How to get Japanese citizenship: 2026 naturalization

If you want to know how to get Japanese citizenship as an adult foreign resident, there is one route: naturalisation (帰化, kika). You apply to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) through your local Legal Affairs Bureau, and the Minister of Justice decides. There is no test you can simply pass, no points table and no fee, but the process is long and personal, and you give up your current nationality at the end.

This guide covers the legal conditions, the extra expectations MOJ now states on its own pages, the relaxed rules for spouses of Japanese nationals, the step-by-step process, how long it takes and what happens after approval. It also compares Japanese naturalization (the American spelling you will often see) with permanent residency. Everything was checked against MOJ, Legal Affairs Bureau and Immigration Services Agency (ISA) pages and the law itself on 31 October 2026.

Japan naturalization requirements in the law

Article 5 of the Nationality Act sets six minimum conditions. MOJ's nationality Q&A explains each one:

Residence: you have lived in Japan continuously for 5 years or more up to the time you apply, and your residence was lawful, meaning you held a valid status of residence.
Age: you are 18 or older and an adult under the law of your home country too. (The age was 20 until 1 April 2022.)
Good conduct: MOJ looks at your criminal record, your tax payments and any trouble you have caused others, judged by the standard of an ordinary person.
Ability to make a living: you can support yourself in Japan. This is judged for the household, so a spouse's or relative's income and assets count even if you have no income yourself.
Giving up your nationality: you have no nationality, or you will lose your current one by becoming Japanese. There is an exception when you cannot lose your nationality by your own choice.
Respect for the constitution: you have never planned or supported the violent overthrow of the Japanese government, or joined a group that does.

MOJ is clear that meeting all six does not mean you will be approved. They are the minimum.

The part many older guides miss. MOJ's Q&A and the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau page (updated 1 April 2026) now add that you must be integrated into Japanese society, for example by having enough Japanese for daily life (speaking, reading and writing) and by having lived in Japan for 10 years or more. So while the law says 5 years, plan around 10 unless one of the relaxed rules below applies to you.

Relaxed conditions for spouses and people with ties to Japan

Articles 6 to 8 of the Nationality Act relax some conditions for people with a special connection to Japan. The ones most foreign residents ask about:

Spouse of a Japanese national (Article 7): if you have lived in Japan for 3 years or more and live here now, the 5-year residence and age conditions do not apply. The same goes if it has been 3 years since your marriage and you have lived in Japan for 1 year or more. Most people in this group are living here on the spouse visa first; our Japan spouse visa guide covers that status.
Born in Japan (Article 6): if you were born in Japan and have lived here for 3 years or more, or one of your parents was born in Japan, the 5-year residence condition does not apply.
10 years in Japan (Article 6): someone who has had a place of residence in Japan for 10 years or more is also exempt from the 5-year residence condition.
Child of a Japanese national (Article 8): the residence, age and livelihood conditions do not apply to a child (not adopted) of a Japanese national who lives in Japan, among others.

Whichever rule applies to you, the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau notes that your residence must be lawful, meaning you need a valid status of residence. Our residence card renewal guide explains the renewal window.

How to get Japanese citizenship, step by step

The exact steps vary by bureau and by person. This is the flow the Mito District Legal Affairs Bureau publishes as an example:

Book a consultation. Naturalisation consultations are by appointment only. The Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau asks you to phone the bureau that covers your address. Bring the naturalisation consultation questionnaire (帰化相談質問票) filled in.
First consultation (about 1.5 hours in Mito): staff ask about your nationality, family and job. If you appear to meet the conditions, they tell you which documents to get from your home country.
Second consultation (about 1.5 hours): once you have the home country documents, they explain the Japanese documents and how to fill in the forms.
Filing (about 1 hour): when everything is ready, you sign the application in front of the staff member. You must go in person. For an applicant under 15, a legal representative such as a parent applies.
Interview (about 1 hour): about 2 to 3 months after filing, staff talk with you and your spouse about anything the documents did not answer.
Renouncing your nationality: if your home country lets you give up its nationality before naturalising in Japan, the bureau tells you how. This is handled by phone and post.
Decision: the bureau contacts you with the result.

