r/JapanCitizenship

Hi there! Hyper-sadly, I just got a denial paper from the legal bureau. Here's my statement:

Location: Ichikawa, Chiba
Application submission: August 2025 (no pre-interview)
Interview: January 2026(with my Japanese wife, no Japanese test)
Sent to Homusho: January 2026 (just after the interview)
Additional: no additional docs or interviews. My caseworker said that there is no problem or concerns, "it will be fine"

Basic personal statements: Korean nationality, been in Japan for 6 years at the moment of the submission, currently 7 years. On a Gijinkoku-visa with 5 years, N1(full mark), passed an Administrative Scrivener examination. Working since August 2022, after the graduation of Japanese university with grade skip.

FYI - MOJ IS REAL. Seems they are now strictly applying 10-years rules to every single case. Whether you have PR or spousal, whether your annual salary over 8M JPY at 20s, they have no exception.

I don't think I will re-apply even after reaching 10 years...🫥

Current waiting for my interview call but lately I am seeing some foreigners living in Japan getting nasty at other foreigners for choosing to naturalize.

I just don’t understand the thought process here for acting like a gatekeeper when they themselves are not Japanese. Also most of these guys/gals for whatever reason seem to be from US/Europe/Australia. Is this some sort of a cultural superiority thing that prevents them from wanting to surrendering their nationality at the same time being so emotionally invested in Japan that their insecurity goes off the roof when they see another gaijin getting a more stable legal status in Japan then what they do?

I really am curious about this. Any thoughts?

First of all, thank you to everyone in this community. Your shared experiences really helped us prepare, so I’m sharing ours briefly in case it helps someone else.
● We arrived about 10–15 minutes early.
● My husband went first. His interview + Japanese test took about 1.5 hours.
● The Japanese test was similar for both of us (different passages). It included:
● Reading a passage aloud
● Hiragana/Katakana conversion
● A short written section (30 minutes total)
● A second short passage (4–5 lines) with basic kanji + comprehension questions (no need to read aloud)
● A short essay
● Husband: Why do you want to get naturalised?
● Me: My favourite place in Japan
● After the test, interviews were done one by one.
● My husband’s interview (excluding test) lasted about 50–60 minutes and focused mainly on:
● Work and job profile
● Taxes
● Family details
● Siblings
● Family approval for naturalisation
● Remittances
The main focus was clearly on tax, work, and remittances.
● My interview was much shorter. Including the test, I was there about 20 minutes total, and the interview itself was around 10 minutes.
It was mostly confirmation questions (address, reconfirming family member names , my job and if I want to continue , etc.), mostly yes/no answers, with no deep questioning.
● My daughter’s interview lasted about 5 minutes, and she did not have a Japanese test.
Overall, everything went smoothly for us. We still have a few documents to submit, but the main process is done.
Happy to answer any questions if it helps anyone going through the same process

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!”

I’m planning to apply for Japanese naturalization next year.

My resident tax was split between special collection (salary deduction) and ordinary collection. I mistakenly assumed all of it would be deducted automatically, so I missed the ordinary collection payments and eventually had a tax seizure.

Everything has since been paid in full, including late fees.

I recently contacted the Legal Affairs Bureau. They told me that late tax payments can have a significant negative impact on a naturalization application and that they review the past 5 years of tax payment history. However, they also said they cannot advise me whether to apply now or wait.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and still been approved?

Would you apply next year, or wait until the late payment falls outside the 5-year review period?

● Has anyone from Chiba Legal Affairs Bureau recently received a decision or call?
● If you were approved, did the 法務局 call you before your name appeared in the 官報, or did you find out from the 官報 first?
Is there a 帰化許可 section in this month’s 官報?

Any body appeared today interview at Tokyo office, how was the experience, did they ask about late payments.

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! 🙏

Hi everyone.

I'm hoping to hear from people who have direct experience with this situation, especially anyone who has dealt with family court petitions, koseki issues, or dual U.S.-Japanese citizenship.

I'm a U.S. citizen living in Japan, and my daughter is almost two years old. She has both Japanese and U.S. citizenship and was born in the United States. Her middle name appears on her U.S. birth certificate, her U.S. passport, her Japanese passport, and her koseki.

Her middle name is important to me, and I don't want to remove it from her U.S. records because I consider it an important part of her identity and family background. However, I'm wondering whether it would be possible to remove it only from her Japanese records.

Part of the reason I'm considering this is that I've heard accounts from some mixed-race Japanese people and international families describing difficulties with things such as apartment applications, banking procedures, employment, school registration, and other situations where a middle name immediately identified them as having a foreign background. I realize experiences differ from person to person, but I'd like to understand what options might exist if my daughter decides to remain in Japan long term.

Has anyone successfully done this? Was a petition to the family court required?What reasons were given? Was an attorney necessary, or were you able to do it yourself? I'd prefer to handle the process myself, if possible, rather than hire an attorney, although I'd also be grateful to hear from any attorneys who might have experience with this.

Thank you