Becoming Japanese

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:...