Japanese

にほんご {nihongo}

This blog is written primarily in English, but due to its subject matter and purpose, has a lot of 日本語 {nihongo} (Japanese) interspersed within the English. This is unnatural and uncommon for English websites, but this blog strives to be as unambiguous as possible by using the official Japanese words for concepts, documents, and agencies.

ex. 区役所 {kuyakusho} is translated into "Ward Office", "City Hall", and other terms depending on the context. 源泉徴収書 {gensenchōshūsho} can be translated as "tax withholding statement," "yearly income statement," "Japanese W-2 form," and other terms. Few native Japanese know any of the English translations, but all Japanese adults know the original Japanese words.
There are two reasons for mixing Japanese in the English text:
  1. When naturalizing, you will be doing all of your communicating in Japanese. Knowing the English translation (even if the translation is official) will not help you.
  2. Having the original Japanese term will help you find additional information on the internet about a document (in Japanese), and will allow people searching in Japanese to find these English explanations.

Single Japanese words will have English equivalents beside them whenever possible. This does not mean the English term is the official term or that Japanese officials will understand the English term. And even if the term is the official English term, there is no guarantee that Japanese officials will understand it.

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How much did it actually cost to naturalize?

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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...
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Types of Japanese Passports

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All about Japanese personal inkan/hanko/chops/seals

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