Implications of Husband Running for a Government Position?
This is probably too high for Reddit's pay grade, but I thought I'd ask anyway. I made an anonymous account to ask just in case.
TLDR: My husband wants to run for a big political office. As a foreign visa holder, what potential dangers are there to my own Visa status if I remain as a visa/eventual PR holder? Will being married to a politician (and with us financially supporting each other) fall under the "political activities" ban for a foreign national?
Long Story:
My husband is interested in running for office as either (a) a senate member or (b) Tokyo governor. He is in a position with enough support that if he ran for parliament, there is a very good chance he could get the position. He doesn't think there is a good chance of winning the Tokyo governor seat, but he has a few specific laws he wants to change, and he feels that it's worth the try since he would have more influence as a solo governor rather an a member of senate. He is pretty much guaranteed to get at least enough votes to be given back the huge fee that is required for the candidate to pay to run in the race. If he were loses, he feels that the increased attention would drive attention to his already relatively large platform (currently unrelated to government) and would give him a bigger platform to address the issues he wants to reform. It would also get him a better foot in the door for a parliamentary position.
I have American citizenship. I was planning to apply for PR this year, but unfortunately while I file taxes on time every year, I misfiled something last year, so I have a "late payment" on my record. Therefore, I won't be eligible for PR until fall of 2028.
Even after I get PR, I plan to get Japanese citizenship at some point, but not until my parents in the US have passed away. I understand that revoking US citizenship can mean delays and difficulty when trying to visit the US on short notice (if my parents were ill for example) and it would also mean that inheritance would be quite hefty on the US side. (From what I understand, the Japanese side of inheritance tax wouldn't change in either situation, but if I remain a US citizen, I don't need to pay as many taxes to the US government.)
My husband has been researching and doesn't believe that him being married to a foreign national alone wouldn't make it illegal for him to run. While it might hurt his chances in some markets, his current support base would likely not be bothered by it. However, I am still concerned about potential legal pitfalls.
I know foreign nationals are unable to participate in many types of political activity. We treat all finances as our money, but even if the self-backing required comes out of his own bank account, I am unsure whether it will count as me financially backing a political candidate, despite it being my own husband.
Yes, we have separate bank accounts, but we count each others money as our own (we are both relatively well paid), and freely transfer back and forth between accounts.
Other factors that concern me are attending political events and rallies. Would I be legally allowed to support him as he campaigns, or would that be considering "political activities? What about helping design media for him? I am a graphic designer, and I would have loved to help with that aspect of his campaign, but again, I fear that it will potentially raise issues for my own Visa.
Basically, If he decides to pursue a political career, would it be dangerous for me not to have Japanese citizenship at the time? We don't have kids or plan to have them btw.