TO BECOME a Japanese citizen, a foreigner must display “good conduct”, among other things. The rules do not specify what that means, and make no mention of living wafu (Japanese-style). But for one candidate, at least, it involved officials looking in his fridge and inspecting his children’s toys to see if he was Japanese enough (he was).
Bureaucratic discretion is the main reason why it is hard to get Japanese nationality. The ministry of justice, which handles the process, says officials may visit applicants’ homes and talk to their neighbours. It does not help that wannabe Watanabes must renounce any other passport: Japan does not allow dual nationality. And applicants must have lived in Japan for a minimum of ten years. Other requirements—speaking Japanese, holding sufficient assets—are similar to those in many countries, but still daunting.
Small wonder that so few people naturalise. Last year the government received just 12,442 applications, which take 18 months or so to process; it granted citizenship to 9,469 people, compared with almost 730,000 in America. But that at least suggests most...Continue reading
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