Job Discussion Forums

[fromCanada]

Has anyone encountered problems with having dual citizenship?
Specifically, with having a Japanese citizenship plus other?

I know that the Japanese government doesn't recognize dual citizenship and I was hoping to work there as a Japanese citizen teaching English...although I have never lived there before!

[Sherri]

Hi fromCanada
I have 2 kids with US and Japanese citizenship. I believe that officially they are supposed to choose one nationality once they turn 18--since both the US and the Japanese governments do not allow dual. But from what I understand (from talking to other international couples)-- as long as you don't waive your 2 passports around when you go through immigration, they pretty much turn a blind eye to it. When we travel and go to the States now, my kids leave and enter Japan on their Japanese passports (since they don't have a visa to live in Japan on their US ones) and when we go through US customs, they use their US passports. We have had no problems doing this. You should do the same. Just use your Canadian when you go through Canadian customs, and your Japanese one when you go through Japanese customs.
S

[David W]

[Gordon]

If a child is born in Japan, are they automatically given Japanese citizenship or does one of the parents have to be of Japanese descent?

[fromCanada]

Gordon,

I'm pretty sure a person has to have Japanese ancenstry in order to have Japanese citizenship. I think maybe one parent? Being born in Japan does not mean automatic citizenship. I believe some European countries, for example, Germany, also have a similar policy (although this may be changing).

In my case, both of my parents are Japanese and they registered me with the nearest Japanese embassy soon after I was born and that's how I got citizenship.

[Sherri]

Thanks David W. I got the link here if anyone wants to check:

http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/CIAB/ciab-04.html

I have always wondered why Alberto Fujimori is allowed to keep Japanese citizenship and Peruvian. Is it because of a change in the law and he was lucky enough to be born before it was made?

[PAULH]

Gordon

to answer your question:

NO- being born in Japan does not make you automatically a Japanese national- there are cases of children born to Filipino bar hostesses and japanese men and because the children were not born in the Phillipines they can not get citizenship there, and as long as the father does not recognise paternity the offspring becomes stateless in Japan. Normally they will take the father's nationality but thats a problem if the Japanese father doesnt accept paternity or the father is unknown.

Moreover in order to be a 'Japanese' you need a koseki tohon which is a family register whereby all the births deaths and marriages of Japanese are recorded. By law non Japanese can not get a koseki but are attached to their spouses family register by marriage. In the eyes of the powers that be, you don't exist as an individual if you dont have a koseki. That is why people like ex-President Fujimori of Peru can stay in this country despite being charged with war crimes becuase his family has roots here, while people here for 20 years like me can't.



Children born to international couples have dual nationality and have to choose one or the other when they turn twenty.

[PAULH]

[Sherri]

Paul, thanks for your answer. I think this is a good example of how unclear this policy seems to be. So even though Fujimori seems to have kept his Japanese citizenship, he also seems also to have kept his Peruvian too since last I heard he wants to go back and run for office again! (is this true?). I would suppose that in the case of US/Japanese dual citizens (my kids) they would renounce (to the Japanese government) their US citizenship at age 22 thereby keeping their Japanese passports--and by doing so they would not actually lose their US passports, since the US government does not have a problem with dual nationality.

Arnie as a naturalized US citizen would not be able to run for president--never mind!

[PAULH]

Sherri,

thought you might like to have a look at this- local activist Debito Arudo actually becamea naturalised Japanese citizen but at the same time held onto his american passport. the US government tried to talk him out of renouncing his citizenship, for their own reasons. They did not force to issue, and I think the Japanese government turns a blind eye to it as well.

Moreover I think your kids get to choose- they may not automatically select becoming a Japanese when the time comes.

CITIZENSHIP STATUS IN THE US AND JAPAN
REQUIREMENTS FOR NATURALIZATION



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(originally sent to Fukuzawa, ISSHO, and Friends Wed, 27 Nov 1996, revised slightly July 18, 2002)

Fellow Fukuzawans:

One thread that petered out before time and good evidence was: "just how difficult is it to naturalize into Japan?" This is a cornerstone to the "assimilation" theme that so many of us long-termers here hold dear, so let's lay it to rest.

