Has anyone recently taken the Japanese written test at the Ichikawa Branch of the Legal Affairs Bureau (市川支局) for naturalization? If so, could you please share what kind of questions were on the test and what level of Japanese was required? I’d really appreciate any recent experiences or information. Thank you!”
Hi everyone, I’m currently going through the Japanese naturalization (帰化) process. I recently received a call from the 法務局 asking me to prepare some additional documents for 2024 and 2025, and they also told me that I will have a Japanese-language test.
One thing I’m curious about is my tax history. I had a delayed residence-tax payment in 2023, but it was eventually settled. I did not submit the 2023 tax/payment documents when I initially applied, and this time the 法務局 specifically asked me for documents for 2024 and 2025, but they did not ask for anything related to 2023.
Does anyone know what this could mean? Could it be a positive sign that they are not asking about the 2023 delay, or could the 法務局 already have access to that information and simply not need additional documents?
Also, if anyone has recently gone through a naturalization interview/Japanese test at the 法務局, I’d really appreciate hearing what kind of questions they asked and what the Japanese test was like.
Thanks in advance! 🙏
I applied for Japan naturalization in February 2026, before the rule change, and I still haven’t received any interview notice from the Legal Affairs Bureau. I’ve lived in Japan for 11 years, work full-time, have JLPT N2, and my family life is stable with my wife and daughter. My tax and pension history is clean except for one delayed payment in 2023, which I paid fully. Since the 2026 rule change caused a big backlog, many applicants from early 2026 are still waiting for interviews, so the delay seems normal. My main concern is whether that single tax delay in 2023 could lead to rejection even though all other years are perfect — has anyone experienced something similar?
I applied for naturalization in Japan in February 2026, and my application is currently still under review.
At the time of application, I submitted around 2 years of tax records, which was in line with what was typically required back then. However, I did have a delayed tax payment in 2023, although it has already been fully paid.
Recently, from April 1, 2026, I understand that the screening standards have become stricter — including checking up to 5 years of tax records and applying more detailed reviews of tax and social insurance history.
This makes me a bit concerned about two things:
Will the new rules affect my application even though I applied before April?
Is there a possibility that they might ask me to submit 5 years of tax records additionally?
Could my delayed tax payment in 2023 negatively impact my application, even though it has been settled?
If anyone has applied recently or has experience with similar situations, I’d really appreciate your insights.