Problems of Japan's Dual Nationality
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- Japan's Nationality Act, which forbids multiple citizenship, has been in the spotlight after countless people have lost their Japanese nationality and there is an ongoing legal battle being waged by plaintiffs arguing that the law is unconstitutional. But what's really the issue here?
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■Yuri Kondo
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■Rune Hoshino
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■Kalie
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■Daichi Okada
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■Chapters:
0:00 How it works in Japan
1:16 Who would be troubled the most?
3:58 Public reaction
4:44 Sending the message
7:41 Concerns
9:21 Feeling guilty
10:45 International couple
12:53 Final thoughts
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If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of said material, please send me an email.
So what do you think? Should Japan allow dual citizenship and why?
Japanese can still visit Japan as a foreigner. They just need to pay more money for visas I suppose.
No, I'm french and my country have dual nationality, it's a disaster, people have to chose one country, it's wrong to go to a country and profit of it and then going back.
@@MihaelKeehlDeathNote How is it a disaster, how do they profit of it?
I think it is fine to have dual citizenship, though I do not got it myself nor do I have any intent on doing so.
No. No country should really allow dual citizenship. Maybe special passports for certain circumstances (marriage or the like)
But not dual citizenship
it shouldnt be allowed cuz it only makes ppl take advantage of both countries, and its irresponsible and unfair for everyone else on both countries.
The only reason there's dual citizenship is because many JP politics have US citizenship and it allows them the advantages to have properties and business in the US
My son was born in Japan. His Mum is Japanese and I am English. We moved to New Zealand and after being there for 3 years I applied for citizenship. I thought that we may as well apply for my son as well. He was 6 at the time. Later, the Japanese consulate in Auckland refused to renew his Japanese passport as he had chosen to give up his Japanese citizenship by taking NZ citizenship. My wife explained that we didn't know the consequences of this and my son, now 16 would rather keep his Japanese citizenship as he always considered himself Japanese. The consulate refused our request because he had 'chosen' to give up his citizenship at age 6! We feel terribly guilty that our son now virtually considers himself stateless.
If you had chosen to marry a New Zealand woman and have your children in New Zealand, nothing would have gone wrong. Simple logic.
makes sense tho to only allow one citizenship. in germany alot of turkish people have the german and the turkish nationality and they literaly vote a dictator in turkey while living in germany.
Can he apply for japanese citizenship and give up his NZ one?
Please don't blame yourself, I'm sure you and your wife doing the best for your son. That's just an unfair law and it should change.
@@lucasgsa its unfair until you vote for a country you dont even live in.
I'm Australian, and for most of my life so far, if a person with Australian citizenship later took up the citizenship of another country, then under our law they automatically forfeited their Australian citizenship. Meanwhile, because we're a high-immigration country, we could see millions of people come here, eventually take up Australian citizenship, and still get to retain their previous citizenship as well (if the laws of their country of previous citizenship allowed it). Such an arrangement obviously privileged immigrants over native-born Australians, and the law was eventually changed in 2002 to allow Australian citizens to similarly acquire a second citizenship without losing their first.
Australia is very good country I always wanted be refugee in Australia but have no chance you Australian people are happiness with this good country I am from Afghanistan and have no country 😢
@@narjesgolha1560 I'm sorry to hear your situation, i hope things are okay in your life, stay safe
It's kind of the opposite in the US, those naturalizing must take an oath that includes renouncing previous allegiances, though in practice it's rarely, if ever, enforced. On the other hand the US does not ask their citizens to renounce their US citizenship if they naturalize in another country. Of course, Uncle Sam collects taxes from all citizens regardless of where they reside so that might have something to do with it. ( Most people who renounce US citizenship do so to escape the tax burden).
Australia has allowed dual citizenship since 2002.
@@feliscatus5161 Yes, Will did mention that in the last few sentences.
I’m Japanese who living in the US, I left Japan when I was 18, now I’m 63 and have my own family here. When I was younger, lots of times I was asking myself “who am I, Japanese or American?” But I stopped asking myself, because I realized it’s a fruitless question just goes round and round and never gets answered. I just concluded it’s ok to not have an answer. However I think at legal point of view it’s a very different question must be answered . It’s about inheritance, property, taxes etc and safety at foreign lands.
Every time when I flew back from Japan, I find myself very awkward feelings. I joked with my friends that I care about how much taxes I pay than what going on in Japan. But my mother is in Japan, who gave me a life and raised me. For this very reason til har passing, I decided to keep “ red passport “
After all, maybe I’m still very Japanese….I don’t know the answer yet.
What is with this "black or white" thinking? Have you every considered, you are both (i.e. grey)? What a realization that would be.
You can just decide to be Japanese. There is a law in the US that its citizens cannot be forced to revoke their citizenship. Whenever you travel back to the US you may still be considered a citizen especially if at least one of your parents is American or you are born in the US. There is a specific paper you have to get though and it really depends. What matters the most is getting citizenship of the country you will live most of your life in or are currently in. That’s really it. You can look more about those who did this method.
Why not keep both passports? Japan has a grey area where they wont care as long as you dont serve in the government or are a celebrity
In 2015, I met a 19 years old guy working in a Kamakura hotel with Japanese and French parents, who told me that he had to choose between Japanese and French citizenship. I don't know which one he chose, but it was hard for him to 'discard' half of who he is.
Since I have French and Canadian nationalities, I find it horrible.
Well you can always think of yourself as half, after all you know that
I don’t have two nationalities, as a Japanese guy who’s been living in the states I’ve met ppl who have two nationalities and seen them in struggles it’s sad
You live in Quebec?
難しいね
Having a privilege doesn't make you what you are. Forfeiting one certainly doesn't make you less.
It’s pretty much “don’t ask, don’t tell” situation regarding dual citizenship. One of my coworkers was born in the US to a white American father and a Japanese mother. He has and still keeps/uses both US and Japanese passports and haven’t gotten any trouble with Japanese authorities yet. He’s in his late 20s, lives in the US and goes to Japan almost every year, only shows his Japanese passport when he’s over there.
I think it is more of a problem if he lives most of the time in Japan. The US won’t check because they allow dual citizenship since technically its citizens cannot be forced to renounce US citizenship. Japan is the one more likely to check but they often don’t if you have a Japanese pasaport.
I wonder how he answers the question about how he lives in the US when he renews his Japanese passport. Maybe he just hasn't had to renew his Japanese passport that often yet since his early 20s.
My son is Japanese and American and when I was registering him for his US citizenship and looking up information on the US consulate. I learned that the US government's position is that Japan cannot force a US citizen to revoke their citizenship.
It is an interesting case where a lack of agreement or treaty between the two creates the grey zone.
The US doesn’t care if your child chooses Japanese citizenship. My kids are US-born, so they would only lose their citizenship if they officially renounced it. They chose Japanese because we live in Japan. However, the US always sees them as US citizens when they visit the US. They still need their US passports to enter the US. And they HAVE to file US tax returns every year.😂
This is an angle they should have discussed a little more in the vid.
If Japan demands 'choosing one or the other', then why not choose Japanese, while your 'other' citizenship remains perfectly valid outside Japan (because your other country doesn't even recognize Japan's 'forced renunciations'?
How many other countries would take this position? (I don't know).
@@GK-yi4xv my understanding is exactly that. You just choose Japanese and then do nothing else.
@@GK-yi4xv that's low key what the former lawyer being interviews is saying, but I believe they did try to comply with Japan laws even though the law has no teeth.
@@GK-yi4xv That's what I did. I chose Japanese citizenship before reaching 22. And because I am under no legal obligation to inform the Philippine government of my action, they still recognize me as a citizen especially now that dual citizenship is okay here. I do not own a PH passport, but a piece of paper proving that my father is Filipino would suffice
This was a well done exploration of this tricky topic! Thanks for covering it!
There's a loophole to this issue, especially if your other country recognizes dual citizenship. Just choose Japanese citizenship, then do nothing after that. You are under no legal obligation to inform the other of your choice to pick JP
Bravo. Case closed. Thanks for pointing out the obvious. People pretend like you can't do it. Huh. It's so easy!
Thank you so much. I think this will work for my kids. Having USA passports they leave/travel out of and return to JP with the JP passport. And if entering a US territory i.e. Guam, Hawaii they show their US passport. Will anything change if they tell Japan they “chose” Japan? I ask because when they renew their JP Passport there is a question, do you have any other countries’ passport. So is there any punishment for “not telling the truth “?
Advice greatly appreciated!!
