Becoming Japanese

credit: Ann Swinderman The December 9th, 2017 article published in the Japan Times' national news section , written by Philip Brasor , is titled with the bold alarming proclamation that: Without an official father, kids can be stateless [in Japan] Is this really true? With the semantics word "can", this is pedantically true, although in reality, many other, much more rarer conditions must also (fail to) be met. Although arguably not an ideal situation, there are countless children born in Japan who receive Japanese nationality at birth even without an official or known father. To be born without a nationality in Japan, many more conditions must not be met (such as, and arguably much more important, like the existence of a birth certificate). What IS true is that when neither jus sanguinis nor jus soli can be used to determine a child's origins, then it is possible that a child may not acquire Japanese nationality immediately at birth. The author of the a...

So you've decided to run for public office Good for you. Here is what you'll need. There are three minimum requirements which will concern you: You must be a Japanese citizen. You must be 25 yrs. old. You will need access to ¥300,000 in cash. There are other minor requirements, but my guess is if you were cleared to become a citizen, you need not worry about them. I'm talking about no ties to the yakuza, criminal record and other negative influences on your life. The following are requirements more of a personal nature and my opinion only. These requirements are more based on observation and my own experience. You will need: Communication skills: I'm guessing your conversation skills will be considerable. Of concern is your reading and writing. Being able to read a substantial number of kanji is highly recommended. Junior high level will probably be a minimum. Illiteracy will not stop you from getting elected, as long as someone in your circle of sup...

Appearing on NHK's Barrier-free Variety TV show, 3rd from left It has been 11 months and 19 days since I last breathed.  I think many people are a bit anxious about their naturalization application, but I was particularly nervous.  The reason? I have what would be classified as a severe disability. Since my life is not threatened by my disability, I never have considered it “severe,” but my cerebral palsy affects all four limbs and I rely on an electric wheelchair and personal care attendants to get through each day. In addition to the misinformation on naturalization to Japan we have all read (and this site thankfully refutes), another story had stuck in my mind because it hit close to home.  It had nothing to do with Japan, but my home country of Canada where a family from England was refused citizenship on the grounds that their disabled son would add to an already over-burdened welfare system.  Would the same thing happen to me here in Japan?...

Today's question from both direct email to this site and on another site is about the eligibility for those that have served in the U.S. military. Can they become Japanese citizens? There are four angles to this question: the past wars, potential future wars, whether the U.S. will let you, and whether Japan will let you. From the Japanese side, they are perfectly fine with people who have served in the U.S. (or any other country) military, with one caveat: one of the listed requirements is that you have not joined a group that encourages the (violent, non-democratic) destruction of the modern Japanese government or the modern Japanese constitution. Now, this clause is intended to refer to terrorist organizations, both foreign and domestic — ex. オウム真理教 { Ōmu Shinrikyō } ( Aleph aka Aum Shinrikyo ) or the 日本赤軍 { Nihon Sekigun } ( Japanese Red Army aka JRA ) — but it can also apply to the military forces of a hostile foreign state. So, providing that the country does not go ...