Becoming Japanese

Just wanted to share some pictures of the actual booth where all the interviews (pre and post formal application submission) take place if your registered residency happens to fall within the Tokyo metropolitan area. You will likely be a frequent visitor to the Nationality Section (国籍課) of the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局) located right outside the elevator on the 8th floor of the Daini Gōdō chōsha (第二合同庁舎) building right in the heart of Japan's bureacracy where many of the government's ministries lie and a few minutes by foot from Kudanshita station. This is the place where you reserve your appointments, interviews are conducted and also where you formally submit your naturalization application. The clinic-like atmosphere may seem like a small visit to the doctor on your very first visit. Most likely all visits will be conducted in small booths covered by a small curtain (you can clearly hear convers...

According to the published statistics by the Ministry of Justice ( 法務省 { hōmushō } ), once a case worker decides that your application is in order and submits it to the Minister of Justice ( 法務大臣 { hōmu daijin } ) for approval, the chances of being accepted are 98% or higher . However, the Ministry of Justice and the Nationality Departments ( 国籍課 { kokuseki-ka } ) do not publicly publish the amount of people that begin the naturalization process but never get their case officer to submit their paperwork. This is for many reasons. A big reason is that many people don't get to the point where they actually submit anything to a case worker or sign up for an appointment with a case worker, so there is no written record. The only way to get an idea of how many people actually begin the process then either decide on their own not to finish or have the case worker recommend they not try to proceed with a formal application is to ask immigration lawyer specialists. According t...

prison in Ōsaka When I first decided to naturalize, I showed up unannounced at the 法務局国籍課 { hōmukyoku kokusekika } (Legal Affairs Bureau, Nationality Section} and stated that I wanted to naturalize but I didn't know what to do or what the procedure was and therefore I'd like a pamphlet, instruction book, and ideally somebody that could answer my questions. The first thing the clerk asked me, before answering any of my questions or providing me with any information was: "Have you ever overstayed your visa or have committed a crime, either here or overseas?" I was a little taken aback by the question. I'm used to getting asked if I can eat with chopsticks or how, after almost two decades of living here, "do I like Japan?" Did I look like a ex-felon? Should I have dressed nicer? Should I have shaved? Anyway, I tried to confidently answer without hesitating, "No." The man smiled and gave me a friendly colorful pamphlet and said, ...

It doesn't say much. It basically says that naturalization is a non-trivial procedure, and the papers you need vary per person and you should make an appointment to talk with them directly. This is what their only webpage looks like: トップページ { toppu pēji }  →  行政手続の案内 { gyōsei tetsuzuki no annai }  →  国籍関係手続 { kokuseki kankei tetsuduki }  →  帰化許可申請 { kika kyoka shinsei } 帰化許可申請 { kika kyoka shinsei } (Applying for Permission to Naturalize) 手続名 { tetsuzuki-mei } (Procedure Name) 帰化許可申請 { kika kyoka shinsei } (Applying for Permission to Naturalize) 手続根拠 { tetsuzuki konkyo } (Procedure Foundation) 国籍法第４条第２項 { kokusekihō dai-yon-jō dai-ni-kō } (Nationality Law, Article 4 Paragraph 2) 手続対象者 { tetsuzuki taishō sha } (Procedure Applies to) 日本に帰化しようとする外国人 { nihon ni kika shiyō to suru gaikokujin } (Aliens attempting to naturalize to Japan) 提出時期 { teishutsu kikan } (Submission Period) 随意 { zuii } (Voluntary) 提出方法 { teish...

This is a web version of the map that 東京入国管理局 { Tōkyō nyūkoku kanri kyoku } (Tōkyō Immigration) in 品川 { Shinagawa } will give you when you ask about naturalization. 名称 { meishō } 東京法務局 { Tōkyō hōmukyoku } 所在地 { shozaichi } 〒102-8225　 千代田区 { Chiyoda-ku } 九段南 { Kudanshita-minami } １−１−１５ 九段 { Kudanshita } 第２ { dai-ni } 合同庁舎 { gōdō chōsha } 電話番号 { denwabangō } 03 (5213) 1234 （ 代表 { daihyō } ） 案内図 { annaizu } 交通手段 { kōtsū shudan } 営団 { eidan } 地下鉄 { chikatetsu } 東西線 { Tōzai-sen } 「 九段下 { Kudanshita } 」 駅 { eki } 営団 { eidan } 地下鉄 { chikatetsu } 半蔵門線 { Hanzōmon-sen } 「 九段下 { Kudanshita } 」 駅 { eki } 都営 { toei } 地下鉄 { chikatetsu } 新宿線 { Shinjuku-sen } 「 九段下 { Kudanshita } 」 駅 { eki } 　　 ６番 { roku-ban } 出口から { deguchi kara } 徒歩５分 { toho go-fun } 取扱事務 { toriatsukai jimu } 登記 { tōki } 、 供託 { kyōtaku } 、 戸籍 { koseki } 、 国籍 { kokuseki } 、 後見登録 { kōken tōroku } 不動産登記管轄区域 { fudōsan tōki kankatsu kuiki } 千代田区 { Chiyoda-ku } 、 中央区 { Chūō-...

[All of these conversations occurred in Japanese] When I went to make my first appointment at the 法務局 { hōmukyoku } (Legal Affairs Bureau) in 九段下 { Kudanshita } , the public servant asked me the following question before I even gave my name: "Have you ever overstayed your visa, worked without a visa, committed an offence no matter how minor (including moving traffic violations) either in Japan or anywhere else in the world, or not paid your taxes or your Japanese pension or health insurance?" "No." "Okay, then. Normally you need to call in advance and it takes three to five weeks to see a representative, but you're in luck: somebody cancelled their 2:30pm, so we can fit you in there if you're willing to wait." I found it interesting that his very first question to me was regarding whether I had ever found myself on the wrong side of the law. No question about the time I've spent in Japan (which I thought would have been the obv...

Hi. My name is Eido Inoue. I'm the administrator of this blog and an author. Why does this blog exist? Before, during, and after I decided to naturalize to Japanese, a lot of people (especially non-Japanese) asked me questions about my choice. Through this experience, I learned these things: There are many pre-conceived notions about being Japanese that are simply false. There is not a lot of first-person information about the process in English from people that have gone through the process. A lot of people (especially foreigners in Japan) seemed to be interested in how it's done.  In the hopes of addressing these issues, I've started a blog consisting of authors who have gone through the experience and and willing to write about it in English. Thanks for reading! P.S. Yes, I know what the slang meaning of Turning Japanese means. I chose that domain name anyway because it's easy to remember.