@@mztokyo7630 I have dual Filipino/Japanese citizenship. Philippines recognizes dual citizenship, Japan doesn't. I only use my JP passport whenever I'm traveling because of its way superior power when it comes to travel freedom (I do not own a PH passport as well, blame it on the bureaucracy in trying to obtain them).
When I chose Japan, I asked the staff from JP embassy in Manila if they would inform the PH government about that fact. They answered in the negative, they don't waste time doing such things. However, in theory they will be compelled to inform if it's the Philippine state that would be asking them. Those things happening has a probability of practically zero, so I don't worry. Because states don't have a habit of meddling in each others' businesses (unless the subject is a terror threat), the odds are largely in your favor. You can simply answer no, your kids don't have any other passports.
super random question, but are you fluent in Nihongo? And did you grow up in the Philippines? @@luke211286
Thank you for the video. It has provided me with wonderful perspective on the issues concerning dual nationalities
Maybe because Japan historically isolated itself for a very long time from the rest of the world, the traditional mentality is so different . Being from Europe, I've always known a lot of children with 2 passports growing up. And when people with 1 passport start tracing back family names, they often realize that maybe 200-300 years ago the family came from a neighboring country. So the populations of individual countries where never homogenous like in Japan.
Actually, the Japanese genome is very diverse, whereas recent studies have shown most Europeans can trace their lineage back to common ancestors within the past 1000 years-biological heritage is not the same thing as cultural heritage! The entire idea of nation states is a pretty recent fabrication, for starters-good for controlling a population and instilling artificial ideas of unity-but most current countries around the world have historically been split into many smaller competing states up until recently.
@@NickHchaos There are also funny outliers in Europe. For example, east Finns are apperately genetically further away from west Finns than the Englishmen are from the French.
@@XXXkazeXXX Yes; well, England was colonized by France for a long time--places like Finland are more harsh environments, so it makes sense there would be less movement and more genetic separation.
@@NickHchaos I think it has more to do with how wester parts were populated by Europeans and eastern parts by people from the east
Your English is getting really good, Nobita!
I just wanna hear him pronounce black people one more time
@@Saberdud I remember those days, lol.
I'm not half but full japanese going from japanese to US citizen. The immigration has double standards. Everyone who works behind the counter implement his or her own guidelines. I was told pick one or the other not both. I said US. They told me your issued gaijin card. My brother who is retired US Navy was given both. My mom just became US citizen and she was surprised to be treated like a foreigner for a visit to go home. I hope they work on this matter more effectively and quickly to help out the dual citizen japanese.
You chose US citizenships over your own people?! 😂😂😂 That is the dumbest thing i have ever heard
I was born and raised Japanese by my held Japanese father and African mother when she decided she couldn't handle it anymore she forced us to go to the us. I didn't wanna leave I later found out when I went to visit I was treated like trash. It's a horrible feeling when you try to come home
@@lunebadru5997
In what way
Japanese society is strongly against dual citizenship. She emigrated to a foreign country, and your mother is no longer a Japanese citizen, so of course she would be treated like any other foreign national.
Thanks for making a video about this important issue. I am half Japanese and will leave Japan soon. The visa procedures are a pain for my long term plans, and restrict my freedom as I can’t just leave Japan to go to my home country without consequences. Given the population decline it does not make sense to hold onto an outdated law from 1899 without proven disadvantages.
My children are both half-Japanese and over 20, each keeping both of their passports. Should they worry if they travel to the country of their other nationality and don't get entry and exit stamps in their Japanese passports that they will eventually loose their Japanese nationality?
It's pretty insane how ancient regime laws can stick around in the modern era
@@SurfinScientist I'm not sure about this as I lost my Japanese citizenship and passport at a young age. But as far as I know the main risk seems to be when renewing a passport at a Japanese embassy abroad as they tend to be more strict than within Japan. Do not let them know about any other citizenships they hold and they should be fine.
Population decline is a good thing. We can’t afford to have this many people however advanced technology becomes. Other countries should be like Japan.
@@Sora-ce1zxWTF are you smoking
Just a point about Japanese students referring to Americans in America as foreigners. I taught a large number of Chinese students in Canada and the same thing happened- I was referred to as a foreigner in my own country. Just something to consider.
White ppl consider all non whites in North America as foreigners even though they were born there. With that been said, whites are not natives of the americas. The first ppl of the Americas (natives) are originally from Asia. Therefore, the Chinese students have a case for seeing you as a foreigner in Canada, as you don't look Asian.
Cuz i guess they dont consider themself as Canadian or have canadian citizenship, so it makes sense for them to call u foreigner even if they're the foreigners in ur country.
I'm japanese. I get called foreigner here in japan and get called foreigner in the USA.
@@user-qd4gf8hg8f mind boggling that they think that makes sense.
I think it's like that because of the concepts that exist in the language (something like the translation of "love" to japanese, or "ouvido" and "orelha" to english.
Thank you so much for talking about this topic. I think it's a very important topic. I really relate to what Hoshino san is sharing. I suffered so much about this identity problem since the childhood. People couldn't just understand this duality. Now, as Hoshino san says, I just identify myself as a citizen of the earth.
I think people who vote for these laws can't even imagine how it is to live as a half people, and they certainly don't care about it. But it's like saying to a part of a population that they are nothing. Not recognize half people is very sad and problematic. Personnally, I don't care anymore. I think i've cried enough about it.
But I'm glad there are people doing procedured and stuffs to make things move.
It's very sad that people don't even realize how deep and rich of cultures and exp a half person can be. I really think half people can bring new perspectives to each country.
We can't choose either one country or another. We're just both and we'll always be, until we die. I've tried to just put my japanese side away, but in the end, it's just like throwing a part of ourselves away, and it just leave a deep hole inside.
Another point. Many elder people don't want to allow dual citizenship. These elder people vote and the politicians are afraid to offend them. Until these elder people either change their minds or die the system will not change. I think the younger generations are okay with dual nationality.
That sounds about right. Younger generations have lost interest in politics anymore because their opinions aren't being considered by the individuals in power, and considering the whole PM's cabinet is made up entirely of seniors (there's no opposition, I supposed).
Japan cultural communication style of such indirectness just comes across as so immature compared to the more direct/blunt style of the west.
@@lijohnyoutube101 I think it serves them very well. They can avoid any question and they can avoid providing answers. They developed this kind of social behaviour to get away with such things.
I personally think that, seeing how much racist japan is, i won't be surprised to hear from politicians that their real reasoning behind this choice is because they don't want to mix their pure japanese race with other nationalities.
Seeing how they treat half japanese blood people, it's nothing really new.
@@lijohnyoutube101 Our politics is clearly filled with direct and straight forward communication. 🙄
Thats the reason why Japan is stagnant and getting poorer. 259% debt of GDP worst in G7. India predicted to overtake Japan for 3rd spot by 2030
Thank you for collecting all this information and producing this video. I think it's a very important topic. My son has German and Japanese citizenship at the moment. He's 6 years old and was born in Japan but we live in Germany now. Interestingly in his Japanese passport he has my husband's (Japanese) last name. My husband and I used the special rule to keep our respective last names when we got married in Japan before my son was born. My son has my last name on his German passport and German birth registration entry. So technically he'd need to choose a nationality when he turns 20 years old and his last name too. I find it really sad that this Japanese law exists because he'd allowed to keep his dual nationality by German law. I wish for him that the Japanese law is changed in the future before he turns 20.
Bei uns ist es das gleiche. Mein 11 Jähriger hat gerade beim Generalkonsulat in FFM seinen J-Pass erneuert. Hier wurde explizit nach entweder dem EU-Pass oder dem Aufenthaltstitel gefragt, um den Pass hier zu erneuern. Beim Shiyakusho in Japan den Pass zu erneuern, sollte aber immer gehen, denke ich (Wir haben es noch nicht ausprobiert und hätte während des Corona-Lockdowns Probleme gemacht).
Regardless of passport/citizenship, please do everything in your power so your son learns Japanese language and culture (and attends Japanese school on Saturdays like children of expats), and if possible periodically visits relatives in Japan.
I fear the Japanese government would NOT consider people who cannot read/write Japanese to be worthy of Japanese citizenship. This includes the many children of Japanese citizens who grew up overseas. My friends who live in US take their children to Japan and put them in Japanese kindergartens and schools during their summer breaks.
I have similar concerns to the couple the end of the video. My grandchildren are half Japanese and half Canadian. The older one was born in Japan and the other was born in Canada. Currently, the family is back living in Japan, but what issues might there be for them in the future, especially the younger grandchild who was born in Canada? They are still very young but I still wonder.