As fate would have it, I ran across a great article in the Daily Yomiuri's "Overseas Newspapers' Weekly Summaries" feature, and it spurred me on to run down to my local equivalent of the INS and inquire about the Japanese requirements for becoming a citizen.

Summaries of both follow. You decide for yourself which country is more difficult to naturalize into.



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AMERICA'S REQUIREMENTS

Source: Daily Yomiuri, Friday Nov 22, 1996, Page 15-16

Originally printed in the Washington Post.

Entitled LEARNING, AND EARNING, THEIR STRIPES



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YOU MUST: (after appearing in person at any one of the US's 33 district offices, and meeting with INS interviewers):

1) pay $95

2) have lived in the US for five years (does not indicate consecutive years, and my wife was able to maintain her Green Card status if she appeared stateside once every 2 years to renew)--or three years, if married to a US citizen.

3) be of good moral character (i.e. no felony convictions)

4) be of sound mind (interviewers judge that)

5) speak and understand English (requirement waived if elderly or disabled)

6) pass a test indicating an understanding of American history and ways.



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And that seems to be it. Nothing here about financial status, having to change your name, minimum language ability so long as you can understand the interviewer (or are in some way incapacitated). Nothing about blood and soil at all.

But let's talk about the highest-looking hurdle--requirement number 6--the Test. What sort of questions appear on it? Well, each applicant gets a list *in advance* of 100 study questions, and gets asked around 12 of them at random. A passing evaluation goes like this:

"The would-be citizen can make a couple of mistakes, cannot be completely clueless...The whole process takes about 10 minutes...the Test produces a lot of unfounded anxiety...It's not an impossible or difficult thing. We're not trying to trick people. On the other hand, you can't come in and grunt two words and we rubber stamp you." (ibid)

A link to those 100 INS Questions appear here and again at the bottom of this html. Take the test yourself and decide how hard it is.

Now for Japan:



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JAPAN'S REQUIREMENTS

I went down to the local Ministry of Justice (Houmu kyoku) and sat down for an hour with an official. At first, he talked at me as if I were a child, and about very private things. When he started interrogating me about my parents' marital status I interrupted: Hang on. This is immaterial--all I want are the bare bones of what it takes to qualify, not whether or not *I* personally qualify, for citizenship. He nodded, hitched up his politeness level, and gave me the beef:

TO QUALIFY FOR JAPANESE CITIZENSHIP, YOU MUST:

a) have lived continuously (hiki tsuzuki) at Japanese addresses for five years

b) be over twenty years of age "in terms of mental and legal capacity" (20 sai ijou de honkokuhou ni yotte nouryoku o yuusuru koto)

c) behave well (sokou ga zenryou de aru koto)--and they do check--my dictionary even has the word "sokou chousa" (personal conduct survey) in it

d) demonstrate the means to support your family

e) be willing to relinquish the citizenship of your native country once Japanese citizenship is granted

f) respect the Japanese Constitution (i.e. don't plot against or advocate destroying it, or associate or join a group or political party which does)

(extenuating circumstances for the above considered if the applicant is married or related to a Japanese)



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Fine. Most of the above are typical "we don't want just anybody naturalizing" types of conditions, used to weed out candidates in the US as well. But wait, there's more! For Japanese naturalization, you must go through three rounds of paper chase:



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ROUND ONE--PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

In my case, bring in:

1) Birth Certificate (shussei shoumeisho) and Proof of Citizenship (kokuseki shoumeishou)--ask your country if they will give you some proof other than just your passport. Passport will do in a pinch.

2) Overseas family documents: Marriage Certificate of your parents overseas (fubo no kon'in shoumei)--including divorce and remarriage papers. Adoption papers (youshi engumi no shoumei) if you were adopted or had your name legally changed. Papers showing relations to siblings (kyoudai kankei), or lack of siblings if available.

