2025-06-06

Naturalization is when a foreigner living in Japan acquires Japanese citizenship. Many people who are currently active in Japan have become naturalized Japanese citizens from foreign citizenship. Here, we will explain “famous people who became naturalized citizens of Japan” that you may want to tell those around you.

Advantages of Naturalization

Naturalization is the process by which a foreign national living in Japan acquires Japanese citizenship.

　・Naturalization has the following advantages: ・Able to have a Japanese name, thus reducing the risk of discrimination.

　・If the spouse is Japanese, they can be registered in the same family register.

　・You can have a Japanese passport, which will be endorsed by the Japanese government when you travel abroad.

　・As a Japanese national, you are entitled to social security benefits such as pensions, social insurance, and welfare.

　・The right to vote and be elected (the right to run for office) and to participate in Japanese politics.

　・Naturalization allows the applicant to take out a loan or obtain a loan from a bank.

Disadvantages of Naturalization

On the other hand, naturalization has the following disadvantages.

　・The applicant loses the nationality of his/her home country, and it becomes impossible to acquire the nationality of his/her home country again.

　・When going (returning) to one’s home country, one must obtain a visa as a Japanese national.

Famous people who have naturalized in Japan

Famous people who have naturalized in Japan are as follows.

In the business world, Masayoshi Son, the current chairman, president, and CEO of Softbank, is a naturalized Korean to Japan. Born in Saga Prefecture, Japan, Mr. Son became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 1990 at the age of 33.

In the sports world, many people have become naturalized citizens of Japan. In the baseball world, Takahiro Arai, current manager of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, and Tomonori Kanemoto, former manager of the Hanshin Tigers, both became naturalized citizens of Japan from Korea. Former professional wrestler Riki Choshu is also a naturalized South Korean citizen.

Also in the sports world, former soccer player Rui Ramos is a naturalized Brazilian citizen. Mr. Ramos came to Japan in 1977 and became a naturalized citizen in 1989 at the age of 33. It is assumed that his naturalization was approved because he met the requirements for naturalization: “a person who has continuously resided in Japan for 10 years or more” and “has worked in Japan for one year or more.

In the sumo world, former yokozuna Hakuho was naturalized from Mongolia to Japan. In the sumo world, one must obtain Japanese citizenship in order to become a yokozuna, so Hakuho, who retired in 2021, was naturalized in 2019, before his retirement. After naturalization, his name is Sho Hakuho.

In the literary world, Donald Keene is a naturalized American citizen of Japan. Mr. Keene is a scholar of Japanese literature and culture, and introduced it to the West. After acquiring Japanese citizenship, his name is “Keene, Donald. This means that he used his original name, but after naturalization, his Japanese name allows the use of kanji, hiragana, and katakana, but not alpha.

Conclusion

In Japan, so-called “dual nationality” is not recognized, so naturalization from a foreign nationality to Japan means the loss of your previous nationality. Nevertheless, there are many people who have become naturalized citizens of Japan and are active in Japan and contributing to Japanese society.