Should not be having any issues until the kid reach 20 I believe. After that he need to choose his nationality
@@anggasurbakti8269 again, the choosing part is a myth - legally they can't deprive you of your nationality if it can't be determined that you chose to have another nationality.
In this case I'm more worried about the child born in Canada - Canada only allows to pass down Canadian citizenship outside the country for two generations. As such future grandchildren of the one born in Japan are ineligible for Canadian citizenship (though they have the option for fast track naturalization by obtaining immediate permanent residency and living in Canada for a year).
Japanese law doesn't discriminate based on place of birth. The only thing required is having a Japanese parent and being registered in the family KOSEKI.
I really hope they fix this issue. My mother-in-law is still PR in Canada even though she has been here for 30 years. She is scared to lose her citizenship. It breaks my heart.
国籍法第11条1項が該当されるからです。
What does PR mean please?
@@Josh-gv4lcpermanent resident
She not lose japanese citizen . She is carry japanese passport and she is PR. 100% sure
@@chika3529 国籍を喪失することは自分のアイデンティティを失うことです。そうなったら電車の前に身を投げる奴もいるでしょう。
I am a Japanese citizen living in the US for the past 40 years as a permanent resident. My daughter was born and raised here and is a US citizen. Needless to say that I love both countries. Becoming a U.S. citizen never crossed my mind because I believe one should have a sole citizenship. I heard from a friend of mine who is from South Korea and became a naturalized US citizen, that he was asked during the interview in the naturalization process whether he would fight against South Korea if US and South Korea went into a war. He told me he answered in the affirmative. I cannot imagine exposing myself to a question like that. As cruel and extreme as this question may appear, I believe that each country has the right to protect its sovereignty to the fullest extent. The laws protecting this right must consider all circumstances no matter how unlikely they seem. I believe that the integrity of sovereignty must take precedence over the emotional well-being, convenience etc. of those who seek multiple citizenships. I don’t know this for a fact, but I am guessing that many people in Ukraine never thought Russia would actually start a war against them.
"I believe that each country has the right to protect its sovereignty to the fullest extent."
I 100% agree with you. I'm a foreigner in Japan and I see how much foreigners here insult Japan all the time for not being like the West, except the West is a dumpster fire.
I believe single citizenship is extremely important for the safety of a nation and its citizens. Looking at western countries that allow dual citizenship, they're all falling apart. Germany is a prime example with the Turks there. It's a hot mess.
Citizenship in most countries obliges the state to upload certain rights of that citizen and protect and apply equal protection under the law to all of its citizens. With dual citizenship, there can be ambiguity and contradictions between the laws and policies of two countries that could make those obligations difficult for a state to honor. In the UN Declaration of Human Rights it says:
Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Interestingly, nationality is singular here. It's been generally agreed that a nation can not revoke citizenship of its citizens so that a person is stateless, but at the time of its writing, perhaps no universal agreement could be found as to how a person who may not be of just a single nationality should be treated. With such an interconnected world as we have today, perhaps this is worth revisiting.
That is the question most countries are concern with dual citizenship. I am just surprise he was asked out loud. Many of these people are crying over losing one of their citizenship because they have never thought of the case of conflicts and wars break out in their life time. Losing one of the citizenship does not make a person lesser from what/who they are. It is just an excuse to rip the benefits from both countries.
@@sola4393 The people complaining suffer from extreme entitlement and privilege. Westerner men that marry Japanese women are by far some of the worst people you'll encounter in the world, and they pass on their a-hole traits to their hafus. Insufferable people.
Your logic is kind of fallacious, because it then means that your kids and you would go to war with each other. If your kid is American and you are Japanese and war is the question then you two are on opposing sides, per your logic.
I have dual citizenship because in Poland even if you're born in another country the government considers you Polish as long as someone in your family is Polish and can prove it. So for example if your Grandmother is Polish but you're born in America you're still considered Polish in the eyes of that government while still keeping your nationality from the other country. It's strange that Japan refuses to adopt a similar approach.
I agree
Same as Canada. We live in Tokyo and my daughter was automatically a Canadian citizen (with evidence, of course). She now has two passports and my Japanese wife said "I think she should give up her Japanese passport when the time comes." And I responded "why relinquish either? There is no way they could enforce it".
@@ninjacrumbs As noted in the video, about the only way would be if you apply for a new passport while overseas. I have an American friend and his son went to the US. He left using his Japanese passport, and when he got to the US he used his American passport. When he returned after a couple of years he did the reverse. Immigration never questioned him when entering Japan, America doesn't care because as a US passport holder they must allow him entry.
Wow that's nice. It means Poland acknowledges its descendants. Feeling acknowledged must be so big for the half children/people.
I understand the one-citizenship too though, because my country is also one-citizenship. but we have problems of illegal migrants who don't even pay tax but enjoy the benefits, and scammer agents who originally scammed these migrants making them illegal migrants..
@@second_second_ Not sure how common it is for people who are half but from my experience since I am full Polish (born in America and lived there most of my life) it is common for people who are the sons or daughters of Polish immigrants to get citizenship because of their parents.
With the help of GPT-4, I generated a list of for and against arguments. Perseoly I find the *for* arguments to be more compelling than the against ones, but that is also my standing in the question before I watched this video...
*National Security:*
- For Limiting: Allowing dual citizenship can lead to divided loyalties, posing national security risks.
- Against Limiting: Loyalty isn't determined by the number of passports a person holds. Instead, it's affected by a person's values, experiences, and connections.
*Preventing Tax Evasion:*
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship can allow individuals to take advantage of different countries' tax systems, leading to potential tax evasion.
- Against Limiting: Tax evasion is illegal and should be addressed through international cooperation and stronger laws rather than prohibiting dual citizenship.
*Simplified Legal Systems:*
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship can lead to complex legal issues, especially in family law, criminal law, or international disputes.
- Against Limiting: Effective legal frameworks and international cooperation can resolve these complexities without prohibiting dual citizenship.
*Consistent Foreign Policy:*
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship may lead to conflicts of interest in international relations, causing complications in foreign policy.
- Against Limiting: Individuals have the right to free expression and political participation in democratic societies, even if their opinions diverge from the mainstream or official policies.
*Integration and Social Cohesion:*
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship might impede integration into the society of the host country and dilute a shared national identity.
- Against Limiting: Forcing individuals to choose one nationality over another may lead to feelings of exclusion or discrimination, which could actually undermine social cohesion.
*Public Services:*
- For Limiting: Dual citizens may use public services in multiple countries, potentially straining resources.
- Against Limiting: Dual citizens also pay taxes in these countries, which finance these public services, therefore their use of services may not necessarily be unjust.
*Globalization and International Mobility:*
- Against Limiting: Dual or multiple citizenship can facilitate transitions between countries, aiding global mobility.
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship may contribute to brain drain in developing countries, potentially worsening socio-economic disparities.
*Human Rights:*
- Against Limiting: The freedom to hold multiple nationalities should be considered a basic human right.
- For Limiting: Each state has the right to determine its own citizenship laws, including whether or not to allow dual citizenship.
*Cultural Diversity:*
- Against Limiting: Multiple nationalities can enrich a country's cultural landscape and promote diversity and understanding.
- For Limiting: Cultural diversity can lead to cultural clashes and societal divisions if not properly managed.
*Economic Benefits:*
- Against Limiting: Multiple citizenships can facilitate the fluid movement of people, skills, and capital between countries, promoting economic growth and innovation.
- For Limiting: The potential disadvantages such as tax evasion, money laundering, and the potential for citizenship-by-investment programs to be exploited should be considered.
*Social Integration:*
- Against Limiting: Allowing dual citizenship can encourage social cohesion and integration among immigrants.
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship may also allow immigrants to avoid fully integrating, as they can maintain a strong connection to their country of origin.
*Protection and Assistance:*
- Against Limiting: Dual citizenship provides individuals access to more than one embassy or consulate for assistance abroad.
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship can lead to legal complications, such as extradition issues or disputes over which country has legal jurisdiction over the individual.
*Family Unity:*
- Against Limiting: Dual citizenship can keep families together by enabling them to live, work, or study in multiple countries.
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship can also lead to complex legal issues regarding family law, such as custody disputes or inheritance matters across different jurisdictions.
*Diplomatic Relations:*
- Against Limiting: Allowing dual citizenship may improve a country's diplomatic relationships with other nations.
