Becoming Japanese

Sometimes applying for citizenship can feel like applying to get into a University. Lots of transcripts and application forms, a section for certifications, and there's even an essay you have to write regarding why you want to "get in". Despite those superficial similarities, though, letters of recommendation — be it from employers or teachers — are not asked for, are not needed, and even if you voluntarily present them, won't affect the outcome. Most likely, your case worker will reject any attempt to present a recommendation letter, as a recommendation letter doesn't really fit into the requirements — except for perhaps the general clause about being "of good character." But being of good character simply means you haven't committed any crimes or associate with criminals or terrorists. And unlike a visa application or a permanent residency application, you do not need a sponsor or guarantor to naturalize. So although individuals can't s...

I saw a post on another site a few weeks ago that implied that you lose either your Japanese national retirement pension ( 年金 { nenkin } ) (that you earned as a non-Japanese) or your Social Security (that you earned when you were an American citizen before you relinquish your citizenship for naturalization) because when you naturalize, it's as if the "old you" is destroyed and a "new you" with a new nationality is legally created. This is 100% false. In the eyes of both of these programs, since both allow either non-citizens or citizens to participate, your citizenship is irrelevant to whether you can participate in them or not. To them, when you naturalize, the only thing you need to do is inform them of any legal name change. The same thing is done when a person marries and changes their name, or changes their legal name for other reasons. I can personally confirm that I still have access to both my Japanese pension (earned prior to naturalizing) and...

American Donald Richie ( ドナルド・リチー { Donarudo · RICHĪ } ) passed away at the age of 88 on February 19, 2013 in Tokyo. Like Donald Keene, he's famous for being a "Japologist", or an expert on Japanese culture from the perspective and for the perspective of non-Japanese, especially back in the era right after the war when travel to Japan by non-Japanese was rare and little was known about Japan other than trivial facts and stereotypes. I don't think that job is available anymore. His cultural contributions to society were massive: while being best known for introducing Japanese film to the English world, first through writing and then in the late 20th century he provided audio commentary via DVDs, he has authored over forty books (and was the subject of four), he created about a dozen 8mm & 16mm films, and he was responsible for the English subtitles for a few of 黒澤　明 { KUROSAWA Akira } 's masterpieces. He received many honors for his work and is a househol...

We've received a few questions about the continuous physical residency requirement for Japanese naturalization. As mentioned before, the official requirement for Japanese naturalization is five (5) years of continuous residency. If you qualify for 簡易帰化 { kan'i kika } (simplified naturalization) — usually due to a significant family connection to a Japanese national (such as marriage for many years) — that continuous residency requirement can drop to either three (3) years or one (1) year. "Physical" residency means exactly what it says: being physically present in the nation of Japan most of the time. Merely having a continuous 在留資格 { zairyū shikaku } (Status of Residence) with a 在留カード { zairyū kādo } (Resident Card) for the length of time is not enough. The purpose for this rule is to discourage "citizens of convenience"; that is, to keep people from earning the right to naturalize that don't actually live in Japan, even if they legally have...

I received a mail a few weeks ago saying they read all the posts about names, but they still wanted to know a little more detail. This person had the following questions: Considering [one's new Japanese] name, [you] could go a couple routes. Should [one]: Katakana-ize it Kanji-ize it or choose a Japanese name that has a similar sound to it (maybe something like 城之内 { JŌNOUCHI } ) Do you recommend going a certain way over others? Do people back in the States still call you by your birth name? Similarly, for those who knew you in Japan before you naturalised, have they adopted to calling you by your Japanese name? How have your parents reacted? Has it affected you in any particular way? Regarding question #1, I chose 【ⅰ】 for my given name, and 【none of the above】 for my family name. For most of my life I had a family name whose pronunciation was not deducible from its spelling even in America. When I came to Japan, it just got worse because of the amount of non-Ja...

The quick TL;DR answer: from the confirmed experiences of people who've applied during the decade — less than a year, and taking less than half a year is not unheard of. For me, it took four (4) months, but your mileage may vary. It seems that the average for most people over the last five years has been around six (6) to nine (9) months. There are two phases to the application process: the time it takes to gather and get feedback for all the paperwork you need to submit, and the time from the formal submission to seeing a notification in the Official Gazette ( 官報 { kampō } ) regarding your naturalization and getting a call back from your case worker telling you to come to the local 法務局 { hōmukyoku } (legal affairs bureau) to receive your 帰化者身分証明書 { kikasha mibun shōmeisho } (proof of identity of naturalized person) — which is a one-time use breeder document used to create your family register ( 戸籍 { koseki } ) and other official Japanese-citizen documents at the city h...

People that naturalize to become U.S. citizens must pass a U.S. citizenship test to become legally American. There are lots of web sites that teach you how to pass it. For Japan, there is no quiz. The only thing that comes close is the need to be able to speak and read Japanese during the interviews with the case workers. Technically speaking, it's part of the requirement that you can demonstrate that you have the skills to provide for your livelihood in Japan. If your Japanese language skills are weak, they may actually ask you to take a small quiz demonstrating that you have the Japanese literacy (as in Japanese sinogram and syllabet recognition and recall) ability of a primary/elementary school student in the third (3rd) grade. However, unlike the U.S. Citizenship Test for naturalization — which can be taken in languages other than English for certain applicants — your interviews will not have any sort of questions testing your knowledge of Japanese civics or history. A...