2025-08-28

Watching international competitions like the Olympics, you often see athletes competing for a country different from their birthplace after acquiring its nationality. This demonstrates how the world of sports has become more “internationalized” compared to other fields. Japan also has many naturalized athletes, and we will explain this point in detail.

What is Naturalization？

Naturalization refers to a foreign national acquiring Japanese nationality. Japan recognizes only one nationality per person; dual nationality is not permitted. Therefore, acquiring Japanese nationality means losing one’s previous foreign nationality.

Procedure for Athletes to Naturalize

First, for a foreign athlete to come to Japan and engage in activities there, they generally need to obtain a “Performance Visa”.

The “Entertainment Visa” is the required residence status for foreign nationals engaging in activities related to entertainment performances (such as theater, performing arts, music, sports, etc.) or other artistic activities in Japan. This includes actors, singers, dancers, professional athletes, and similar individuals. The duration of stay varies based on the applicant and the nature of their activities in Japan: 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, or 30 days.

Next, a sports athlete holding a “Performing Arts Visa” must apply for naturalization to acquire Japanese nationality. Note that revisions to the “Naturalization Permit Standards” in 2022 now require a minimum residence period of “3 years.” Therefore, for sports athletes holding a “Performing Arts Visa,” they must have the maximum residence period (3 years).

The Naturalization Process for a Chinese Table Tennis Player

As an example of a Chinese table tennis player naturalizing, we will explain the case of Tomokazu Harimoto.

Tomokazu Harimoto is from Sendai City. While he himself was born and raised in Sendai City, both his parents were professional table tennis players from China. However, his father had the aspiration to “gain experience overseas, return to China, and become a coach.” It was during this time that Chire Koyama (a former Chinese table tennis player who was coaching a team in Sendai) invited them, leading to their move to Sendai.

After that, Tomokazu was born in Sendai, and his parents decided to permanently reside in Japan. Then, when Tomokazu was 10 years old, the entire family chose to acquire Japanese nationality.

The reason for choosing age 10 was that Japanese nationality was required to compete in the All Japan Championships. Furthermore, for a minor to naturalize, both parents must also naturalize, hence the entire family naturalized together.

Another factor likely at play is that China’s table tennis population is orders of magnitude larger than other countries, making selection for the national team extremely difficult. In other words, they probably judged that acquiring another country’s nationality and being selected for that country’s national team would be a relatively easier path.

Summary

The growing number of athletes acquiring foreign nationality stems from disparities in the number of people participating in sports. In the case of Tomokazu Harimoto mentioned as an example, it is thought he chose to acquire Japanese nationality and become a national representative because the number of table tennis players in China was vastly greater than in Japan.