- For Limiting: Dual citizenship could cause diplomatic issues if countries have conflicting laws and policies regarding dual citizens.
*Reduction of Statelessness:*
- Against Limiting: Limiting citizens to just one nationality could potentially increase the risk of statelessness.
- For Limiting: Effective management of nationality laws and regulations, along with international cooperation, could also reduce statelessness without needing to allow dual citizenship.
As an American married to a South Korean and the father of two boys, this is actually still an issue for us. Right now, my boys have dual nationality with no problems. But if they want to retain South Korean citizenship when they become adults, they must do the mandatory Korean military service. If they don't they must either renounce SK citizenship or face jail time. So while the situation is better in Korea than in Japan, it's still not perfect.
Great video, and great coverage of this topic!
How is that not perfect? It sounds like your sons can already retain their Korean citizenship. Mandatory military service is completely within reason for Koreans. It seems your 'imperfect' issue is only that you want your sons to retain their citizenship without having to serve Korean military service? That's quite a strong argument to prohibit dual citizenship for a sovereign country (Dual citizens have lack of national loyalty).
I mean if you're a South Korean citizen, living in South Korea, you have to comply with the legal system. This is not unique to South Korea, as countries that implement universal conscription have similar laws regarding mandatory service.
Also have them apply for the US draft when they turn 18.
You sound entitled af. I don't see a problem at all with what you wrote, except for your western entitlement.
That's interesting. I'd heard you can't have dual citizenship in Japan, at least as a US citizen.
One of these channels interviewed a canadian-born Japanese girl and she said they made her remove her Canadian citizenship.
There's, also a few more stories about people not being recognized as Citizens because their father wasn't Japanese, but their mother was. The law above has since changed but those people we're not grandfathered-in. Japanese immigration laws are as sucky as the US.
@@bishop51807 yes the video I saw was of a Japanese/American girl. She was deciding whether or not she would give up her US citizenship to stay in Japan. It seemed silly to me, but I looked it up and sure enough you can't have dual between the US and Japan
It's not only Japan. China and Singapore don't allow it either. South Korea is a mixed bag since I knew one guy who moved to the US and was being asked if he wants to retain Korean or US citizenship. If he wanted to keep his original, he would need to do mandatory service. He renounced Korean and decided to enlist in the US military to get citizenship.
@@jsoe81657 we're not saying it's *only* Japan. But the topic of the video is about dual citizenship in Japan.
My favorite Japanese reporter. He goes in deep, looks at real issues and as a non-Japanese, it makes me so happy. Indeed, it just makes Japan even more fascinating. I love it. Thank you.
Having similar pushback with family about getting Mexican citizenship as a US citizen. Why do want another citizenship? Isn't that greedy? lol
You'll get flak from the US government bureaucracy because they're an elite and privileged class who does what it wants without regard to the law. Legally there should be no problem having dual citizenship in the US, but expect to pay bribes and fees and whatnot for a whole range of forms and permissions you've never heard of. Expect a lot of lawyers and other rich people to stand in your way, waiting for a payoff.
@@DrCruel I’m getting a lot of resistance from the Mexican consulate about my mother’s name, saying that due to US rules they can’t make an appointment and that you would be better off doing it in Mexico. Not sure why they’re so strict here.
@@Xeneon341 I have an American friend born in this country who wanted to get dual US/Ecuador citizenship. He had to jump through all sorts of hoops, paid off the wife of an optometrist who just so happened to be an Ecuador vice-consul, paid lawyers and government officials and the like, all for fees for funny forms. He finally got his cedula after several years.
Sounds like you're on the same merry-go-round. Watch out about going to Mexico - they might want to get you there so they can squeeze more cash out of you.
@@DrCruel yea that’s what I thought too. Sounds like a racket
@@Xeneon341 Go look up what it takes to be an honorary consular official. It's how the smaller countries can have a diplomatic infrastructure without paying for it. Rich people get this office and then make money by issuing all these official documents and whatnot. Sometimes they get paid by the country they serve as well. Lawyers often get the office for themselves or their spouse.
Thank you so much for talking about this ! I'm Japanese and French and my father always pressured me about this subject, that I'll have to give up one of my nationalities when I turn 20. I was properly raised in both of my cultures and I feel terrible at the thought of losing a part of my identity, even if it's only in the eyes of the law. I am seriously considering giving up on being French (for the sake of practicality. Living as Japanese in France seems unfortunately far easier than living as a French person in Japan).
I hope things will change soon and we won't have to make such drastic decisions.
What if you don't extend your Japanese passport at the consulate in France? Could you just travel to Japan with your EU passport, go to the city hall whereever your koseki tohon is and apply for a new Japanese passport there? As long as there is no pandemic you should be able to get into Japan easily and they will not ask for your residency card for the renewal.
I'm %💯🇲🇽 & only have US citizenship. What does citizenship matter. What matters most is DNA. I'm half American & less then half European.
I hope the situation will change. Germany had a similar law where you had to choose between two nationalities until the age of 21 I believe but the law was abolished in 2014. But this is only the case if you have both nationalities since birth. If you previously only had a foreign nationality and now want to get the German one you must give up your old one.
If France accept dual citizenship, what if you choose the Japanese one in the Japan consulate but just never give up the French one? It's not like Japan can force you to give it up. Just tell Japan you chose the Japanese one and then do nothing else, the French one still continues as status quo
pick the one that benefits you the most
I'm born and raised in Europe and my parents are both japanese and I only have japanese passport. I wished Japan allowed dual nationality and hoped for over 30yr that things will change. All my children have two passport and its legal but I was told that they have to decide until 22 of age which of them to choose. So I still wish that japan will accept dual nationality sometim in the near future.
What a lot of people do is choose the Japanese passport but also get the other passport but don't tell the Japanese officials and make sure you use the Japanese passport when entering Japan. A lot of Japanese/Americans do this.
Japanese citizenship won't mean much if they cannot speak Japanese.
Thank you for making this video. I'm both American and Japanese and it really does feel like the Japanese government wants to strip away a part of me and make it more difficult for me to live in Japan and be with my family over there.
This dudes videos never fail to entertain me
Its so refreshing to have someone like you around. Btw do u live in tokyo?
Hello Nobita-san,
I watched your video and I got curious as to what might happen to someone who renews their Japanese nationality abroad versus if they do it within Japan? Are they most likely to get denied the renewal in both cases or just in one?
As someone born in Australia to Japanese parents, I have both Australian and Japanese citizenship. I'm 28.
Legally, if you’re born with two nationalities then you must choose one once you reach adulthood.
If you choose the foreign one, then you will lose the Japanese nationality.
If you choose Japanese, then law says you must try to renounce the other but does not define what is “trying” nor any penalty for “trying” unsuccessfully.
So you can very much just choose Japan and keep both nationality. If asked at the border crossing or when renewing your passport there is no need to lie (actually lying on government forms is one thing that could actually get you in trouble) and officers don’t “turn a blind eye”, there is just nothing against the law to see here.
There is one exception that is not being talked about as I still have dual citizenship and I did not have to choose when I turned 21 as well.
As my parents were Japanese citizens who entered the US with a work visa, and I was born in the US. Since I was born in the US, I automatically have a US citizenship. With in 6 months of my birth, my parents registered me as a Japanese citizen and it was approved as my parents were not going to give up their Japanese citizenship and become US citizens.
I think that one exception to allow dual citizenship is that it was not my choice to be born in America. My parents were not planing on naturalizing to US citizens either nor live and die in America. Therefore my Japanese citizenship, honseki, etc was approved. I was told they will not force me to give up something that I have a full rights to have which is the US Citizenship. We will find out in 2027 when my Japanese Passport needs to be renewed, but so far that is the exception they have used to approve the renewal in the past and I'm going to be 50 years old this year.
They did said had I been born in Japan, I would automatically have Japanese Citizenship, but if I tried to apply for US citizenship that is when I would have to pick one or the other. Because applying for the US citizenship is a choice, not a right. In my situation I have a rights to have US citizenship, and I also have the rights to have the Japanese Citizenship.
My ex wife is a Japanese woman, disgusting mistake, and my kids gave dual citizenship. I sure hope my kids choose their American citizenship over the inferior japanese citizenship that represents a disgusting racist discriminatory society.
If you were not born in the USA, you would have no right to its citizenship if your parents were both Japanese.
People who were born before 1985 don't have to choose, because dual-citizenship was still legal.
Important video bro👍
I was born in Japan and moved to the US in elementary school and have lived here since. I don’t even know what my status is in Japan at this point though I’m born in Japan, half Japanese by blood, have koseki, have blood relatives in Japan, speak Japanese ( it was my first language).
