US & Japanese Passports

Was there a declaration column in the Jap. passport application that you had no other citizenship? If negative, then you didn't make any false declaration and you can enter Japan using the Jap. passport legally.

If you were asked, "Which country you visited and how long?" I suggest you tell the truth in that you had a vacation or visit friends/relatives in US for the actual period of time. If you were asked, "Do you have any other passports?" You say yes you have an American passport because you were born there. Actually the place of birth on your Jap. passport should have shown that too. If you were asked why didn't you surrender your American passport. Then you should say that you're totally unaware of this. In fact the Jap. consulate which issued the passport didn't required or remind you to do so. Anyway, if that is a must, you would do that after entry. If I am the immigration officer, I would be satisfied with those answers because he had done his job in advising you so. He cannot impound your US passport which belongs to the US government and you look reasonable.

Of course, nothing is promised. The final decision rests with your hands.
Let's imagine you have to face the tough questions that you worried about

I originally posted this question.�@Although I don't have any much new information to add that's different than the previous postings, I wanted to recount my experiences since then.

After receiving my Japanese passport from the consulate in NYC, I moved to Tokyo and have taken 1 trip back to the US (using the respective passports to enter each country). Both times that I entered Japan, the immigration officer looked at my picture and stamped my passport on the first page. He did not flip through the rest of the passport. A coworker who also has both passports has also had the same experience. Thus, anecdotally, I know of 4 entries into Japan using passports that did not have foreign visa stamps with no issues from immigration.

It seems that as long as you do not lie and follow the advice given by the previous posters in this thread, you should have little problems getting back into Japan.

Some really great posts here. I really appreciate everyone's input (and I certainly am greatly for ChewyCat who started this thread).

I have plans to go to the US within the next couple of months and I will be sure to let everyone know of my experiences.

(Just a slight FYI: I was born and raised in the States. I just recently decided to spend some time in Japan and therefore never really had to worry about this problem before.)

Hi, I actually spoke to a bicultural (Japanese/US) immigration attorney about this issue and he wondered why anyone with dual citizenship would bother using their Japanese passport if their trip was less than 3 months (ie, they should just show the American passport for the whole trip, since there is a reciprocity agreement between U.S. and Japan that people can stay for at least 3 months without a visa). I thought that made sense and wondered why I should complicate things by showing the Japanese passport upon entry to Japan and the American passport upon entry to the U.S. Does anyone know of any advantage of doing this?

You can utilize the faster immigration lines, than standing in the much longer and slower line for non citizens/residences etc. Also no paperwork needed to fill out on the immigration side, faster overall processing.

If you are bringing gifts into Japan, you have a much much larger customs free allotment, than noncitizens/residences.

Was there a declaration column in the Japanese passport application that you had no other citizenship? If negative, then you didn't make any false declaration and you can enter Japan using the Jap. passport legally.

Japanese National Law
The Nationality Law
(Law No.147 of 1950, as amended by Law No.268 of 1952, Law No.45
of 1984 and Law No.89 of 1993)

"A Japanese national having a foreign nationality shall choose either of the nationalities before he or she reaches twenty two years of age if he or she has acquired both nationalities on and before the day when he or she reaches twenty years of age or, within two years after the day when he or she acquired the second nationality if he or she acquired such nationality after the day when he or she reached twenty years of age."

I agree using the US passport for entering both countries is a good option IF your stay in Japan is very brief and you only go there once or twice a year. The visa-waiver program extended to American passport holders won't allow you to enter into any employment or studies. Besides, if you travel frequently between Japan and US (e.g. once a month), it may invite suspicion, follow by question like "What is your purpose of visit?" or "Where would you stay in Japan?" For a Japanese passport, there is no restriction of course. The more in/out stamps accumulate on your Jap. passport, the less burden you'll have because officers tend to follow what previous officers did!

The law said you cannot have dual nationality but it seems there is no provision stating that you must renounce the other nationality within a certain period of time. Also, most people apply for a passport after filling out an application form which can be download from the net or obtainable at the post office. Would this dual citizenship issue be included in the information page? If not, I think it is acceptable to say that you are unaware of this and that you will fix that asap.

it seems there is no provision stating that you must renounce the other nationality within a certain period of time

A Japanese national having a foreign nationality shall choose either of the nationalities before he or she reaches twenty two years of age if he or she has acquired both nationalities on and before the day when he or she reaches twenty years of age or, within two years after the day when he or she acquired the second nationality if he or she acquired such nationality after the day when he or she reached twenty years of age.

Since the law was established in 1984 or so, I heard that people born before then do not have to declare one or the other. Does anyone know if this is true?

I am in the midst of looking for a job in Japan, and have not had JP passport. I have come to find out that I will not have any problem doing so and through reading this forum, entering Japan with a brand new Japanese passport seems like won't cause any problem.

