Becoming Japanese

Pennies, compared to most other developed countries In 2010, an article was published here about how much it costs to apply for naturalization. It was true then, and it's still true now in 2022: The application itself is free . ¥0, nada, zilch. Compare that to the US ($725) , UK (£1,330) , Germany (€255) . However, there are many things throughout the process that can cost money: getting your civil documents both in Japan and your home country, tax documents, driving record, etc. You will also to make personal appearances to your local Legal Affairs Bureau. Here I will talk about how much it cost me personally, including the cost of gathering all documents, photocopying, travel, etc. List of Expenses Below is the list of my naturalization-related expenses. All told, it cost me about ¥18,500 to make a successful application. It is worth repeating: There is no application fee . Everything in the list above are expenses related to getting documents I need to submit with my naturaliza...

I believe I made the choice the moment I applied Hello everyone. It has been a year since I formally applied for citizenship. I am happy to announce that I finally have an update: I am officially Japanese! It took a bit more than a year, and in the interim, there was nothing to do but wait. And wait. And come for the interview. Then wait some more. Here is what happened during that time. The Naturalization Interview I got the call for the interview from the Legal Affairs Bureau some time in February 2022. Along with deciding the interview date, I was asked to bring some additional documents: Additional Documents For me ねんきん定期便 nenkin teikibin , Pension coverage letter A copy of my parents' passports' data page For my fiancée 住民票 jūminhyō , Certificate of Residence 市県民税納税証明書 shikenminzei nōzeishōmeishō, Certificate of payment of municipal and prefectural tax 市民税県民税証明書 shiminzei kenminzei nōzeishōmeishō , Certificate of residents’ tax  For both me and my fiancée 源泉徴収票 gensench...

Greg Lam is a professional videographer who is probably best known to Japanophiles from his YouTube channel(s) "Life Where I'm From". He's been producing vignettes about what it's like for a Canadian or any other non-Japanese to live in Japan, and has often explored the topic of bridging multiple cultures and origins, either from the viewpoint of an adult or a child growing up in Japan. Thanks to his professional interviewing, recording, and editing skills, Greg introduced me to a new, younger audience that digests the internet primarily through video as opposed to written websites and blogs, which is what this site is. Sitting down with me in my home office, crammed with professional lighting and mics and high end cameras, Greg came prepared with countless questions that I could tell were well prepared and showed me that he had thoroughly read and researched the information on this site. Given that the creation of this site was partially inspired by two things:...

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry seal & the Fair Trade Commission Seal The nationality law for Japan says that all applications must be approved by the Minister of Justice ( 法務大臣 { hōmu daijin } ). And indeed, when you are approved, your documents are returned with an enormous seal from that Minister, serving effectively as a signature in official Japanese legal documents. In Japan and other Asian countries that use this system, the bigger the seal, the more important the person or entity is. A personal seal ( 印鑑 { inkan } ) is usually about 1cm in diameter . The seals for companies are usually square and about 3cm wide and high. The seals for important public officials, such as Ministers and members of the Cabinet are the largest. Only the Emperor's seal (seen on the last page of the Japanese Constitution) is larger. While it's neat to think that the current Minister of Justice has taken his or her time away from important legal matters affecting the future of...