I would love to retire in Japan in the future, but I have no idea if that’s an option for me.
I want my future children to have a connection to Japan, but I don’t even know how deep my connection to Japan is legally.
Blood is the real connection, everything else is a concept.
As long as u dont have US nationality, u're still a Japanese studying abroad on the US
if you have koseki - you should be considered Japanese, koseki should allow you to get a Japan passport
Make sure your kids are fluent in Japanese. Speaking the language without an accent is the way in.
@@unkopower7899 wonder if I’d be able to add future children to koseki if they’re not born in Japan.
Japan government has no way of knowing whether you retain your old country's passport.
Hey Nobita, thanks for this video!
I am half Japanese and grew up in Canada but moved to japan 5 years ago. My dad never registered me on his kokuseki so I never had a Japanese passport. With and immigration lawyer I was able to get permanent residence. I wish this law would change so I could get both citizenship
i dont understand. why dont u apply for citizenship if u want to and dont mind losing your canadian one?
PS: u woudlnt really lose it. thewyd make u cancel your passprot as proof that u did. and guess what... just like my father, u then go aND ASK FOR a new passport. lol
If you don't have a koseki you won't get a Japanese passport. The koseki proves you are from a Japanese bloodline.
I am starting this process now. I am born in US to American father and Japanese mother. She naturalized after I was born so I was a Japanese citizen at birth. I don't know if my Mother reported my birth to the Japanese consulate but that doesn't matter. I can prove my lineage to my Mother and I have her koseki that proves she is Japan born. Because I am the child of a Japanese citizen, I am eligible for a long term resident visa. And also, only need to live in Japan for one year before I'm eligible to apply for permanent resident. While permanent resident is not the same as Japanese citizen, I will have all the same rights and a Japanese passport. BTW, you also must have a relative guarantor to be eligible for this visa. Luckily, I have many cousins that are willing to help me. This video confirms what I already discovered about retaining both passports albeit technically not allowed in Japan.
What a great video, 👍, exactly what needs to be said.
Literally the old way of thinking is dying off, cultural ideas will aways change as time does.
It's evident in every cultures history of progress changes the viewing aspects, (thoughts/feelings/ sense) are a collective of these aspects structured by our concepts of time and technology. THAT'S WHY YOU DO GOOD WITH YOUR TIME, FOR YOU AND WORLD.
This video actually came at such a perfect time for me as I just visited Japan again for the first time since I was a small child. Any time I had to show my passport while in Japan I was terrified I would be “found out” as being both nationalities. The fear is very much there
Hi. Can you tell me more about it? Did you use your Japan passport when you entered and exited Japan?
Top reason that comes to mind is people using the dual citizenship loophole by having a child in another country, allowing said child to automatically gain citizenship and then later on gaining dual with their actual home country. So you then have issues of citizenship solemnly for economic convenience and not for actual national identity. Prime example are pregnant Chinese citizens going abroad to the US or Canada and lying on their visa applications so that their child automatically gains citizenship and then the parents can also apply for citizenship through their child.
Even if people do this for economic reasons, why does it matter? You have to pay taxes etc to the goverment etc so might as well be a citizen. I'm half half and my parent have a weird situation with their citizenships. They both earn well and pay a lot of money to both goberments so it's silly it's so difficult to be a citizen. There's not much benefit to it since you can still be a resident, it just makes things more complicated but I suppose bureaucracy is a job creator and validates high taxes lmao.
@@l.l.8731 Everyone pays tax, regardless of the period of which they stay in the country. Citizenship is a privilege. There's no sense in letting any random person become a "citizen" of your nation and influence the systems of the nation when they may have no loyalty to the nation.
Japanese citizenship is not granted by birthright (simply being born there) but by blood connection to a citizen. So the loophole wouldn’t really work for people trying to sneak into Japan. Rather, the loophole would work for Japanese citizens trying to sneak into another country with birthright citizenship, like the US!😂
Birth tourism does potentially make it easier for parents to assume citizenship but not straight away
@@mckendrick7672 I don't think your statement is accurate. Citizenship might come with some privilage, but may also contain responsibilities like mandatory military service or tax obligations. First and foremost citizenship is a right and a social contract.
If she became a naturalized citizen of the US, then in her oath of naturalization there includes a clause to "absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen..." which would be problematic to her old country, Japan. If she didn't mean it when she took the oath, then it would be a problem to the US.
This is going to be a problem for Japan since their popuplation is shrinking. If they don't start making changes now and just keeps kicking this issue to the future then the time will come when it will be too late.
It’s hard as a hafu… my Japanese mother decided that I was going to be American… but my some part of me is sad I didn’t get a choice for dual, especially since I grew up in Japan as a child. My mother never got US citizenship, she stayed in the US on her green card.
10:30 ひでぇなぁ〜…..
日本の数あるうちの根深い問題
自分の知り合いでも、日本国籍を放棄した方や様々ポヨ…..
まだまだ閉鎖的な国なのかな
あー、もしや、年金の不正な二重受け取りに対する懸念が足枷に⁇ 😅
Yes because it shouldn't be about choice.
I'm an Australian citizen by birth. I am also a British citizen by descent, father and grandfather, and an Irish citizen by descent, grandfather.
If my offer to help Japan's declining population is accepted and our children are born in Japan, they will be citizens of 4 countries by birth and descent. Telling them they must give up 1 of them for an unenforceable law doesn't make any sense when they are automaticlly entitled to all 4.
great interesting and informative video
The problem for those duals with American citizenship however is that the US government will demand tax returns every year as it's based on worldwide earnings, not just on those earned while in the US, and to give up your US citizenship is an almost $2500 task with the State Department.
It would be interesting for me though if I ever become a Japanese Citizen (preparing to move in March of 2024 to the north of Japan) as in my case, it would be three citizenships I would be asked to surrender (American, Canadian, and British), although the American would be the most complicated due to the extreme cost.
This is SUCH an important issue ! Thank you SO much for highlighting this problem. All three of my children are half Japanese and they always feel they are treading on thin ice with the passport issue. My kids LOVE Japan, speak Japanese, and will likely be living in Japan sometime in the future. With Japan’s plummeting birth rate, I think the government must step up to the plate and make the necessary changes to allow Japanese back INTO the country if they so choose. I think they should be ENCOURAGING immigration from their OWN NATIONALITY at the very least ! There are also those who have moved overseas and become citizens of other countries for various practical reasons (not the fact that they don’t love their homeland) Many of those (especially in the USA) will be retiring soon and will WANT to move back to Japan for the safety, convenience, and lower cost of living. These retired people (often with higher pensions and financial resources) who want to return to Japan will be bringing much needed economic benefit to the economy and perhaps a different perspective on foreign cultures. There aren’t many downsides to changing the law.
Your children are fine so long as they don't take up another nationality, which still sucks ofc.
I believe your children are natural born dual citizen and as such no "choice" can be determined. Thus your children can not be legally deprived of their Japanese nationality.
They won't have to choose either, that's a myth a lot of officials believe unfortunately.
There is one exception perhaps if the children were co-naturalized by the parents but in that case I'm still positive a lawsuit can be won on the grounds that the parent made the decision for the child and as such the child can't be deprived.
@@aniinnrchoque1861 I'm afraid you are technically wrong. If the kids live outside japan and want to extend their Japanese passport at the Japanese consulate in that country they will be asked for their residence permit. If you can't provide any because you are staying in that country with another Nationality they will not renew your Japanese passport if their are older than 20. I know that, because it's what happened to my 11 yo son last month. We are planning to review the Japanese passport in Japan in the future (it's cheaper anyway).
We're in the exact same situation! (kids are 7,8 and 11) We are living in the EU and so far we try to go to Japan every summer. Perhaps we are going to try to extend the J-pasport at the Shiyakusho in Japan. There they should not ask for a residence permit to proof they are only Japanese.
@@ianbrass9251 unfortunately they are a pain in the ass and they follow protocols (even if the protocols may not be strictly legal).
I think for them it's easier to reject than assess the case properly to check entitlement. Imo if an official wrongfully rejects usually consequences are mild from a reprimand to disciplinary action, but if an official wrongfully approves said person will probably be terminated.
Again in that case the unfortunate reality is to try elsewhere or lawyer up in a worst case.
Doing it in Japan sounds reasonable.
Yeah, immigration is working out so well in the West, let's wish Japan destroy itself the same way as the West. F off.