3) Domestic family documents: your own Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificates for children, spouse's ward registration form (koseki touhon) and ID papers (mibun shoumeisho), police records (keisatsu shoumeisho), death certificates (shibou shoumeisho), and your gaikokujin version of your ward registration form.



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Why all this information? Because if you become a Japanese, you have to complete a ward registration form (koseki touhon) like any other Japanese, and this sort of information matters. Whether or not you are a *beep* child, whether or not you are the eldest son--these things affect your legal standing in this society. Still, if documents are legally unavailable from your country, waivers are possible.



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Next, if they say you qualify, go to:

ROUND TWO--APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Fill out:

1) Naturalization Permission Application Form (with picture)

2) Outline of your overseas relatives (shinzoku no gaiyou). This includes names and addresses of all members of your immediate family (including those of members that may be inaccessible after divorce).

3) A list of all your addresses since birth (called a "resume"--rireki sho). Note that this is even more thorough than a US govt security check, which would want all your addresses for the past ten years. I asked about transient years--college rooms and dormitories etc--and he said to the best of my memory would be fine.

4) Japanese documents: ward registration forms for all members of your Japanese family as far as the parents stage. Proof of Residence Form (juumin hyou) for your spouse.

5) Your gaijin card with history of where you've lived for the past five years in Japan.

6) An outline of your livelihood (seikei no gaiyou). I forgot to ask for more details on this.

7) Proof of your employment (zaikin shoumeisho)

Proof of your earnings (gensen choushuu hyou)

9) Tax records from the local tax office for your family and business (to show you've paid)

10) Records, contracts showing your land ownership and house ownership

11) Snapshots of your family, home, and workplace



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Got all that? Now...

ROUND THREE--WAIT AND BE CONSIDERED

Applications take about one year to a year and a half to process (sumo wrestler Konishiki took quite a bit longer than that).

The fee is free (except for the cost of all the documents, which at around 300 yen a pop will add up). Fortunately, it could be worse: there are no taxation stamps (shuunyuu inshi) to buy, and all translations of overseas documents can be done by nonofficial translation agencies, such as yourself.

I then asked about "acculturation requirements"--like the US INS Test--or minimum language ability. The official said that there is no test on Japanese history, culture, and the like. Minimum language ability is about third-grade level (shougakkou sannensei) for reading and writing ability, and basic conversation level would do. I would pass, he said.

However, there must be a demonstrated level of assimilation on my part. Who are my Japanese friends and how many do I have? What kind of house interior do I have? Do I get along with my neighbors? (There are occasions when they come and ask them, he said.) Nonsarcastically, I asked him too quantify a minimum level of "Japanization"--if I had to wear a yukata and geta during off-hours, if I had to be able to eat nattou, if I had imported a Canadian prefab house would I be invalid?, etc.

He laughed (once you make a bureaucrat laugh, magic happens), and said none of that was really necessary. But any inspection of my lifestyle should not inflict upon the officials any sense of incongruity (iwakan), whatever that meant. I guess that if we weren't practicing some American form of suttee or female circumcision with the inspectors looking on, we'd be okay.



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OKAY, YOU'VE PASSED THE INSPECTION, AND QUALIFIED. NOW WHAT?

If citizenship is granted after a year or two, you will be issued the proper documents for citizenship and passport, and be given a document (in Japanese) to put your seal on (not sign), saying "I give up my American citizenship and take Japanese citizenship exclusively".

Bring your gaijin passbook, inkan, documents, and driver licence, and do what they say. Choose a name in kanji (with legal Japanese readings) and/or kana, and that's it. You are a Japanese citizen. Congratulations. You've burnt your bridges.



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However, there is a loophole (for US citizens anyway--can't say for others). Dual citizenship is now possible in the US (I checked with the American authorities), but not in Japan. But there are possiblities:

1) As long as you do not commit treason (serving in another country's armed forces, espionage), you cannot be forced to give up your US citizenship without expressly requesting it in writing. So as long as you do not SIGN anything, a Japanese document is not legally enforcable in the US. Whether or not a seal qualifies is an issue for the lawyers to get rich from.

