The Japan Times66%
Japan to tighten requirements for naturalization starting April 1 0%
By Himari Semans0%
3/27/2026, 2:34:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 11 faulty reasoning types, including Optimism Bias, Representativeness Heuristic, and Framing Effect, with Appeal to Authority as the most egregious example at 17.9% saturation with 89 hits. Analysis detected 430 faulty-reasoning hits from 498 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 0% and a BS Rank of 0% (0 of 16,813 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 100.00% of the article peer group.
Japan will double the residency requirement for foreign nationals seeking citizenship to 10 consecutive years and expand screening periods for tax and social insurance records starting April 1, raising naturalization criteria to the level required for permanent residency.
Under revised guidelines announced Friday, naturalization applicants must submit two years of tax and social insurance payment records and five years of tax payment certificates, bringing documentation requirements in line with those for permanent residency.
The changes are intended to address concerns that obtaining Japanese nationality has been easier than securing permanent residency, according to the Justice Ministry.
Currently, applicants must in principle have lived in Japan for at least five consecutive years to qualify for naturalization, compared with 10 years required for permanent residency.
Screening standards have also been less strict.
Insurance payment checks cover one year of records for naturalization applicants, versus two years for permanent residency.
Tax certificate requirements have been determined case by case, with company executives typically asked to submit three years of records — fewer than the five years required for permanent residency.
Lawmakers and visa experts say the gap has encouraged some foreign residents to pursue citizenship rather than permanent residency.
Concerns were raised in parliament last year that Japanese nationality — which grants voting rights — should not be easier to obtain than permanent residency, prompting the policy revision.
The administration of Sanae Takaichi also pledged to address the issue in an immigration policy package released in January.
Applicants who filed for naturalization before April 1 with at least five years of residency but fewer than 10 will continue to be reviewed under existing rules, with final determinations made at the Justice Minister’s discretion.
The revisions apply to Justice Ministry guidelines rather than statutory provisions.
Under Japan’s nationality law, the minimum residency requirement formally remains five years and would require parliamentary legislation to be amended.
Asked about the short notice — with the changes announced less than a week before taking effect — a Justice Ministry spokesperson said Thursday that no problems were expected despite the absence of a grace period, noting that naturalization applications undergo comprehensive screening and that even applicants with 10 years of residency have been denied for failing to meet other criteria.
The ministry does not track the average residency period of successful applicants, but the spokesperson said citizenship is rarely granted to those with only five years of residence.
“Most successful applicants have typically lived in Japan for around 10 years or longer,” he said, adding that the revisions are unlikely to significantly alter the practical strictness of naturalization.
More than 9,200 foreign nationals naturalized in 2025 — most of them Chinese (38%) and South Korean (22%) — out of roughly 14,000 applicants, according to the Justice Ministry’s Civil Affairs Bureau.
By comparison, 932,090 foreign nationals held permanent residency as of January and June last year, up 1.5% from six months earlier, according to the Immigration Services Agency.
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