４分までしか見てないけど何が問題なのかわからない。他国に帰化したって事は基本的にその国に住み続けるって事でしょ。親の最後を見届けるのも観光ビザなり何かしらのビザを取得してくればいいだけで。移住して帰化までしたんなら日本のパスポートはもういらんでしょう。
Dear Mr. Nobita (i'm sorry if i got your name wrong), thank you for making this video. I'm really worried about my half-japanese son. My country also only allows one citizenship like Japan, and even the prices for foreigners and citizens are different here for many things.. He also have autism and can't speak yet. How can he and we choose.. I feel sad if he's not acknowledged by either country.. I wish he will not have identity crisis, countries crisis, financial crisis, etc...
6:00 the woman talking about Japanese thinking foreigners don't speak Japanese more often again is TRUE. While borders were closed, Japanese recognized that foreigners in Japan should have at least a decent conversational level because tourists are out.
Since borders re-opened, especially since this SAKURA SEASON, the old way "does not konw our language" thinking is back. THE VERY SAME STAFF at restaurants and shops I frequent and who would greet me in Japanese the past years tried to speak English to me during Golden Week. I asked them why they would assume I do not speak Japanese they would find out either way if I request English PLUS they know me for many years. Their reaction? Sou desu ne.
You said it right. I'm encouraging my kids to keep both of their passports. They and my wife (Japanese) know that law, too. The only situation maybe if they were to go into a government job in Japan, which is highly unlikely for them. They think government jobs are boring.
If you become a naturalized citizen of another country, just follow the law by applying for a visitor visa to Japan like every other foreigner. Problem solved. How is that a constitutional violation?
Visa applications cost money and they don't last long. And if you're denied, you can be deported. Acquiring citizenship is one of the best ways to extend your stay in a foreign country. But it's a big inconvenience if you lose citizenship from your home country.
great video
Yeah, one of my friends had dual Japan/USA citizenship for most of his life. I think more recently it became problematic, and he was living in Japan at the time, so he just has a Japanese Passport presently, but he used to have both American and Japanese Passports.
He still travels to the USA on occasion and his mom and brother live in California most of the time, but they have always travelled back and forth as long as I have known them since the early 1990s.
Just old men being irrational & stubborn. It's painfully clear there's no real downside, not to mention the fact that even if it was legal, it would still present a very small part of the population.
I actually have Chilean & Belgian Nationality (Chilean born, but lived 99% of my life in Belgium), here's the funny thing as far as both countries are concerned: if I have kids, I pass on both nationalities. I don't think it's right to force somebody to forget or even forfeit their nationality, you should embrace diffirent cultures, it's just not right to forget your origins.
So cool to hear UA making music freely with Nakamura Kaho and Kimishima Ohzora
I'm half japanese and half american, and what I've had to come to terms with grow up is I'm seen as a foreigner everywhere I go, or I'm presumed to be a local of a culture that I have no association with. In Japan I'm treated a little differently because I'm ambiguous enough, but in the US I grew up in a white suburb so there I was always the asian/japanese kid.
I definitely don't look white, but ethnically I look ambiguous enough to be a variety of different ethnicities. When people talk about identity politics, most of them have no idea what it really feels like to just be different from everyone on such a fundamental level.
In a lot of ways I wish I grew up in Japan just because mentally I enjoy the homogeny a lot more, but the US really does allow for some of the best life opportunities for someone who is not ethnically white.
No worries, i feel u. I look VERY white but am half japanese. in japan im not japanese, and in my country of reisdence i am not either and hear i cant be japanese. LOL i can pass as somehwat russian (according to ppl) but i have super fair skin and deep set white eyes with a super baby face so wont get taken seriously despite my 30+ years. i grew up and went to school in japan so my cultural background isn twhite and it shows here and there. i shall accept i will never belong in japan or in my second country and that is ok.
I am yet to meet osmebody who is halfu like myself and looks whiter than me. so far, most look somehwat asian or ambigiouis or japanese. i drew the shorter stick. if i only looked more japanese, than the problem wouldn't exist. i dare say i have it more difficult than you. haha So cheer up! I enjoy the homogeny but i am too different. my only consolation is the fact that this is the future and we're a bit early.
@@vitwild323 Frankly, I don't think looking more Japanese or looking more White is the deciding factor.
The famous/popular Yokozuna Taiho was half-Ukrainian, Murofushi Koji is half-Romanian, Tamaki Denny and Onoda Kimi are half-American, Masai Maya is half-Mexican, Takigawa Christel is half-French, Shirota Yu is half-Spaniard, Haruka Christine is half-Swiss...there are plenty of half-Japanese people who are successful in Japan.
So the real question is why are some half-Japanese people accepted into Japanese society, but some are not. And the answer is not appearance.
A lot of countries take the dual nationality as treason specifically for those born in their countries but leaving them just to apply for another status elsewhere. As for kids born with two nationality that's being too hard but yet again I'm not surprised by the Japanese government who's not looking to take case by case the issues. The goal here is to discourage people to mix, leave the country or create headaches coming back to your country with dual citizenship.
Japan is not an exception a lot of countries do that.
私は日本で産まれ日本で育った日本人です。当然日本国籍しかありませんので、二つの国籍を持っている人の気持ちは全く分かりません。何故二重国籍に拘るのですか？国籍が１つになる事がMottainaiのですか？日本国籍が無くなるとアイデンティティもなくなるのですか？メインの税金を納めているところの国籍にしたら良いんじゃないですか？日本のパスポートは世界一だから手放したくないのですか？ 母国の国籍が無くなる事に拘るならば、日本の永住権を取得すればと思います。 外国の方々が「日本は世界基準と違う」と言いますが、日本は2683年前からずっと日本であって独自の文化・伝統を残しています。これからも日本の文化・伝統を子々孫々に残す事が我々の務めです。外国の人達にそれらを壊されたくないので、尊重してください。
I was born in Japan from a Japanese mother and French father and at the age of ~5, I went to France and lived there for almost 20 years. Nobody ever asked me anything even though i knew about this "law"/ "rule". Even when going to the Japanese embassy to renew my Japanese passport after my 20s, the Japanese officials of the Japanese embassy in France didn't ask me anything particular because they know in France every double−nationality person keep both their French/Japanese citizenship. You cannot lose your French nationality unless you're a convicted terrorist or something.
Even though i had to choose, I will choose Japanese since I know how it is hard to get. In France, they don't even bother trying to do something over illegal criminal immigrants. So I know I will never risk anything in France without French passport.
In Japan it is illegal to have dual nationality and that is a fact. I have been living in the U.S. for almost 25 years with a green card and have no plan to violate Japanese law by getting a U.S. passport. Should Japan allow dual citizenship? At this point I don't care. It does not much matter to me any longer. I wanted it that way years ago though, in order to be able to apply federal jobs, city jobs, etc., but other than that I don't(didn't) have any reason to become a U.S. citizen. I don't vote because I have no interest in politics. I am Japanese and will be Japanese for the rest of my life, and I will not break Japan's law. It is that simple to me.
Having two passport from different countries under your name can cause issues, but that doesn’t mean it’s banned. It’s just a grey area. Australia does permit Dual Citizenship, however regarding to the rules is I don’t know.
Fun fact, if you’re a NewZealand Citizen then you can work & live in Australia without having to apply for Working visa or a tourist visa. however, if you’re NZ permanent residency it does require you to apply for a visa.
Spouse visa / PR is pretty much the only way to prevent you from forfeiting your passport. However, applying for citizenship for that country does require you to forfeit.
In a mature society it isn't who you are... In the business and social aspect, it is what you are.
Having multiple citizenships is a real privilege though. A greedy person would try to get citizenships in multiple rich countries.
I am german, my husband japanese. Right now i am pregnant, but at the very beginning. In Germany its possible to have two nationalities. I would wish that our child gets both and can choose later what he/she wants. Also because he/she has then the option go easy to a german Univertsity (cheaper than in Japan). This video was very good. I learned now, that at a job interview it would be better to only mention the japanese one ... 😅
Important message to the American/Japanese couple at the end:
America will always grant American nationality and passport renewal if at least one parent is american or they were born on american soil. America does not care one bit about if the child chooses to be Japanese according to Japanese laws.
It might be advantageous to think about what choice would be best. The child could potentially choose to be Japanese in Japan and STILL get an american nationality while they are in America.
Because USA is the dominant global superpower by taking advantage at other societies. US government hold the last decision right on global economic/financially/military. That's why USA standard can't impose/suitable for other societies which having different obstacles
Thank you for making that clear. People around me sometimes ask me like, ‘so which are your kids going to choose?’ And I have always been feeling somewhat guilty for saying they don’t really have to choose one or the other. It’s difficult to keep believing that it is ok when everyone else thinks that’s not ok.