Does anybody like me have any experience working for a US government though? I would presume that since US allows dual citizenship, it would not be a problem if I apply to that job as a Japanese citizen. It would be a problem if I become a Japanese komuin in Japan...

Any idea?

No if you work for the US government or want to work for the federal government I think they WILL require you to relinquish any other citizenship, for obvious reason.

i am a u.s. citizen and i want to permanently live in japan.But i have no idea what to do,can any one help???

I am a US born Japanese-American (pre 1984), and I have been told by both the JP Consulate Generals of Chicago and NYC that those born before 1984 were premitted to have dual citizenship (unofficially, of course). My friend who is a same age US born JA, was told by the Boston Consulate General that she had to choose nationalities and was not issued a passport. Seems like it might depend on who you deal with at these offices.

In response to the previous question about why anyone would bother with the hassle of two passports for a short trip (re: reciprocity agreement between US and Japan), this was my thought exactly. But somehow I got into a conversation with the NYC consulate general, and they told me that as a Japanese citizen they require me to enter with the Japanese passport. I found this out two weeks before my 10 day trip to Japan, for which I was planning to solely use my US passport. They told me that unless I get a JP passport, I would not be allowed to travel. I questioned whether they would even know I was a Japanese citizen by just looking at the US passport, and their response: "You should not be saying that to us."

Long story short, they made me get a JP passport for my trip to Japan.

MO if you were going as a tourist to Japan, under US-JAPAN visa waiver. There is no way they can MAKE YOU, not use your US Passport, there is no way they can prevent you from traveling, there would be no way for them to know at all. If you had a US Passport you can use it.

Now with that said, they cannot prevent you.

BUT if you wanted to enter AS A JAPANESE CITIZEN then you have to aquire a Japanese Passport to enter Japan.

IF you enter Japan with a US PASSPORT you are pretty much a US Citizen visiting Japan, and fall under the Immigration rules and regulations dealing with Foreign Nationals visiting Japan.

If you go with a Japanese Passport, you don't fall under those immigration regulations (ie, no limit on how long you can stay or what type of activities you engage in in Japan while there under your Japanese passport).

But somehow I got into a conversation with the NYC consulate general, and they told me that as a Japanese citizen they require me to enter with the Japanese passport. I found this out two weeks before my 10 day trip to Japan, for which I was planning to solely use my US passport. They told me that unless I get a JP passport, I would not be allowed to travel. I questioned whether they would even know I was a Japanese citizen by just looking at the US passport, and their response: "You should not be saying that to us."


Seems like a communication/translation problem.

If you enter Japan with a US Passport then DO NOT say you are a Japanese Citizen, unless you want to get somesort of scolding. They are correct you should not be saying that you are a Japanese Citizen entering japan on a US Passport. Again for the reasons I stated above, there are immigration laws and rules and they apply differently depending on how you entered.

Two simple, practical rules to follow:

1. Use the same passport (JP or US) THROUGHOUT any single trip. Don't mix & match.

2. Use the passport of the country of your departure. If your trip begins in the US, use the US passport. If you start in JP, use the JP passport. Imagine starting your trip in the US and showing your JP passport at the airport. You'd invite all sorts of Qs about your status in the US. Then, if you show your US passport, you'd get more Qs...

The simple rules assumed a relatively short stay.

If you're going to JP to work, using your Japanese citizenship there, you still want to follow the rules and use your US passport - but show your JP one upon leaving JP and returning to the US. If you showed your US passport at the JP airport, after, say, working there for a year as a Japanese citizen, you'd get a ton of Qs, I'm sure...

The simple rules assumed a relatively short stay.
If you're going to JP to work, using your Japanese citizenship there, you still want to follow the rules and use your US passport - but show your JP one upon leaving JP and returning to the US.


NO!

Just use your Japanese Passport to enter and exit. Do not show whatever other passports you have to Enter.

Correct, Only show your Japanese Passport when you enter/exit Japan.

Show your other passport to enter/exit the country on your other citizenship.

Its quiet simple.

If you are on a round trip flight from either Canada or USA, on the return flight, your airline company such as Canadian Airlines makes it a requirement to show them either your visa to enter the United States or Canada. One fellow who showed his Canadian citizenship card with his Japanese passport was made to choose on the spot. The lady rushed to get the immigration officials and ratted him out of his dual nationality.

The young man was a first generation issei, so they flew all the way to Japan just to create a brand new passport, since they ask too many questions if one tries to get one in Vancouver.

While they cannot legally take away your foreign government documents, they detained the individual making him renounce his Canadian citizenship. They were not satisfied with him saying "Nihon kokuseki wo sentaku shimasu".

In Japan, usually, when one gets caught and is made to choose on the spot, if one says that one chooses the foreign nationality, they will take away the Japanese on the spot, but if one chooses Japanese, they only advise you to surrender it. But in this fellow's case, they even prepared him the forms and had him renounce his Canadian citizenship.