I Became a Citizen of Japan

sonar_un

Stopped when he said he waited forever to get naturalized, skipping 6 years, and then saying he never got his permanent resident card, so he was just living off renewed visas, and they thought it was strange. It is strange. A lot of the things he said he needed, would have been done in the permanent residence portion of his time in Japan. Just as it is in any country.

gcanyon

> every address you've ever lived at, and the dates you lived there. Well cross Japan off my list. I would not be able to produce that residence list under any circumstances.

precommunicator

I'm pretty sure this is more data than what's required for security clearance.

rootsudo

The rules changed in 2025, as of q2 2025 it was only a requirement of five years residency within Japan to become naturalized and this route as considered easier than permanent residency. Everything is now harder. Even business manager visa. So many 夢の日本 have been shattered and pushed into other Asian countries. I’ve also seen a push into Europe , Italy, which also changed the rules last year too which was considered a very easy way to become a European citizen, Canada for Americans protesting Trump, etc. It really does feel like the prelude or reshuffle of the world balance, open borders, Covid, closing borders, higher qualifications.. Wonder what it all means.

scelerat

Why is the word 'interrogation' (appears at least twice) interleaved with unprintable characters?

excannuk

"I don’t think citizenship is a light thing. It is not rational to make it friction-free or fast. I was not ready to naturalize in 2012. The system is arcane and arbitrary, and also worked correctly to weed me out of the process. It impressed upon me the importance of following the rules and making a contribution, which honestly impacted how I behaved and thought thereafter. When I was absolutely committed, I was able to get through the process." This. My manager begged me at one point to apply for citizenship so itd make his life easier. I told him no, not until I was ready to make the oath in good faith.

United857

Japan is one of those countries that doesn’t allow dual citizenship and they require proof of renunciation. Something to think about for those from other “strong” countries who want to go down that route.

zeptonix

"Subconsciously, I think I expected to be recognized for surpassing specialness."

alfiedotwtf

> The preliminary documentation I would need to gather <insert unbelievable list> It’s hard to imagine why they are having a decreasing population problem

ripley12

Derek's blog is a delight, probably the best thing in my RSS reader. I'd recommend reading more posts, it's a charming slice of life from near Tokyo.

antgonzales

I don't mean to be rude but this website is unreadable. The font really strains my eyes.

zergrush

Foreigner who becomes Citizen of Japan = Still a gaijin (foreigner) to real Japanese

propter_hoc

It is very sobering to consider the demographic cliff that Japan faces combined with the barriers the government puts up to immigration and naturalization. I sincerely wonder what kind of country Japan will be in 50 years.

throwaway919233

I'm surprised OP's memory can recall this so well

SurfingAlpaca

I want to understand something. Why are westerners so obsessed with Japan? I’m not trying to be offensive I’m just curious

Muromec

That's a lot of documents. When I naturized (in 2025) as a swamp creature living at the bottom of the sea, I had to get something like a naturalization test results and the letter from HR that I'm still employed and making money. Everything else, like tax records, birth certificate and the rest are already known to the government, so they found it themselves and sent it to the king to stamp his king approval on it.