2025-08-04

Foreign nationals residing in Japan may change their nationality to Japanese nationality if certain requirements are met. One of the requirements is that the applicant must be of legal age. Are minors unable to apply for this procedure?

What is a change of nationality?

Changing nationality means losing one’s existing nationality and acquiring a new one.

Some countries in the world allow multiple nationalities, or so-called “dual nationality. In Japan, however, “dual nationality” is not allowed, so if a person acquires new Japanese nationality, he or she loses his or her existing foreign nationality.

In order for a foreign national residing in Japan to acquire Japanese nationality, an “application for naturalization” is usually required.

Requirements for naturalization

The following six requirements must be met in order to acquire Japanese nationality through an application for naturalization.

First, the applicant must have a continuous domicile in Japan by the time of application (domicile requirement). However, if the applicant has an address in Japan and has been abroad for a long period of time during the five years prior to the application, this condition may not apply.

Second, the applicant must be an adult (18 years of age or older) (capacity requirement). They must also be an adult under the laws of the country in which they are currently a citizen.

Third, the applicant must be of good conduct, i.e., not in arrears with taxes, never been convicted of a criminal offense, or never committed a serious traffic violation (the conduct condition).

Fourth, the applicant must be able to live on the assets and skills of the applicant and his/her spouse or other relatives with whom he/she lives (living conditions). In particular, it is advantageous if the applicant and relatives have assets and the skills and qualifications necessary to earn a living.

Fifth, the applicant himself/herself has no nationality or agrees to lose his/her current nationality by acquiring Japanese citizenship (condition to prevent dual nationality).

Sixth, the applicant has never plotted or advocated the destruction of the Constitution of Japan or the government established under the Constitution by violence, or formed or joined a political party or other organization for such purposes (Constitutional Compliance Condition).

How can a minor apply for naturalization?

We explained earlier in the second condition that the applicant must be of legal age. However, a minor may apply for naturalization in the following three cases.

The first is when both parents apply for naturalization at the same time. If the child is under 15 years of age, the parent who is the legal representative will file the application on behalf of the child. If the child is between the ages of 15 and 18, the child himself/herself will be responsible for the naturalization application process, including the preparation of documents and the interview.

The second case is when one of the parents is a Japanese citizen. In this case, the “capacity requirement,” “address requirement,” and “livelihood requirement” explained earlier are relaxed.

The third is when the child is adopted by a Japanese national, even if the child is a minor alien. However, please note that in this case, there is a condition that the applicant must “continue to reside in Japan for at least one year.

Summary

Basically, you must be an adult under Japanese law (18 years of age or older) and also an adult under the laws of your current country of citizenship to apply for naturalization. However, it is possible to apply for naturalization at the same time as one’s parents.