Foreign-born Japanese
Encyclopedia
A is a Japanese person of foreign descent or heritage, who was born outside Japan
and later acquired Japanese citizenship
. This category encompasses persons of both Japanese and non-Japanese descent. The former subcategory is considered because of intricacies of national and international laws regarding the citizenship of newborn persons.
Many who naturalize
as Japanese also adopt a Japanese name
, as names must be chosen from a list of approved kanji. Chinese or Koreans with kanji-character names may or may not have problems in this regard.
No law forbids a foreign-born Japanese to be elected as a member of Diet
(as Marutei Tsurunen
in fact became one). Theoretically, therefore, a foreign-born Japanese can become the Prime Minister of Japan
.
Probably because of the difficulty in gaining citizenship and because of cultural difference, foreign-born Japanese people account for a very small percentage of the population in Japan. Many who were born and live in Japan permanently, particularly Korean and Chinese
, tend to maintain their citizenship. There has been a constant discussion among the government and lawmakers whether to expand their rights of permanent residence
to include provisions such as the right to vote in elections, etc. Few statistics are kept on how many Chinese and Koreans have naturalized, as such statistics are not maintained by the Japanese government. Once such a person naturalizes, they are, for all intents and purposes under the law, Japanese.
The Japanese jus sanguinis
policy contrasts with other countries, such as in Canada
and the United States
where people born natively (under jus solis) acquire citizenship on birth.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and later acquired Japanese citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
. This category encompasses persons of both Japanese and non-Japanese descent. The former subcategory is considered because of intricacies of national and international laws regarding the citizenship of newborn persons.
Legal issues
By Japanese laws, adult persons generally cannot hold both foreign citizenship and Japanese citizenship (dual nationality):- those who have acquired dual nationality before age 20 must choose a single nationality before reaching age 22.
- those who have acquired dual nationality after age 20 must choose a single nationality in 2 years.
Many who naturalize
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
as Japanese also adopt a Japanese name
Japanese name
in modern times usually consist of a family name , followed by a given name. "Middle names" are not generally used.Japanese names are usually written in kanji, which are characters of usually Chinese origin in Japanese pronunciation...
, as names must be chosen from a list of approved kanji. Chinese or Koreans with kanji-character names may or may not have problems in this regard.
No law forbids a foreign-born Japanese to be elected as a member of Diet
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
(as Marutei Tsurunen
Marutei Tsurunen
is the first foreign-born Japanese of European origin serving as a member of the Diet of Japan. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, where he serves as Director General of the International Department. He is currently serving in the House of Councillors.- Biography :Tsurunen was born...
in fact became one). Theoretically, therefore, a foreign-born Japanese can become the Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
.
Probably because of the difficulty in gaining citizenship and because of cultural difference, foreign-born Japanese people account for a very small percentage of the population in Japan. Many who were born and live in Japan permanently, particularly Korean and Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, tend to maintain their citizenship. There has been a constant discussion among the government and lawmakers whether to expand their rights of permanent residence
Permanent residence
Permanent residence may refer to:* Permanent Residence * Permanent residence * Permanent residency* Permanent resident...
to include provisions such as the right to vote in elections, etc. Few statistics are kept on how many Chinese and Koreans have naturalized, as such statistics are not maintained by the Japanese government. Once such a person naturalizes, they are, for all intents and purposes under the law, Japanese.
The Japanese jus sanguinis
Jus sanguinis
Ius sanguinis is a social policy by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by having a parent who are citizens of the nation...
policy contrasts with other countries, such as in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where people born natively (under jus solis) acquire citizenship on birth.
Japanese by naturalization
- Akebono TaroAkebono Tarois a retired American born-Japanese sumo wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining the professional sport in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian sumo wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, reaching the top division in 1990...
(b. Chad Rowan), sumo wrestler - Debito Arudou (b. David Aldwinckle), English teacher, activist and author
- Chen KenminChen KenminChen Kenmin was a Japanese chef of Chinese origin, also known as the father of Chen Kenichi, the Iron Chef Chinese on the television show Iron Chef....
, TV chef - Sergio Ariel EscuderoSergio Ariel Escuderois a naturalized Japanese football player. Currently plays for Urawa Red Diamonds.-Biography:He was born to Argentine parents of Spanish descent in Spain, and thus held dual Argentine and Spanish citizenship. In 2007, he acquired Japanese citizenship automatically as a result of his father's...
, football player - Ofer FeldmanOfer FeldmanOfer Feldman Ofer Feldman Ofer Feldman (オフェル・フェルドマン）(born 1954) is a Professor of Political Psychology and Political Behavior at Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan.Ofer Feldman was born in Israel in 1954 and moved to Japan in 1982. In 1994 he became a Japanese citizen. He received his Ph.D. degree...
, scholar of Japanese political psychology - Akira FujimotoAkira Fujimotois president of Integra Incorporated, a Japanese software company producing visual computing systems which he founded in 1986. Born in Poland as Wiesław Romanowski, he became a Japanese citizen....
(b. Wiesław Romanowski), president of a Japanese software company - Benjamin FulfordBenjamin FulfordBenjamin Fulford is a journalist living in Japan.He is the great-grandson of George Taylor Fulford.In the early 1980s he went to Japan to study at Sophia University. After receiving a B.A. from the University of British Columbia, he returned to Japan in the mid-1980s to pursue a career in...
, journalist. Former Asian station chief of ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
. - Dido HavenaarDido HavenaarDido Havenaar is a retired Dutch-Japanese footballer. He is a former goalkeeper who played in the Japan Soccer League and the J. League Division 1....
