Choice of Nationality Deadline to change from 22 to 20?

2 YEARS

Japan has been, for the past six years, slowly changing all its laws that define an adult from 20 years of age to 18 years of age. This process will complete next year. This also means that one will be able to naturalize as an adult at 18 instead of 20 (providing their original nationality recognizes them as a legal adult). It is possible to naturalize now before the age of 20, but only as a dependent of a family whose guardian is also changing to Japanese nationality.

People who acquire a nationality involuntarily in addition to their Japanese nationality have 2 years from the time of acquisition AS AN ADULT to perform the "Choice of Nationality" process. This 2 year timer can occur in the following scenarios:

  • The most common way is to be naturally born with two nationalities, and then become an adult according to Japanese law. So Japanese dual-national children, upon turning 20 (the age of majority in Japan), must perform the Choice of Nationality for their Family Register by the age of 22.
  • The next most common way is to naturalize and for some reason, your current nationality did not permit you to abandon your nationality prior to the acquisition of a new one. Thus, upon acquiring Japanese nationality as an adult, you have two (2) years to get rid of your other nationality or nationalities. If you naturalized as a Japanese minor (because you naturalized with your family), you have until the age of 22 (Japanese adult of 20 + 2 years) to perform the Choice of Nationality procedure.
  • A more uncommon way, that hasn't been seen for decades, is to acquire Japanese nationality by another method. In 1985, Japan changed its nationality laws so that one could inherit nationality from not just the father, but the mother as well. These people are not considered naturalized, but are considered to have retroactively acquired natural born citizenship. A famous example of this is the Japanese politician Renho. Like the other methods above, once you apply to acquire nationality this way, you have two (2) years to abandon your other nationalities.
At the beginning of the fiscal year for 2022 (April 1), the age at which dual nationals will be considered to be adults in Japan will drop from 20 to 18.

Thus, its possible that the deadline to choose a foreign nationality or Japanese nationality will also be two years earlier: changing from 22 (when most have graduated from higher learning and may have had a year to explore Japan and the world) to 20 (when many people are still in school and don't have time to stay abroad from an extended amount of time).

However, it should be noted that not everything related to adulthood has been made two years earlier: the drinking and smoking age is 20. However, the drinking and smoking age did not and will not drop to 18 -- because many countries have found that a later drinking age saves lives from drinking and driving and because smoking is well, a vice and bad for your health.

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