Becoming Japanese

Contrary to popular belief, the "Y" on these license plates doesn't mean "Yankee". ☺ The United States and Japan, like many other countries, have a special treaty called the "Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan" ( 日本国と { Nipponkoku to } ​ アメリカ合衆国との間の { Amerikagasshūkoku to no Aida no } ​相互協力及び { Sōgo Kyōryoku oyobi } ​安全保障条約 { Anzen Hoshō Jōyaku } ) , known as the 安保条約 { anpo jōyaku } or even just 安保 { anpo } for short. It's a long and complicated (and controversial) treaty that has been in place and renewed since 1960. Part of the provisions of the treaty allow for the U.S. military to bring in and rotate tens of thousands of U.S. military (and civilian) personnel in and out of Japan, living on or near military bases. Because so many U.S. citizens (almost as many as U.S. nationals that live in Japan as a standard foreign resident) move in and out of Japan, serving the U.S. military, the U....

If you have been following the sports news in Japan recently then you have probably heard about the national rugby team's success at the Rugby World Cup. They defeated South Africa's legendary Springboks and went on to captivate Japan. Not all of the foreign born members of the national team are actually naturalized as this is not a regulation of the Rugby Union. Players on the national team must meet the minimum residency requirement in order to represent a particular country. Here is a brief profile of the naturalized members of Japan's national rugby team. Luke Thompson Born in New Zealand and naturalized 2011, Luke Thompson has been playing for the Japanese national team since 2007. He currently plays professionally for the Kintetsu Liners. Michael Leitch Originally from New Zealand and granted citizenship in 2013, Michael Leitch is also a member of the Toshiba Brave Lupus professional team.

Changing from U.S. Nationality to Something Else went from costing nothing to thousands of dollars. The United States has experienced a wave of accidental Americans giving up their U.S. nationality . That is, people with multiple nationalities that happen to have U.S. nationality but don't live in America nor use their U.S. nationality in any way. Some didn't even know they had U.S. nationality until that checked when the crackdown began due to FBAR and FATCA . Others that give up their nationality aren't accidental, but are doing so because the circumstances of their life events: career, marriage, family, children, home, assets. Their entire life, through fate, is completely independent of America. Perhaps they could continue to file a IRS 1040 form (because they're not tax cheats) every year detailing how their life situation exempts (or not) them from double taxation, however, overseas Americans tax returns are naturally complicated, as they don't l...

O Canada! Canada is the most recent country to pass legislation which allows it to remove its (Canadian) citizenship from people with more than one nationality. The legislation, bill C-24, passed June 11th of this year (2015), is called the "Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act". It's a broad bill, covering many portions of Canadian nationality. For example, one of the things it does is make it a little harder to become Canadian by naturalization. For example, you must now spend a total of 365 × 4 (=1,460 or four years; three with permanent resident status and be physically present in the Dominion of Canada for 183 days [about 6 months]) total days in Canada. The previous law required 365 × 3 (= 1,095 or three years; two with permanent resident status) days in Canada. Bill C-24 also made easier to give Canadian citizenship to some people who thought they were legally Canadian but discovered they weren't: such as those born out of wedlock many decades ago or th...

No. When you ask somebody what "naturalization" to Japanese gets you , the first answers off the top of their head are "the right to vote" or "the right to hold office", and they will usually follow that up with "these aren't things you do very often, so naturalization really doesn't give you much over permanent residency" However, there is one right that you get to exercise every day: the right to enter and live and work in Japan at will. When you are a foreign resident of Japan you have " permission to be in Japan". When you are a Japanese national, you have the right to be in Japan." Contrary to popular belief, "permanent resident" SoR ( 永住者在留資格 { eijūsha zairyū shikaku } ) does not give you the right to be in Japan, nor is it a promised to be truly "permanent" — either by the foreign resident or by the State of Japan. Permanent Resident Status, just like other "non-permanent"...

Some people have written in asking why diplomats aren't allowed to naturalize in most countries of the world. The reason is that naturalization is not just the bestowing of rights and privileges. It's not just an "award" for time lived in a foreign country, or an acknowledgement of one's parents' nationalities that you inherited. It's a Social Contract that binds a person, going forward until they die or legally give up that nationality , to a sovereign nation's laws. These laws include both current laws and any future laws, that you cannot foresee or expect now, that are created by the legislature — and the responsibilities that those laws create. You may not necessarily be able to necessarily escape those responsibilities by just leaving the country and living or working elsewhere . Those responsibilities could, either now or in the unknown future, include overseas taxation, military conscription, or anything else. When you beco...

Rita Taketsuru Once upon a time in the early 20th century, you couldn't get whisky in Japan. They were all poor Scotch imitations, with artificial flavors and colors, designed for profit more than quality. Japan was known as the country for 日本酒 { Nihon-shu } (saké; literally "Japanese alcohol") and if they drank something besides that, it was beer or wine. Today, however, the Japanese make some of the finest whisky† in the world. The Japanese were excellent and earnest students of the Scotch methods, and these days even the most patriotic Scot begrudgingly admits that they are now masters at crafting the drink. Japan's finest specimens are winning international awards and accolades from the most discerning critics and fans. Japan's whisky is unique because while the peat and environment in northern Hokkaido is similar to that of Scotland, they also sometimes use wood native to Japan for its barrels: モンゴリナラ { Mongorinara } (Japanese oak aka Mizunara ...