, football player - Mike HavenaarMike Havenaaris a Japanese professional footballer of Dutch descent. He currently plays as a striker for J. League Division 1 club Ventforet Kofu. Havenaar speaks Japanese, Dutch and English.- Early life :...
, football player - Hoshitango ImachiHoshitango Imachiis a former professional sumo wrestler from Buenos Aires, Argentina. His highest rank was Jūryō 3.-Career:A former swimming instructor, Salomon joined Michinoku stable in May 1987. He was the first Jew in professional sumo. He was given the shikona of Hoshitango, with "Hoshi" a common prefix in...
, sumo wrestler - Koizumi Yakumo (b. Lafcadio HearnLafcadio HearnPatrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things...
), Meiji-era author - Konishiki YasokichiKonishiki Yasokichi----, is a Hawaiian-born Japanese–Samoan former sumo wrestler. He was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach ozeki, the second highest rank in the sport...
(b. Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e), sumo wrestler - Wagner LopesWagner LopesWagner Lopes is a former Japanese footballer. The striker was born in Brazil, and is a naturalised Japanese citizen....
(b. Wagner Augusto Lopes), football player - Miura Anjin (b. William AdamsWilliam Adams (sailor)William Adams , also known in Japanese as Anjin-sama and Miura Anjin , was an English navigator who travelled to Japan and is believed to be the first Englishman ever to reach that country...
), Edo-era mariner - Erikson NoguchipintoErikson NoguchipintoErikson Noguchipinto formerly name ; Erikson Frank Noguchi Pinto is a Brazilian-Japanese footballer. He moved to Japan at age 10 and obtained his Japanese citizenship in 2003....
, football player - Bobby OlogunBobby OlogunBobby Ologun is a Nigerian-born TV personality in Japan, and a mixed martial artist. In Japan, he is known simply as . He speaks English, Yoruba and Japanese. He currently lives in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture...
, TV talent - Ruy RamosRuy Ramos, formerly Ruy Gonçalves Ramos Sobrinho , is a Brazilian-born football player, who became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 1989. He was one of the first foreign players in Japanese professional soccer, joining Yomiuri in 1977 at the age of 20...
(b. Ruy Gonçalves Ramos Sobrinho), soccer player - RikidōzanRikidozan, better known as Rikidōzan , was a Korean Japanese professional wrestler, known as the "Father of Puroresu" and one of the most influential men in wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a sumo wrestler...
(b. Kim Sin-Nak), wrestler - J. R. Sakuragi (b. Milton "J.R." Henderson), basketball player
- Ademir SantosAdemir SantosAdemir Santos is a retired Brazilian-Japanese footballer. He moved to Japan at age 16 to complete his high school studies and obtained his Japanese citizenship in 1995...
, football player - Alessandro SantosAlessandro dos Santos, formerly name ; Alessandro dos Santos , born July 20, 1977 in Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, and often known as Alex, is a Brazilian Japanese football player who plays for Nagoya Grampus.-Career:...
(b. Alessandro dos Santos), football player - Marcos SugiyamaMarcos SugiyamaMarcos Sugiyama is a Brazilian-Japanese volleyball player who currently plays for Suntory Sunbirds. In 2003 he obtained his Japanese citizenship. His father Carlos Esteves is the first black player to play in Japan Soccer League, and his mother is Japanese.-References:...
, volleyball player - Takamiyama DaigoroTakamiyama DaigoroTakamiyama Daigorō 高見山大五郎 is a former sumo wrestler, the first foreign born rikishi to win the top division championship . His highest rank was sekiwake...
, (b. Jesse James Wailani Kuhaulua), sumo wrestler - Marutei TsurunenMarutei Tsurunenis the first foreign-born Japanese of European origin serving as a member of the Diet of Japan. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, where he serves as Director General of the International Department. He is currently serving in the House of Councillors.- Biography :Tsurunen was born...
(b. Martti Turunen), politician - Batara EtoBatara Eto, formerly known as Batara Kesuma, is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of mixi, a Japanese social networking site.He was born 1979 in Medan, Indonesia...
, co-founder of mixiMiximixi, Inc. is one of several social networking websites in Japan, founded in 2004. As of May 2008, mixi had over 21.6 million users and an 80% share of the social networking market in Japan...
Japanese born abroad
- Alberto FujimoriAlberto FujimoriAlberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
, former president of PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... - Takeshi KaneshiroTakeshi KaneshiroTakeshi Kaneshiro , born October 11, 1973, is a Taiwan-born Japanese actor and singer.-Name:...
, actor - Hikaru Utada, singer
- Luiz GushikenLuiz GushikenLuiz Gushiken is a Brazilian activist and politician. He was formerly the head of the social communication office of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration, a position which carried a ministerial rank....
- Children of the Japanese abducted to North KoreaNorth Korean abductions of JapaneseThe abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government happened during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. Although only 17 Japanese are officially recognized by the Japanese government as having been abducted, there may have been as many as 70 to 80...
during the 1970s-80s. Although the children had Korean names at birth, they were registered as Japanese and given Japanese names when they arrived in Japan along with their returning parents.
See also
- Ethnic issues in JapanEthnic issues in Japan- Demographic :About 1.6% of Japan's total legal resident population are foreign nationals. Of these, according to 2008 data from the Japanese government, the principal groups are as follows....
- DekasegiDekasegiDekasegi is a term used in Latin American cultures to refer to ethnic Japanese people who have migrated to Japan, having taken advantage of Japanese citizenship or nisei visa and immigration laws to escape from economic instability in South America...