Becoming Japanese

Eiji (Evan) Koehler, born American, and Olaf Jong, born Indonesian, describe their experiences about acquiring Japanese nationality for the YouTube channel "Where Next Japan?" In the video, they describe the process of becoming Japanese citizens and explain not just how they did it, but also how other people reacted, and their thoughts on the place they now call home. 00:06 Intro 02:17 Why did you change your citizenship? 04:16 How did your family react to your decision? 04:57 How do other people react to your decision? 05:29 When did you start the process? 09:26 Were you surprised by any part of it? 10:48 Did you encounter any misinformation or misconceptions? 11:57 What was it like choosing a Japanese name? 14:20 Has your sense of self changed at all? 18:28 Final comments It's an interesting video, and I recommend checking their blog out for other interesting Japan topics.

One important thing I learned from this recording is that when all you have is the sound of your voice, the quality of the microphone is extremely important. Jeff Krueger, an American who has lived in Japan for a long time, asked to interview me over a year ago. After two takes and multiple delays, he has published it onto the internet. The content of podcast deals a lot with the study of the Japanese language in the beginning, then transitions into what the blog is about and naturalization. In the podcast, we chat about what it means to "go native" (his opinion, not mine). Deep in Japan is a completely independent, commercial free work of love—piped to you straight out of Jeff Krueger's closet. The intro song was “Turning Japanese” by the Vapors, and the outdo sound was “New York” by the Sex Pistols.