Yeah this is not always the case. My brother has dual US and Japanese citizenship. His son has Philippines and Japanese citizenship. When we went to the US consulate to apply for his US passport. The state department said that in order to obtain US citizenship for the kid the dad has to prove that he has lived in the US for over 7 years and that 2 of those years must be over the age of 14. Even though my brother has an American birth certificate and US passport this is not enough to grant citizenship since the child was born outside the US. I told the state department that this is BS because the constitutional amendment says otherwise but the US embassy in Tokyo was having none of it.
@@ass4sale2 Probably would have worked with only 2 nationalities. I barely heard anyone in the US getting away with having more than 2. The son most likely have to give up either the Philippines or Japanese one. Just give up the Philippines one. The US has an RA law for that and there is a way for him to still be a dual citizenship in the Philippines if at least one parent is born/can prove to be Filipino. There is a specific paper that is granted that he can show whenever they go to the Philippines. Just make sure to keep the revoked Philippine passport and the birth certificate just in case. The biggest problem here is really Japan. Try the Japanese consulate in the US.
@@bmona7550 we tried the US embassy in Tokyo. They won't issue the citizenship because my brother has lived outside the US for the majority of his life. The embassy said if we can provide proof that he lived in the US for 2 years over the age of 14 he is good. The problem is we can't prove that because he has been living in Japan since the age of 15. I have never heard of this but an immigration lawyer said the same thing.
I think for national security and bureaucracy purposes there should be only one nationality, maybe with some changes for more flexible PR status. One can only spend the majority of their productive time in one country or the other anyway; especially if one has a family. The other citizenship/passport is mostly for convenience. Citizenship should be a privilege, not a right, and only productive persons should be privileged to be citizens.
However, legal nationality should not have any bearing on how people are being treated in everyday life or at work. The society on the street should do more to adapt to not see people as Nihonjin or Gaijin with differing treatments purely based on legal status. In the public mentality, there should be a separation between legal acceptance and social acceptance.
I wish the USA would abolish dual citizenship. That way Americans can take up another citizenship and be done with U.S citizenship free and clear. It's actually very expensive and difficult to renounce U.S citizenship.
相手国の条件以外で日本との二重国籍持てないのは出生時から日本国籍のみの人だけって事を理解していない日本人が主でそういう人達が何故か反対してるよね。河野氏が提案しているように法改正した上で認めて欲しい。ちなみに片方の親が他国籍による二重の子供の場合放っておいても日本の戸籍がそのままで残るってのを最近確認した。
Unless the restrictions by other nationals prevent it, the only people who cannot hold dual nationality are those who held Japanese nationality alone from birth. Vast majority of Japanese people are not aware of this and are against law changes to allow dual nationality for the fear of foreign nationals obtaining dual with Japanese.nationality (though that's happening already). On another note, for children with Japanese and foreign national parents holding dual nationality, I recently learned that their Koseki is intact even if no action is taken.
二重国籍を禁止するために国籍法を過去に改正した。日系3世ぐらいになると、日本語・日本文化に触れる機会も少なく、日本人として扱うのは限りなく難しい。血統主義を採用してる以上、二重国籍を持った人の子供も日本国籍を得る事ができる。そういう人々に日本国籍を付与する事のデメリットもあるので、おそらく日本社会は認めないと思う。一方で、イギリスのようにBritish National Overseasのような別の日系人専用の戸籍・パスポートを創るのは一つの解決法ではある。
Interesting. But her case may not be a good example of discussing "dual nationality". Whether we agree or not, whether the Japanese government controls it or not, the law says that dual nationality is not allowed. Right? She might have thought that she could renew her passport because nobody checks if she has a US passport.... First of all, if you are living abroad (everywhere you are actually), you must handle matters of immigration, tax, and local social benefit rules properly and carefully before following your own imaginary rules. Otherwise, you may break the law or even commit a crime without knowing its consequences. I believe it is possible to start discussions and bring in new ideas without having problems.
There's obviously a different concept of nationality for different folks. Traditionally, nationality was way simpler in the past where it is strongly tied to a tribe. In that tribe for hundred of years, without interference from outsiders and interaction with other tribes, people from a single tribe after a long time will eventually look similar in terms of physical appearance, adopt the same culture and language etc. However this changes in the modern world due to globalization, people move from one country to another, people starts to take up nationality not because they belong to a tribe but for many other reasons such as economic reasons. It becomes more complicated.
Perhaps it now becomes which system of ethics and justice one prefers when choosing their national loyalty.
A friend of mine is Japanese and she's been living in Atlanta since the year 2000. She has a family there now. She's married with a US guy and has 2 daughters..and she's still with a green card, as she can't get the US nationality or she won't be recognized as Japanese citizen anymore. Her dauhters are US citizens but speak fluent Japanese...but can't ask for Japanese nationality. I find that quite narrow minded, for the Japanese government..
Opportunist arise during peace time (looking for benefits from multiple societies). They flee when critical time comes such as war/economic collapse/natural disasters
Lessons learned during covid pandemic😅
A nationality is a privilege given by & protected by a nation. For the nationality privilege to exist, the nation must exist. When you have a dual nationality, you have an extra options as well. The option is when a problem arises to the nation that makes you uncomfortable, you can just leave to the other nation you have the nationality, instead of stuck in the current nation to help solve the problem. A nationality is a privilege. If you have a dual nationality, you have 2 privileges and an extra privilege that makes you able to pick which to stay at your convenience. For this reason, I oppose the dual nationality. Just forfeiting one privilege doesn't make you less of a person. You just lose the convenience the most of others don't have. That's all. But I guess the privileges are invisible to those who have them. ;p
多くの知人がここ5〜10年の間にアメリカの国籍を取得して、何の問題もなく、アメリカに住んだり日本に住んだりしています。銀行口座も問題なく開設出来、日本人に対しては、日本の銀行からアメリカの税務署に連絡も行かないので、日本での収入や日本の銀行口座などに対しては、IRSは把握をしていないと思います。対して、VISA waiver Programが始まる前に、合衆国市民権を取った人達は、日本の国籍を放棄する様にと大使館から書類が送られて来て、それに同意、署名しないと日本入国許可がおりませんでした。法律は平等であるべきで、両方の国籍をもっていて、両方の国から恩恵を受けて要る人達と、日本に居住する際、非常に面倒な手続きなどをしなくては、ならない人達がいるのは不平等極まりないと思います。
When I took Japanese in college, my instructors had a *very* hard time comprehending the fact that I am a citizen of the UK and USA, and how to articulate that in Japanese.
I just want to comment about American teacher who said Japanese is the only saying “I want to go to America to speaks to the foreigners, no you are the foreigner” No it’s not true that only Japanese saying said, because in Egypt people saying the same exactly and many countries consider anyone not from their country is a foreigner and they want to travel 🧳 to meet and speaks to the foreigners.
You can only give your ultimate loyalty to one nation. That might matter in a war and in the times leading up to conflicts.
That like saying I can only love my Dad and I can't love my mom.....
So for those interested - legally speaking you can be a dual citizen as a Japanese if you acquired/held the other citizenship INVOLUNTARILY.
As soon as their is a "choice" in acquiring you forfeit by choosing.
As such ONLY people that were born dual or can't loose their other nationality are able to be legally dual as in both cases the "choice" was not your own.
Shiakusho will hassle you later on ofc but they can't do anything - if they deny you service then while lawyering up is a nuisance it will get you your way in Japan.
This is a big issue for my 6 years old son.
I'm married with Japanese lady and my son has dual citizenship, Thai-Japanese.
Me and my wife live and work mainly in Thailand and visit Japan once or twice in a year.
Enter and leave Japan - Use Japanese passport
Enter and leave Thailand - Use Thai passport.
If one day the immigration asks that what happen with your son passport. There are no other countries' inbound stamps, why is it like that. Waht kind of visa do you use.
If that day comes, my son Japanese citizenship will be so doomed.
He has Thai name and Japanese name, like 2 identities in one person.
Without Thai passport, he can't inherite any of mine, no right as a Thai.
Without Japanese passport, He might have difficulty go back (length of stay and Japanese rights or etc) to Japan or go aboard where the visa restriction is high because Japan passport is more powerful than Thailand passport.
This is really big issue for us.
@@scottyoutube
Thank you for your comments.
