Japanese Naturalization Requirement/Process

Hi all, I searched online and didn't find enough information about Japanese Naturalization.I would appreciate it if you could share any inputs.
1- Is it necessary to have lived in Japan for more than 5 years before applying for the citizenship?(for someone married to Japanese)
2-Is it necessary to have the PR before applying?
3-When you apply, how many interviews will you do with the officers?
4-Do you have any ideas about the questions that are asked by the officers?
5-I already passed N2 and currently preparing for N1, will Japanese be a problem?
-Please share any information that you believe it can help me in the preparation for this.
Thank you so much for your help.

You need to have lived in Japan 5 years in order to apply, as far as I know. Any specific reason why you want to go through the naturalization process? I already lived here for more than 7 years and am married over 3 years and recently obtained the PR. I could have also chosen to go through the naturalization process, but didn't want to give up my German nationality (which is a must in order to get the Japanese nationality), as it is much easier to travel to Europe and I could basically still live there if I should wish in the future (not that I am considering it at the moment). The only real advantage of the naturalization process is that you have the right to vote (nothing I am interested in anyway) or you could do civil jobs.
So unless you have a good reason to apply for the Japanese nationality, I would recommend to apply for the PR instead (if you are married for 3 or more years).

Thank you for the reply.
I already applied for the PR and still waiting the result.
I have strong reasons to get the Japanese nationality.
I want to make a (little)project and having Japanese citizenship would help a lot especially with legal things. Note, I can't even a credit card now.
Also, I come from a third world country so having the citizenship would be a great advantage.
I still want to know any details about the naturalization process. Is it very hard and how does it go?
Any other information is greatly appreciated.

You do not have had a PR status before applying but some internet resources suggest waiting until you have lived at least 10 years in Japan for improved chances of being accepted before applying.

As for the questions, I only know of the example that Debito posted on his blog (but that was an experience of 1999); he described the experience of the inspectors interviewing the neighbours, going through his fridge and checking the kids toys to see if they were Japanese enough :-)

You can disregard pretty much everything "Jim" up there has said.
The best information (in English) can be had from this website:
http://www.turning-japanese.info/

But to answer your questions:
1. If you're married to a Japanese citizen it can be reduced either to 1 or 3 years requirement (I believe it depends on how long you've been married).
2. No.
3. Depends what you mean by "interviews," but you'll have to meet with your case worker quite a few times.
4. They mainly ask about your current situation (income, how long you've been married, what kind of schooling do you have, etc.). It's basically the same stuff you have to fill out on the forms. You'll wind up having to give them a pretty detailed history of yourself along with lots of documentation to prove everything.
5. You probably won't have a problem. You can go in with your spouse though if you want to make it easier.

Honestly as it doesn't cost you a dime I would recommend going ahead and scheduling an appointment. They'll tell you whether you are qualified or not and run you through exactly what you'll need to do.

On the documents needed – since this might be the longest path in your project, and you can start obtaining them now… get originals/certified copies of:

(These all need to be translated by an official translator)
A letter from your mother/father that lists all siblings
Your marriage certificate and that of your parents
Your birth certificate and those for all siblings, parents, and children
Death certificates for any siblings or parents
Education certificates – HS, or just from college if you graduated
A personal statement from you as to why you wish to nationalise

(The following do not need to be translated.)
Your spouse family registry
All prior and current passports
Copies of bank passbooks (show originals)

I can't thank you enough for your replies. Any answers for these questions please?

- Is it true that they ask people about what is the spouse favorite food, dishes...?
-I already applied for the PR 2 months ago, can I apply for Japanese citizenship while my PR is being processed at the same time?
-If I want to check, should I go to the city hall? or ministry of justice? or the immigration office?

Thank you so much for the help.

Why anybody would wish to submit themselves (and their families) to such a gross invasion of privacy is beyond me. Do they ask for your personal photographs too?

Yes - there is a personal interview of you and your spouse held separately, but asking the same/very similar questions - where you met, details about your life together, etc. - and assuming that you are actually married and living together, all should be fine.

You will likely be asked to show wedding pictures.

-What they ask can vary widely, but they might ask questions about your spouse to check that you are actually married and living together, and have been together for as long as you say you have been. The questions are to be sure you're not lying; so long as you're not you shouldn't have a problem.

-I should think you can apply even though you're waiting for your PR application to be processed, but I don't know for sure. This is a good thing to bring up on your first visit.

-Immigration deals with foreigners, so they only handle up to permanent residency. For citizenship you have to go to your nearest Ministry of Justice Legal Affairs Bureau:
http://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/minji10.html
You'll probably want to call to make an appointment first.

Why anybody would wish to submit themselves (and their families) to such a gross invasion of privacy is beyond me. Do they ask for your personal photographs too?

Japan is no outlier here, as great scrutiny is the norm when attempting to get permanent residency or citizenship in one of the more "desirable" countries. PR/citizenship is the highly valuable reward of course, but you already knew that. FWIW, the stories of invasive home inspections appear to be more the product of rumour and exaggeration (such as you get when looking through the classic debito histrionic lens). Here's a more measured account from one of the best internet resources on naturalizing in Japan:

http://www.turning-japanese.info/2012/07/so-whats-home-inspection-real...