The documents

MOJ lists the main documents: the application form with your photo, a summary of your relatives, a statement of your reasons for naturalising (帰化の動機書, kika no dōkisho), a personal history, a summary of your household finances, a summary of your business if you run one, your residence record (jūminhyō), and proof of nationality, family relationships, tax payments and income. Proof of nationality and family relationships must in principle be issued by your home country's authorities.

Two details from the Tokyo bureau's page: you usually submit everything in 2 sets (one original and one copy), and the statement of reasons must be handwritten by you. A computer-written or ghost-written statement is not accepted. The full list depends on your nationality, family and job, so you get your own list at the consultation.

Japanese language

MOJ's pages do not name a test or a level for naturalisation. What they say is that you need enough Japanese for daily life, in conversation and in reading and writing. You will speak with bureau staff at the consultations and interview, and you must handwrite your statement of reasons. Treat that as the practical bar.

How long does Japanese naturalization take?

MOJ's online procedure page for the naturalisation application says there is no standard processing period. The Mito District Legal Affairs Bureau says the process takes at least about 1.5 years from the first consultation to the decision.

The same MOJ page confirms there is no fee for the application.

How many people are approved?

MOJ's statistics for 2025 show 14,103 applicants, 9,258 people granted Japanese citizenship and 666 refused. In 2024 the numbers were 12,248 applicants, 8,863 granted and 639 refused. The largest groups granted in 2025 were people from China (3,533), Korea (2,017) and Nepal (695). Applications and decisions in the same year are not the same group of people, so dividing one number by another does not give a true approval rate.

After approval

Official gazette: approval is announced in the official gazette (kanpō), and you become Japanese from the day of that announcement. In Mito, the bureau also gives you an identity certificate when you are approved.
Register within 1 month: under the Family Register Act, you must file a naturalisation notification (帰化届, kika todoke) within 1 month of the announcement. This creates your own Japanese family register.
Return your residence card: once you are no longer a foreign resident, your residence card stops being valid. ISA says you must return it within 14 days, at a regional immigration office or by post. Not returning it can lead to a fine.
Your old nationality: the law requires that you lose it. If you have not already renounced it, follow the steps your home country requires and the bureau's guidance.

Keep in mind the rule also applies after you become Japanese: MOJ's Q&A says that a Japanese national who gets another nationality by their own choice automatically loses Japanese nationality.

Naturalisation or permanent residency?

Many people weigh Japanese citizenship against permanent residency (PR). The key differences, from official pages:

Nationality: PR lets you keep your nationality. Naturalisation requires you to give it up.
Residence: ISA's PR guidelines (revised 1 October 2026) look for, in principle, 10 years of continuous residence, including 5 years on a work or residence-based status. The law for naturalisation says 5 years, but MOJ also mentions 10.
Cost: since 1 October 2026 a PR approval at the counter costs ¥200,000. Naturalisation has no fee.
Status: a permanent resident still has a residence card and can lose the status. A naturalised person is a Japanese citizen with a family register.

Our permanent residency guide covers PR in detail, including the revocation rule that starts in April 2027.

Naturalisation runs on your record: years of lawful residence, tax payments (see our residence tax guide), and residence card renewals on time. Daruma tracks those personal deadlines, scans the Japanese letters and certificates you collect into plain English, and tells you which office handles each document and what to bring, so gaps do not appear in the history the bureau will read.

Useful Japanese

帰化 (kika): naturalisation
帰化許可申請 (kika kyoka shinsei): application for permission to naturalise
法務局 (hōmukyoku): Legal Affairs Bureau
帰化の動機書 (kika no dōkisho): statement of reasons for naturalising
帰化届 (kika todoke): naturalisation notification at the city office

Where to confirm this

Guides are dated rather than undated: last reviewed 31 October 2026. This is an organisational aid, not legal or immigration advice — always confirm anything consequential with your ward office, the Immigration Services Agency, or a qualified professional.