We agree with you, totally. That's why my wife doesn't want returning to work or live in Japan. Thailand is more welcome wth foreigner workers. But it is sad that if he has to choose what to abandon in the nearly future.
If so, he is Japanese biologically, but he's not Japanese by laws.
Quiet sad.
While I disagree with the idea of opening up Japanese society - the choice that is given here is rather cruel to those who are children from two cultures. I will say the way that the newer Russian system is implementing may be a model to learn from as dual citizenship / dual nationality is permitted, provided you don't pursue public office or any kind of governmental positions of power, in which case if you choose to do so, you must give up your foreign citizenship. That seems to be the most logical way to go about it - letting people to acquire secondary or tertiary citizenship, provided they don't try to place themselves in any positions of governance as the chance of their loyalties being split is higher.
That said despite all the problems that face Japan both demographically, GDP, societally and inflationary wise - it still is an ideal place for many, my wife and I included, especially when compared to the poverty, crime, violence and ailing infrastructure of just about everywhere we've lived in the united states.
This video is very intresting, I am an Italian with parents from two different country, so I can choose betwee 3 nationalites, I choose the one of the country I born and grow up
There is only one way for a Japanese with dual passport to keep their Japanese passport is to renew it when they are in Japan. When you visit Japan you temporarily register your residence there and renew.
Use your Japanese passport to enter AND LEAVE Japan, and your UK passport to enter UK. Problem solved. No need to put yourself on any reigstry tho u might want to because why not if u are already there.
Similarly, if the Embassy asks what your sttaus is when u viosit the embassyjust say you're on permanent residence or whatever. It's only a problem if you ADMIT you've got a second citizenship. depends on the official tho. i admitted it many times and was just told to not mention it. lol
I have a topic I haven't been able to find much info on. Why so many westerners love Japan's medical care system until they have a major event like a birth, major injury or disease, so they go get medical care in their home country. From what I've read, this advice comes from the doctors themselves or the doctors do just enough to get them out of their office. Is the difference in quality between low-risk and high risk medical care that wide for all citizens, or is this a form of discrimination? I know one thing that is really scary for me, is that they don't really do pain management drugs over there, but I can't confirm this either. A lot of foreigners probably don't think about these things until it's too late and there is not a lot of info on the Internet about why people leave Japan for major medical work, but that's one of my biggest fears is having a health crisis out there if I move over there.
That happens because most of the time the doctors do what's considered in the rest of the planet absolete, you're right about pain management and I can add some crap they said to my father (he lives there)
He must take some medicine to lower his immune system because that´s what making him not really well
私は米国市民に成って10年。米国国籍を選んだ理由は、福祉や給付金を得るため。例えばコロナ給付金では、家族全体で100万円ちかく貰った。永住権だけだったら、これは貰えなかった。日本の国籍を正式に失ったのは、日本の父の遺産相続の手続きの件で。日本の戸籍に米国籍と書かれてないと相続できないと弁護士に言われた。それで仕方なく、日本領事館で、その手続をした。私自身は日本に帰る気も無く、日本のパスポートの申請に、泊りがけでの日本領事館まで出かけるのも大変。殆ど日本には関係が無く死ぬまで米国暮らし。だから米国の国籍取得で正しい判断だった。
貴方みたいな在外日本人が増えれば良いと本当に思います。日本のネガキャンばっかりして都合の良い時だけ自分は日本人であると宣う出羽守が多過ぎます。
Ngl I needed to watch this since I went to Japan back in March I've had the classic American dream of being dual citizen but in reality I know it's not feasible so it's good to know now while I'm young and not when I'm much older
Most Asian countries like Japan have socialised benefits, such that benefits are enjoyed even when you are overseas without paying taxes or can be enjoyed once you land back in Japan.
Given that Japan does not tax overseas residents, it gives the sense that you are "benefitting" from citizenship while paying taxes overseas.
Collective countries tend to be the ones that do not allow dual citizenship, the idea that if you aren't contributing (overseas) then why should we keep you.
While Japan does not really check proactively, some countries that have tax treaty and share tax information with Japan can reveal your status should an audit were to come up.
The country don't just need people as what they need are tax payers. Having the population count through retaining citizenship doesn't really help them, however allowing the citizenship gives the path of people returning back.
interesting
But overseas citizens living abroad are not benefiting from the country's welfare unless they move back, so I don't see why they should pay taxes unless they start living in that country permanently.
@@martiddy Below are non specific to Japan and does not apply to all, just some general policies.
You can fly back and use the non residence's healthcare system and still get subsidise.
You can contribute to national pension/retirement schemes which may give better returns.
Depending on countries, there some might give give welfare payouts or tax rebates.
You can purchase subsidised housing or obtain subsidised loans.
While i understand some can be restricted by law, then some will argue in reverse again about their rights.
I know a child, she is a Spanish-Japanese mix, but she was born in Sweden... She has a Swedish passport and also a Spanish passport, but not a Japanese one... She speaks English, Spanish, and Japanese. She lived as a child in more than another 3 countries. She knows the culture of any of them, and also the Spanish and Japanese cultures... but she chose the Spanish education because it was very difficult for her to receive a Japanese education in her current residence country. She will continue learning Japanese but will be a foreigner when she goes to Japan.
How did she become a Swedes citizen when a country doesn’t grant you citizenship for being born there?
@@jejudo3000 What are you talking about during this year they have given 20,000 citizenships to people. Those born in Sweden receive citizenship.
If certain immigration criteria are met, Portugal, Germany and Sweden grant citizenship to all new born.
That said I hope her parents registered her with the Japanese embassy as a citizen shortly after she was born, otherwise she would have to naturalise by descent and would not be eligible to keep her other nationalities unfortunately.
3:52 "A lot of people didn't know..."
Here in Taiwan, when you're applying for a Taiwanese citizenship, the process literally states to contact your current nationality's consulate to make sure you're informed and/or following the laws of said nation in not only applying for a foreign nationality, but also renouncing your current one. This sounds like all of this could have been prevented with a simple clerical change in text and procedure.
The other problem is, if you're use to being between nations, you would know nationality is only enforceable within or pertaining to dealing with the nation in question. That's true for every nation. A good example is that, there was a woman who gave up her US (or was it UK, I forget) citizenship to join the taliban. When came back and tried to apply for a US citizenship, they denied her. It only affected her when she tried to go back and LIVE in the US. They can't force people to not give up a nationality nor to not apply for a different nationality. That's just not how any of that works. I also think saying that the law is not enforceable is a misnomer. It CAN be enforced and be enforced more strictly. We have household registrations here too. But you can't have one if you're not a citizen. I won't pretend to know if allowing or not allowing dual citizenship in Japan is better or not, but I can say that they can do better if they decide one way or the other. And, in my opinion, it's because they haven't that they're in the position they are now.
Thanks I'm in that category.
I'm half but I only have 1 nationality in Japan which is more weirder lol... the fact that I live in Japan for almost 3 decades now still I cannot have dual lol
No, it's not worth all the problems that come with it. Just keep it how it is. Not every country needs to be open with open borders and everyone living there.
Just because you don't have Open Borders doesn't mean you have to screw over people who legally come in and did all the Paper work to get it. This is Primitive when even third World Countries already have a better system.
With Japan's low birth rates, I'm surprised Japanese descendants don't have it easier to have dual regardless of koseki entry. If you can prove you are Japanese via your parents or relatives koseki, it should be easier to have dual regardless of age. Also, gaijin has only been used in a derogatory way towards me due to a simple misunderstanding of a menu option at a restaurant. I was friendly, but he still cursed me gaijin under his breath and I'm hafu. I would never do that to tourists/foreigners visiting the US (I even worked in the tourism industry).
I’m Japanese and I know why Japanese people try talking to people from overseas in English, broken or not. They are trying to be polite, not to be cold or rude.
良いとこどりなんて許されるわけないだろ。
I had to renounce Japanese citizenship when I took up Australian one. My daughter still has 2 until she turns 21 (2 years away).
was it worth it? are your ancestors smiling upon you?
@@terrenceroll3848 I have no intention of ever living in Japan and my parents encouraged me to take it up. Pleasing my parents is more important to me than pleasing dead people.
@Scott C. Wrong again! Why are you constantly telling people in the comment section to choose the US citizenship over other citizenships when the US citizenship is one of the worse? It is a double tax nightmare. The US citizenship has zero benefits.
A good gardener does not dig up their flowers to see if the roots have taken hold.
We are not on the age of samurai. Japanese should accept reality that a human can be having a dual citizenship.