2) The onus of telling your native country of your naturalization is on you, not on the Japanese government. So after you get your citizenship, you get statement-of-intent forms to send to your former government. Send them off yourself. Once you get an answer back from the US govt revoking your citizenship, take it to your ward office. I said that the US government could take years deliberating over it--won't that affect my Japanese rights and privileges in the interim? No, it would not, the official said.

This is a rather large game to play, but mum's the word.

(2002 Addendum, about this "keeping mum" business:
The author became a Japanese citizen in October 2000. It became clear that as far as the USG and probably most European countries go, they will not squeal and let the GOJ know you have dual nationality. I can't assure you of the same for governments intolerant of their citizens taking out a second passport (Germany, South Korea, China, Viet Nam, etc), so check with your embassy.

Anyway, as long as you live a reasonably quiet life, you can probably hold both. The author, a rather outspoken activist, was essentially threatened by the US Consulate Sapporo with cats out of bags for pursuing a US-Japan military human-rights issue a little too closely. So he gave up his US passport. However, this is not an indicative case by any means, so I say go for both if you really want to live in Japan permanently.)



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CONCLUSIONS:

So which country do you think has the more difficult procedures for naturalization? Granted, both the US and Japan will do background checks to make sure you are of sound mind and sound finance. The documentation for the Japanese side may seem extreme, but I'm sure that there is a paper chase in the US as well (fill out Form XYZ, fill in Form PDQ) that were not mentioned by the Washington Post. Immigrants, please fill us in if you know.

Besides, this degree of documentation in Japan is not unusual for Japanese--most of the public documents listed above are needed for a goddamn driver's licence! Moreover, the information required for ward registration may be rather thorough (even impossible to get from overseas), but as it is required of all Japanese citizens, that's that. Those are the conceits of the law here.

However, in the US most of these (financial support of spouse, no criminal records, oath of allegiance, etc.) are taken care of at the visa stage . The US conditions listed in the Washington Post article apply at the permanent residency stage (Green Card there, eijuuken here), while in Japan, even with an eijuuken, you've got to show more about yourself: Snapshots of my home and family? Suitably Japanized home? Ability to make friends and get along with the neighbors? Even the Japanese I've talked to are surprised at this degree of Third-Degree.



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AS USUAL, AMERICA IMPORTS FAR MORE THAN JAPAN DOES

So let's talk about proclivity. I asked the Japanese official whether or not large numbers of people naturalize every year through Sapporo. He said plenty do (but inexplicably declined to give numbers), and not all of them ethnic Koreans and Chinese. But after peeking at my Japan Almanac (which has no stats for naturalization), I resorted to an independent source to find that 11,146 persons naturalized into Japan in 1994 (see http://www.issho.org/immnat.html).

But in America, things are radically different. Enough people pass the Test and get through the paper chase--over one million this year alone, according to the Post, demonstrating to me, at least, that it's not all that bad. Proof and pudding: according to the above Washington Post article, the equivalent of the TOTAL NUMBER OF ALL FOREIGNERS IN JAPAN (just over one percent of Japan's population) naturalize into the United States recently EVERY YEAR. Or, according to the US Census Bureau, 1300 would-be immigrants every day enter America (Daily Yomiuri, Nov 25, 1996, p.3). That means that America absorbs all of Japan's annual intake of foreigners in just over a week!



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AND THAT MATTERS

This is not a statistic to ignore. Just about *every single American* here reading this html has or has ancestors who went through a version of this process--my Polish great-grandparents in the 1910's, and my British dad in 1972. On the other hand, practically NO Japanese can claim this background, indicating a great deal about assimilation. If you're not born it, you have to claim it. Not all that many do.

But anyway, my point is this: this should all come as no surprise. Obviously, Japan is going to be far behind accepting foreigners legally, given what we know about Japan's history, constant refusal of refugees and active export of illegal immigrants, and social attitudes towards strangers in general. And even more so when compared to the US--the US is the real outlier in the world when it comes to absorbing extranationals. (Anybody else want to give me more information about other countries?)

