Naturalization Application
What is Grand Naturalization?
- 2024.06.12
Grand Naturalization applies to foreigners who have made a special contribution to Japan or have special circumstances in Japan, in particular, to acquire nationality in a manner different from the normal naturalization procedure.
What is Grand Naturalization?
Grand Naturalization refers to the acquisition of nationality in a manner different from the normal naturalization procedure in Japan based on special circumstances.
It is characterized by a quicker and simpler procedure than normal naturalization.
This system is especially for foreigners who have made special contributions to Japan or have special circumstances. Unfortunately, at this time, there is no example of naturalization through this procedure.
In this article, we will explain the difference between Grand Naturalization and General Naturalization, comparing them with ordinary naturalization.
Types of naturalization
Article 4 through Article 10 of the Nationality Law classify naturalization into three categories: General Naturalization, Simplified Naturalization, and Grand Naturalization.
[1] General naturalization:
General naturalization procedure.
[2] Simplified naturalization:
The application for naturalization is subject to certain conditions, and some of the requirements for “general naturalization” may be relaxed.
[3] Grand Naturalization:
A naturalization application procedure in which all of the “General Naturalization” requirements are waived for foreigners who have made a special contribution to Japan.
Click here for a detailed explanation of the naturalization application process.
Let’s take a look at each type of naturalization in detail.
[1] General naturalization
General naturalization, as the name suggests, is an application for naturalization that meets all of the general requirements stipulated by the Nationality Law.
The specific requirements are as follows.
*In addition to the requirements stipulated in Article 5 of the Nationality Law, Japanese language proficiency (3rd grade level) is required.
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Article 5 (1) The Minister of Justice may not permit naturalization for a foreign national who has not met the following conditions: (i) having continuously had a domicile in Japan for five years or more; (ii) being eighteen years of age or older and having the capacity to act independently according to the person’s national law; (iii) being a person of good conduct; (iv) being able to make a living through the person’s own assets or skills, or through those of the spouse or other relatives who share living expenses among them; (v) not having a nationality or having to give up the person’s nationality upon the acquisition of Japanese citizenship; and (vi) on or after the date on which the Constitution of Japan comes into effect, not having planned or advocated the destruction of the Constitution of Japan or the government established thereunder with force, and not having formed or joined a political party or other organization planning or advocating the same. |
[2] Simplified Naturalization
Simplified Naturalization is a system that allows an applicant to apply for naturalization without having to fulfill all the requirements of ordinary naturalization, such as the address, ability, and livelihood requirements of Article 5 of the Nationality Law, provided that certain conditions are met.
The relaxation of criteria is as follows.
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Article 6 The Minister of Justice may permit naturalization for a foreign national currently having a domicile in Japan who falls under one of the following items even if that person has not met the conditions listed in the preceding Article, paragraph (1), item (i): (i) a child (excluding an adopted child) of a former Japanese citizen, who has continuously had a domicile or residence in Japan for three years or more; (ii) a person born in Japan and continuously having had a domicile or residence in Japan for three years or more or whose father or mother (excluding an adoptive parent) was born in Japan; (iii) a person who has resided in Japan continuously for ten years or more. |
Most of those who qualify for this simplified naturalization are special permanent residents or foreigners married to Japanese nationals.
*For more information on the requirements for Simplified Naturalization, please refer to the article “Requirements for Simplified Naturalization” here.
The article is a breakdown of the article to see which cases actually fall under the category of expedited naturalization and which requirements are relaxed.
[3] What is Grand Naturalization?
Grand Naturalization, as mentioned above, applies to foreigners who have made a special contribution to Japan or have special circumstances in Japan, and acquire nationality in a manner different from the normal procedure.
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Article 9 The Minister of Justice may obtain approval of the Diet and permit naturalization of a foreign national who has distinguished contributions to Japan, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1).
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As you can see from the text of the article, even if the foreign national does not meet the naturalization requirements of Article 5 of the Nationality Law, the Minister of Justice, with the witness of the Diet, will be a special case in which the foreign national will be permitted to naturalize.
*There is no application form to apply for Grand Naturalization.
Cases of Grand Naturalization
Foreign nationals who have made a special contribution can be naturalized without all the examination requirements for general naturalization with the approval of the National Assembly.
The case that could be said to be the closest to Grand Naturalization:
In 2012, when figure skater Marvin Tran announced his intention to become a Japanese citizen, Seiko Hashimoto, a member of the House of Councilors and president of the Japan Skating Federation, requested that Grand Naturalization be applied but it did not get approved. However, it attracted attention as a way to remove all the requirements for general naturalization.
Summary
What do you think?
In this article, we explained General Naturalization, Simplified Naturalization, and Grand Naturalization. While there is no case of Grand Naturalization yet so you would unlikely to acquire Japanese citizenship this way, but many may be eligible for Simplified Naturalization. If you have any questions about naturalization, please feel free to contact us!
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Editor of this article
- Ryota Yanagimoto
- Administrative Scrivener/Judicial Scrivener
At the age of 24, he passed the national examinations for judicial scrivener, administrative scrivener, and wage service manager at the same time.
While working as a full-time lecturer at a major prep school, he independently opened a legal office related to judicial scriveners and administrative scriveners,
and he has experience as a judicial scrivener and an administrative scrivener for more than 15 years so far.
He has been actively contributing to various industries such as publicly listed companies, real estate companies, financial institutions, elderly care services, and professional organizations by conducting seminars, lectures, and talks.
And now he has a record of over 60 presentations so far.
Furthermore, as the president of a Japanese language school announced by the Ministry of Justice and Acts, and an advisor to a real estate company (capable of handling foreign clients),
he has been involved in various aspects of industries related to foreigners.
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