After your naturalization is approved what happens to your ethnic or racial affiliations? As the Ministry of Justice accurately points out, Japan does not account for its citizens ethnic or racial background. If you have ever completed a census form here you would have noticed that the only distinction made is between Japanese and non-Japanese nationality. This means that if you naturalize there will be no official listing of your ethnic background. This is also the case on other official documents such as the family register. People from places such as the United States might find it odd that an item such as race does not even appear on your driver's license.
This is not to say that if you do not look typically Japanese you will not have any problems with forms of prejudice. If you fall into this category you will more than likely encounter some issue or another. Despite this, the fact is that legally Japan does not make these distinctions. Therefore, in the most important sense, being Japanese is a status that supersedes ethnicity or race.
