ジョエル・ディック {ŌSHIRO Joeru · Dikku} né Joel DYCK from Canada

archery (womens)

• the 早川 {HAYAKAWA} née 嚴惠 {EOMHYER} sisters from South Korea

Rugby

Rugby normally classifies people by the country of their residence rather than their nationality, so naturalization isn't common for this sport. However, some foreigners — who were champions at their Japanese universities and were not restricted by not being Japanese — became legally Japanese after graduation so they wouldn't be treated as foreign athletes per the rules of the Japan Rugby Top League.

• ナタニエラ・オト {Nataniera · OTO} né Nataniela OTO from Kingdom of Tonga
• ルアタンギ・侍バツベイ {Ruatangi · SAMURAI BATSUBEI} né Luatangi VATUVEI from Kingdom of Tonga

The Other Direction: natural-born Japanese naturalizing to other countries

There are also a few Japanese nationals who have changed their nationality to compete for other countries' teams:

gymnastics (mens)

• 塚原直也 {TSUKAHARA Naoya} changed to Australian nationality

figure skating (womens)

• Юко Кавагути {Juko KAVAGUTI} née 川口悠子 {KAWAGUCHI Yūko} changed to Russian nationality

marathon (mens)

• 瀧崎邦明 {TAKIZAKI Kuniaki} aka 『猫ひろし』 {"Neko Hiroshi"} (the professional comedian's stage name) changed to Cambodian nationality

Not all attempted nationality changes are successful and pay off, however. For example, in 瀧崎邦明 {TAKIZAKI Kuniaki}'s case, the IOC ruled that he was ineligible to compete in the 2012 London summer games because a year had not passed since changing his nationality, despite Cambodia declaring him as eligible to represent the country.

Choosing (to keep) Japanese nationality via 国籍選択 {kokuseki sentaku} ([Adult] Choice of [One] Nationality)

There are a few instances of athletes, who were naturally born dual nationals of Japan and another country, choosing Japanese nationality during the two year window after becoming legally Japanese adult (20 years old). These athletes are not legally "naturalized" and they do not go through the naturalization process; they have had a Japanese 戸籍 {koseki} (family register) since birth. Those who chose Japanese nationality by 22 are legally still natural-born, not naturalized.

ice dancing (men/women)

• リードキャサリンマーガレット {RĪDO Kyasarinmāgaretto} (Cathy Reed), a Japanese-American who chose Japanese nationality

Cathy competes with her brother/partner, Chris Reed (リードロバートクリストファー {RĪDO Robātokurisutofā}) for team Japan. Chris decided to choose U.S. nationality before his 22nd birthday. He can still continue to represent Japan with his Japanese national sister in the Olympics and other international competitions because ice dancing allows for couples of mixed nationality.

Japanese-American Allison Reed's
new nationality: Georgia

Allison Reed, of the same Reed family, is also an Japanese-American ice dancer who obtained Georgian nationality and has competed first Georgia and then for Israel (the mixed nationality rule allows this because her partner had Israel nationality). While brother-sister teams in pair skating and ice dancing is not uncommon (there were four brother-sister ice dance teams in the 2010 games), having siblings compete against each other at the international level is unusual.

Enjoying and competing in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics