Nationality Q&A

 

　Nationality is the status of being a national of a particular country.
　In order for a nation to exist, as well as the territory, the presence of people is essential, so the concept of nationality can be found in any country. However, the range of persons to be recognized as nationals depends on the history, tradition, politics, and economic situation of the country; each country determines who its nationals are. Because of this, no country may decide whether an individual has the nationality of another country.
　In Japan, The Japanese Nationality Act (Law No. 147 of 1950) defines the requirements for acquisition and loss of Japanese nationality.

 

　Specific procedures and consultation regarding the acquisition and loss of Japanese nationality are dealt with below.
 

　
　Japanese nationality can be acquired in three ways: birth, notification, and naturalization.

 

　A child shall, in any of the following three cases, be a Japanese national (Article 2 of the Japanese Nationality Act).
 

　The terms “Father” and “mother” refer to any father or mother who has a legal parent-child relationship with the child at the time of birth. In addition, this legal parent-child relationship must be established when the child is born.
　Therefore, for a child born between a unmarried Japanese father and a foreign-national mother, if the Japanese father acknowledges the child while it is in the mother's womb (fetal acknowledgement), the child will acquire Japanese nationality upon birth. However, if the Japanese father acknowledges the child after it is born, there was no legal parent-child relationship at the time of birth, meaning in principle that Japanese nationality is not acquired upon birth.
　However, if such a child is acknowledged by the father, the child can acquire Japanese nationality by notifying the Minister of Justice as long as certain requirements are met(see Q6).

 

　Even if the child of a Japanese couple is born abroad, the child will acquire Japanese nationality upon birth.
　However, if a child born abroad acquires Japanese nationality as well as a foreign nationality upon birth, if his/her father or mother does not indicate an intention to retain his/her Japanese nationality (notification of reservation of Japanese nationality) with the notification of birth within three months from the date of birth, the child will lose their Japanese nationality retroactively from the time of birth (Article 12 of the Japanese Nationality Act, Article 104 of the Family Register Act).
　If the child is born abroad, he/she may acquire both Japanese nationality and a foreign nationality at the same time as Japanese nationality. In this case, in order for the child to continue having Japanese nationality, the father or mother must indicate an intention to retain Japanese nationality.
　In addition, a child who has lost his/her Japanese nationality because there was no indication of the intention to retain his/her Japanese nationality can reacquire their Japanese nationality by notifying the Minister of Justice as long as certain requirements are met (see Q6).

 

　Japanese nationality can be acquired in any of the following cases.

(Note)

Those who do not fall under the above conditions must acquire Japanese nationality through naturalization.

　In addition, those who have filed a notification of acquisition of Japanese nationality will acquire Japanese nationality at the time of the notification as long as they have met the requirements for acquisition and the notification has been done properly (Article 3, Paragraph 2 and Article 17, Paragraph 3 of the Japanese Nationality Act).

 

 

　Naturalization is a process that confers nationality upon those who are not nationals and wish to acquire nationality. In Japan, the permission for naturalization is under the authority of the Minister of Justice (Article 4 of the Japanese Nationality Act).
　If the Minister of Justice permits the naturalization of an individual, this will be announced in the Official Gazette. Naturalization takes effect on the day of the notification (Article 10 of the Japanese Nationality Act).

 

　The general conditions for naturalization are as follows (Article 5 of the Japanese Nationality Act).

　Furthermore, even if these conditions are met, naturalization may not always be permitted. These are the minimum conditions for naturalization in Japan.

　In addition, some of the above naturalization conditions have been relaxed for foreign nationals (those born in Japan, or who have a Japanese spouse, Japanese child or once had Japanese nationality) who have a special relationship with Japan (Article 6 through Article 8 of the Japanese Nationality Act).

 

 

 

 

 

　The following are the main documents required to apply for naturalization permission.

　In principle, documents that prove nationality and family relationships that are issued by a government official must be submitted.
　The necessary documents differ depending on the applicant’s nationality, family relationships and occupation. Please consult with the Legal Affairs Bureau or Regional Bureau of Legal Affairs before applying.

 

　Japanese nationality is lost in any of the following cases.

 

 

 

 

 

　Where a child born abroad acquires a foreign nationality and Japanese nationality upon birth, if the child’s father or mother does not indicate an intention to retain the child’s Japanese nationality within the prescribed period of time, the child will lose Japanese nationality retroactively as of the time of birth (Article 12 of the Japanese Nationality Act, Article 104 of the Family Register Act).
　In order for the child not to lose Japanese nationality, the following procedures must be done to retain nationality.

　In addition, those who have lost their Japanese nationality because their father or mother did not indicate an intention to retain their Japanese nationality can reacquire their Japanese nationality by notifying the Minister of Justice if they are under 20 years of age and have an address in Japan (see Q6).
(From April 1, 2022, those who have lost their Japanese nationality because their father or mother did not indicate an intention to retain their Japanese nationality can reacquire their Japanese nationality by notifying the Minister of Justice if they are under 18 years of age and have an address in Japan.)

 

　Those born in a foreign country, or those whose father or mother is a foreign national, may possess multiple nationality.
　Those with multiple nationality are asked to choose either Japanese or an eligible foreign nationality by the prescribed time limit. This decision is called the choice of nationality.
　It is necessary to choose nationality because those with multiple nationalities are associated with two or more countries and (a.) diplomatic conflicts may arise from competing rights or obligations from each respective country or (b.) because they are registered as different people in each country, a person with multiple nationality might marry and raise a family in each country, which would undermine the family relationships in each country.
　Those with multiple nationality must choose their nationality when they reach 22 years of age if they became a multiple national before 20 years of age, or within two years of becoming a multiple national at the age of 20 years or more. (From April 1, 2022, those with multiple nationality must choose their nationality when they reach 20 years of age if they became a multiple national before 18 years of age, or within two years of becoming a multiple national at the age of 18 years or more.)
　If the choice of nationality is not made within this time limit, the multiple national will be requested by the Minister of Justice to choose a nationality, and the multiple national may lose Japanese nationality in some cases.

 

　General examples of multiple nationality include the following.

 

　However, legal systems in the foreign country may have changed. To confirm the legal system of a foreign country, please contact the foreign government or foreign government office in Japan. In addition, the possession of nationality will be made by each country, as the determination of nationality is the exclusive right of the country. Therefore, please contact the foreign government or the foreign government office in Japan.
 

 

　Nationality can be chosen as follows.