I've had Japanese PR for some time and am applying for Japanese citizenship. I've done the research, read the available information at Becoming Legally Japanese, other sites etc, and have engaged a �s�­�‘Žm (paralegal) just to make sure things go smooth.

Have had the first meeting Ž–‘O‘Š’k and discovered that if you're living unmarried, with a Japanese women, then you're out. No deal, regardless of how long you've been in Japan or how stable your income is. They view this relationship as a “à‰�‚Ì�È relationship (common law wife) so she'd have to undergo the same interview process as me and even then, they won�ft accept it.

So must be married or living alone. At the meeting one of the items the intake person circled says I must sign an oath to renounce my current citizenship to receive Japanese citizenship (�‘�З£’E�Ø–¾�‘�E•úŠü‚Ì�é�¾�‘). I understand this, it's no problem, but even my paralegal did a double take and had to confirm what the intake person actually meant. For the time being she told me to ignore it, and that it was circled for FYI purposes.

So is this oath signed during the process, or just prior to receiving Japanese citizenship, with the expectation, that I'll voluntarily follow up and renounce my current citizenship or, can the –@–±�È promise citizenship, but withhold it until I complete the renunciation paperwork for them to review?

I don't think the latter is possible because I'd end up being –³�‘�Ð and who know how long the embassy will procrastinate with my paperwork. Moreover, I'm sure that U.S embassy will not allow me to renounce, unless I have a new citizenship.

Even native Japanese speakers I've shown the paperwork to are not 100% sure what �‘�З£’E�Ø–¾�‘�E•úŠü‚Ì�é�¾�‘ means.

Anybody with in-depth experience with this issue and the timing?

Thank you all for the input.
This is far complicated than I thought. I hope your guys help us if you have any other information about Naturalization in Japan.

What about Naturalization when you have visible Tattoos?Japanese are not fond of Tattoos so I wonder :: I can't cover up stuff on my neck.

qwerty - So long as you can prove you can support yourself financially despite them, I don't think tattoos will disqualify you.

1981tyo - That's interesting information about applying while living together unmarried. I wonder if it has something to do with stability (like they're assuming you're probably looking to get married in the near future if you're living together).

As for renunciation, if you're an American you get citizenship before you renounce because, as you suspected, the US doesn't let you renounce unless you already have another citizenship (iirc, you can't even renounce; rather, it's the getting another citizenship that counts as an "expatriating act"). So, you have to swear to renounce your citizenship as soon as possible after receiving Japanese citizenship. I believe the grace period is something like six months or a year, but you're supposed to do it ASAP. Having broken this oath allows them to revoke your Japanese citizenship if they find out later that you never renounced (which does happen).

Other countries allow you to renounce much more simply, and these people are required to announce before actually being granted citizenship (though obviously not before they've been approved for it). Technically they wind up stateless for a short period of time, but international law forces their previous country to give them citizenship again should something happen on the Japanese side that prevents them from actually getting their new citizenship in the eleventh hour.

Incidentally, while getting Japanese citizenship is totally free, be prepared to pay the US a truly staggering amount just to renounce.

Thanks for your clarification Harimogura re: the grace period to renounce my US citizenship. Very helpful. The stickler about living together unmarried, is that they consider your partner as your common law wife -- regardless that she might just be a roommate. No ifs or buts. She must accompany me to all the meetings and will be considered as an addition to the family register that must created. The only alternative is to move out and live alone during the application review. A sudden marriage, or anything weird, would throw a monkey wrench in the application process and they'd consider it fraud to acquire Japanese citizenship. If anyone is considering using a gyoseishoshi (paralegal) to help with the steps etc. note that 90% of their job is simply to check the paperwork that you must collect, and get translated yourself. They do very little heavy lifting. If you don't need them they're really not worth the fees although they're considerably cheaper than the 500,000 yen + a lawyer will charge.

On renouncing US citizenship - I don`t think the advice given is accurate. My understanding is that they will advise you, that renunciation is a requirement - but also state that they understand doing so can be difficult. No mention of a timeline. So in fact, at the present time, by default - they permit dual citizenship/nationality. You might want to clarify this at one of your meetings.

For documentation of family and list of siblings, does anyone know if step-children or half-siblings( children from other marriage )are included or specifically your two parents?

Paul - Can you provide any evidence of this? Japan does not allow dual nationality in most cases, and they definitely demand you renounce all previous nationalities (looking again it seems that the grace period is two years, though you actually swear to do it immediately). Now I do know that often Americans would say they renounced but not actually renounce, but between FATCA being ramped up, the My Number system, and just the digital age we live in in general, it is getting harder and harder to skirt the law in this way. Case in point:

http://www.turning-japanese.info/2014/06/revoked.html

For documentation of family and list of siblings, does anyone know if step-children or half-siblings( children from other marriage )are included or specifically your two parents?