Does the Minister of Justice actually approve applications for naturalization?
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...