Chris Hart: profile of a [soon to be] Japanese national

Highest rank on Japan Charts: #2

Chris Hart (クリス・ハート {Kurisu · HĀTO}), currently 30 years old and an American citizen, has been an hit J-Pop solo artist and musician in Japan since 2013, though his connections to Japan run far deeper than just that.

Last month, on his official blog, he announced that he had begun the process for naturalization, which the entertainment media in Japan broadly reported on enthusiastically. Once one's application has been accepted, his chances of being accepted are greater than 99%, there's a very good chance this American will be an official Japanese national probably by the end of 2015. He has not mentioned what he will choose as his official name on his Japanese national family register (戸籍 {koseki}) or where he will choose his Registered Domicile (本籍 {honseki}), however most (but not all) celebrities that became famous on their original names tend to keep the form of their name that they became known as. If he does change his name, he will probably continue to use his "stage name" or "professional name" in public.
Regarding his thoughts on "becoming Japanese", he had this to say:

まずは、伝えたいのは、国籍を変えても「日本人になる」事ができないと思います。育ちと見た目もこんなに違うので、そこまで日本人になるということを外国人として考えられないですけど、日本国籍に変えたら、皆様と同じような責任感を持ちたいです。この国のために、日本の将来のために、毎日の行動で力になれればなと思います。

Roughly translated:

The first thing I want to say is that even if one changes their nationality, I don't think you can "become Japanese". [Compared to Japanese], I look very different and was raised very differently, so from a foreigner's point of view it's hard to think of someone like that turning Japanese. However, by changing to Japanese nationality, I'd like to have the same feeling of responsibility that everyone else has. For this country, for Japan's future, I must put all my strength into my everyday efforts.

The Japanese commenters on his blog have offered nothing but praise and enthusiastic support for his decision, thanking him and saying they're honored and touched to have somebody do this. Many of them have proclaimed that he truly is Japanese, saying that his sense of honor, love and soul connecting Japan is equal to, or greater than, many native-born Japanese.

Brief Biography

Born in San Francisco in 1984, he was raised by his mother who aspired to be a singer (now currently works in the IT industry). His father was formerly a police officer, and now currently works as a private detective.

At the age of thirteen in 1997, he spent two weeks on a home-stay in Tsuchiura City, (土浦市 {Tsuchiura-shi}), located in the southern area of Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県 {Ibaraki-ken}).

He says that his eyes were first opened to J-Pop music by the 1998 hit single, 『未来へ』 {"Mirai e"}, by the duo group Kiroro.

Prior to moving to Japan, Chris worked as a maintenance crew worker at an airport, a security guard, and in a call center for a Japanese cosmetics manufacturer.

Arriving in Japan as an adult at the age of 24, he worked as a salesperson for vending machines — not a typical job for an American that comes to Japan as an adult.

He was first discovered when he performed on the NTV show, 『のどじまんザ!ワールド』 {"Nodo Jiman Za! Wārudo"} (roughly, "Vocal Chord Boasting The! World") which is of the "… Has Got Talent!" genre of television programming.

HART's duet partner for the 2013 紅白 Pkōhaku}

He became known to most everyone in Japan when he sang a duet song medley with J-Pop legend 松田聖子 {MATSUDA Seiko} on New Year's Eve on the last day of 2013 during the 第６４回ＮＨＫ紅白歌合戦 {dai-64-kai NHK kōhaku uta gassen} (64th Annual NHK Red-White Song Battles), a 4½ hour television tradition/event in Japan watched by most of the nation of 127 million. It was veteran singer/talent/actress Seiko Matsuda's 17th time on the show (who has also had minor success overseas in Hollywood and is labeled by the press as the "Eternal Idol" (『永遠のアイドル』 {"eien no aidoru"}). It was Chris' first time performing in front of practically the entire nation on live television. They sang the second to last song pair. Chris HART & Seiko MATSUDA, representing Red, were paired against the mega-hit band 嵐 {Arashi}, representing White.

Chris Hart was invited back for 2014's New Year's Eve, performing his single 『糸』 {ito} ("thread") from his second album, at the 65th 紅白 {kōhaku} (Red-White) musical extravaganza.

From there, he has released two hit albums. Chris Hart's first original album released in the spring of 2014, "Song for You", reached #7 on Japanese Oricon Weekly Rankings.

Chris Hart's second album, released in summer of 2014, "Heart Song Ⅱ", reached #2 on the charts.

He has since released a Christmas album of hit covers, "Christmas Hearts", and is expected to release his next album, "Heart Song Ⅲ", in June of this year.

Chris' hit singles can be heard all over television, often used by commercials for popular products.

His Future In Japan

Chris revealed his marriage to Japanese singer-songwriter 福永瞳 {FUKUNAGA Hitomi} in April, 2013. Her twitter profile says she has returned from Ireland, is an Osakan Girl, has taught 剣道 {kendō} (Japanese swordsmanship) in Canada, and enjoys The Seven Samurai. Her blog is dedicated to travel, music, interior design, gardening, and family.

Regarding family, Chris has written:

最近も、子供が欲しくなってきて、いつか子供できたら、もちろん黒人の文化や、アメリカのルーツの事も教えるつもりですが、その子供がまず日本の文化を大事にしてほしいなと思います。

In English:

Lately, I've come to desire children. If I do have kids, of course I plan to teach them about Black culture and their roots in America, but firstly I'd want them to respect Japanese culture.