We all know that. But enough Fukuzawans were questioning whether it is actually easy, or even possible, for a foreigner to take Japanese citizenship. The answer is that it is in fact possible. But it ain't easy.

Dave Aldwinckle (now Arudou Debito)
Sapporo

[Sherri]

Thanks Paul. I enjoyed reading that.
S

[PAULH]

Sherri, it gets worse

After Tama-chan, the seal that has been swimming around Tokyo bay for the last year was granted a 'juminhyo' or certificate of residency, whcih foreign nationals can not get, I have just learnt that the animated TV character 'Crayon Shinchan' was granted a 'juminhyo' as well, which we as foreigners are ineligible for.

read it and weep.

CRAYON SHIN-CHAN TO GET RESIDENCY CERTIFICATE (Juuminhyou)

Yes, folks, you read that headline right. Following the brilliant decision
to award Residency Certificates to a sealion named Tama-chan (Yokohama
Nishi-ku, Feb 2003) and animated character "Astro Boy" (Tetsuwan Atomu,
Niiza City, Saitama Apr 2003), another animated character, "Crayon
Shinchan", will be joining their ranks.

According to the Asahi Shinbun online of Oct 15 (Japanese):
http://www.asahi.com/national/update/1015/007.html
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"Kasukabe City, a city in Saitama Prefecture and the site of popular 'anime'
character 'Crayon Shinchan', will mark their 50th Anniversary of city
incorporation next year by giving Juuminhyou to the whole family of animated
characters as their 'image characters'.

"...The sassy-mouthed character 'Shinchan' stars in a TV program chosen by a
national PTA poll as the 'least preferable to show children'... The city,
however, concluded he is 'a good lad who teaches us about family love and
friendship.'" (edited translation by Arudou Debito)
--------------------------------------------------

I guess I don't need to remind you that foreigners are not eligible for
these Residency Certificates. Even though they are taxpayers--sassy ones,
even--and not transient animals (sealion Tama-chan has long since left
Yokohama for greener seas) or fictional characters.

Who's up next for residency? Godzilla? He's popular, highly visible, gets
around, and I'm sure would appreciate being annointed as a resident of some
place before he flattens their city hall.

WHAT TO DO: I say that we keep our eyes open for the date when Kasukabe
City has one of those inevitable ceremonies to celebrate the event. Then
drop by in Shinchan costume and mask to ask for a juuminhyou for foreign
residents too.

Keep it humorous and light (like we did for Tamachan last February), and I
bet we'll see a lot of smiles and favorable awareness raising.

I'm serious. Comedian Dave G et al., you into it?

HOMEWORK FOR POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS: Watch some episodes of Crayon Shinchan
(it's actually quite funny), get his accent down pat, and be ready next year
to show up and say, "Juuminhyou kurebaa?"

[Sherri]

Paul, you are right, it does get worse! I knew about Tama-chan but not about Crayon Shin-chan. It really is insulting that animals and cartoon characters get more consideration than tax-paying foreign residents. I have heard stories from non-Japanese women married to Japanese men that social workers have been sent to their houses to see the "poor motherless children". All because the mother is not listed.

When I worked briefly under Benesse Corporation's administration, they produced an all company employee catalogue (pictures and blurbs of all employees). They included all Japanese employees including part timers and mascot animals kept by some offices, but not the non Japanese.
S

[PAULH]

You know what is really scary

I am on an upple-middle income bracket (full time university teacher), earn and pay more in tax than many Japanese my age (homeless and arubaito's included) pay a fortune every year in pension insurance, state and city taxes, support three japanese nationals (wife and two kids) as well as myself, but if I should happen to get a divorce in Japan I could lose my kids as the mother gets custody and foreign fathers have no legal rights in Japan- its almost like they dont exist becuas ethey are not Japanese. There are no laws to enforce custody or visitation rights of the foreign father. I would probably have to give up the house too if its registered in her name and if she took off with the little ones I would have no legal leg to stand on. Scary s**t.

[Gordon]

That's scary Paul, almost makes you want to live in Saudi Arabia. On second thought, maybe not.