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Citizenship · 帰化の条件

Naturalization requirements in Japan: all conditions for 2026

What the Ministry of Justice checks: how long and how continuously you have lived in Japan, age, conduct, taxes and contributions, income, Japanese and giving up your current nationality — by law and as the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局) applies it after the change of 1 April 2026.

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Process and documents

Checked against the Ministry of Justice of Japan on 7 October 2026 · Japanese citizenship

Conditions7

Residence from 1 April 202610 years in principle

Resident tax checked5 years

Pension and insurance checked2 years

Nationality Act, Article 5

Six conditions in the law, and a seventh from the Ministry

The Minister of Justice may permit naturalization only for people who meet every condition of Article 5 of the Nationality Act (国籍法). Meeting them does not guarantee permission: they are the minimum, and the decision is the Minister’s.

No. Condition in Article 5 What it means in practice
1 Continuous residence in Japan for 5 years or more Since 1 April 2026 the Ministry in principle expects 10 years (see below)
2 Age 18 or older and of legal age under the law of your country Children apply with their parents
3 Good conduct (素行善良) No criminal record, no immigration violations, no unpaid taxes or contributions; few traffic violations
4 Able to make a living On your own income or that of the family you share a budget with
5 No nationality, or losing it on becoming Japanese Giving up your current nationality; an exception if your country will not release you
6 Never planned or supported overthrowing the Constitution by force A formality for most people
+ “Integration into Japanese society” Japanese for daily life and, in principle, 10 years in Japan — a Ministry requirement, not the law

Condition 1

Residence: 5 years by law, in principle 10 since 2026

By law — 5 years in a row with your home address (住所) in Japan. You must live there legally, on a valid status: time without a status does not count. In practice since 1 April 2026 the Ministry, under the requirement of “integration into society”, in principle expects at least 10 years in Japan. Formally this is the Minister’s discretion, decided case by case: exceptions are possible, but the criteria are not published.

Continuity. The Ministry publishes no figures. Administrative scriveners agree on these guides:

  • A single trip abroad of 3 months (about 90 days) or more usually breaks your residence — the count starts again.
  • Up to about 100 days abroad a year is safe; 100–150 days means questions; 150 days or more — the residence may not be accepted as continuous.
  • In practice, since 2026 the Legal Affairs Bureau looks at about 10 years of travel. You submit copies of all your passports, including expired ones, with every stamp.

Which statuses count. Any lawful status: work visas, HSP, Business Manager, spouse, permanent resident, Long-Term Resident, Dependent. Most practitioners count student years if you then work on a work visa. Specified Skilled Worker (i) and Technical Intern Training count as residence, but in practitioners’ view not as work record.

Work record. Before 2026, practice expected at least 3 of the 5 years in full-time work — as a regular, contract or agency employee or in your own business (part-time jobs do not count). The Ministry has not said how this fits the 10-year standard. More for people on work visas

Your period of stay

Not an official condition, but in practice an application with a 1-year period of stay is usually not accepted — you are told to wait for an extension of 3 or 5 years. If your status expires during the review, you extend it as usual and tell the Legal Affairs Bureau.

Age (condition 2)

18 or older — since 1 April 2022; before that it was 20. You must also be of legal age under the law of your country. Minors apply together with their parents: Japanese nationality for children.

Simplified naturalization (簡易帰化)

Who gets a shorter residence period

Articles 6–8 lift some conditions for people with close ties to Japan. The conditions on conduct, taxes, Japanese and giving up your current nationality still apply to them.

Who Article Instead of 5 years Also not required
Spouse of a Japanese national Art. 7 3 years in Japan, or 3 years of marriage + 1 year in Japan Age 18+
Child (not adopted) of a Japanese national, living in Japan Art. 8(1) Not required Age, income
Adopted by a Japanese national, a minor at adoption Art. 8(2) 1 year Age, income
Former Japanese national living in Japan (not someone who lost Japanese nationality after naturalizing) Art. 8(3) Not required Age, income
Born in Japan and stateless since birth Art. 8(4) 3 years Age, income
Child (not adopted) of a former Japanese national Art. 6(1) 3 years —
Born in Japan Art. 6(2) 3 years; none if your father or mother was also born in Japan —
Living in Japan for 10 years or more Art. 6(3) 10 years —

The Ministry has not said officially whether the 10-year practice covers these cases. Most practitioners think the periods in the law still apply, while taxes and contributions are checked for 5 and 2 years, as for everyone. More: spouses of Japanese nationals, children.

Condition 3

Good conduct: what counts as a problem

The Ministry judges conduct “as a whole, by the standards of an ordinary person”: criminal record, payment of taxes, keeping the rules. The figures below are practitioners’ guides — there are no official thresholds.

Serious obstacles

  • A criminal conviction. After a prison sentence practitioners advise waiting about 10 years; after a suspended sentence, about twice the probation period.
  • A criminal fine (罰金) — about 10 years after paying it; for a serious traffic offence, 5 years or more.
  • Past overstay or illegal work, or special permission to stay (在留特別許可) — about 10 years.
  • Drunk driving, a suspended or revoked licence.
  • False information in the application or hidden facts.

Traffic and minor violations

  • Your driving record certificate (運転記録証明書) is checked for 5 years.
  • 1–2 minor violations in 5 years (parking, seat belt) are not a problem.
  • About 5 violations in 5 years, or 3 in the last 2 years, are a common reason for refusal.
  • Any violation during the review can lead to refusal — you must report it.
  • Family members who live with you count too: their debts and violations can stand in your way.

Taxes and social insurance

Taxes for 5 years, pension and health insurance for 2 years

Since April 2026 the Ministry checks longer periods. The list below follows the document list of the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau (updated 4 September 2026); other bureaus may ask for slightly different papers.

What is checked Period Documents
Resident tax (住民税) 5 years, including payment dates Tax certificates 課税証明書 and 納税証明書 for 5 years; if you pay yourself — receipts or statements with dates
Income tax (所得税) 3 years — if you are required to file a tax return (確定申告) Tax payment certificates 納税証明書 (その1, その2), copy of the return
Pension (年金) 2 years, including payment dates Proof of contributions or a ねんきんネット statement
National health insurance (国民健康保険) 2 years, including payment dates Proof of payment of contributions
Your own business 1–3 years Company taxes (法人税, 消費税, 事業税), social insurance of employees
Salary 1 year Withholding slip (源泉徴収票) and a certificate of employment and salary

The main change of 2026 is payment dates. Before, paying off a debt before filing was enough. Now a late payment inside the checked window is in itself a common reason for refusal. If tax and contributions are deducted from your salary (特別徴収), you do not need to prove dates. If you pay yourself, pay on time and keep the receipts. In practice an approved exemption from pension contributions for low income is not treated as a problem.

Condition 4

Income: how much you need to earn

The law sets no minimum amount. Income is assessed for the household — everyone who lives with you and shares one budget: if you have no income, your spouse’s or relatives’ income can be enough. Practitioners’ guides:

  • about ¥3 million a year (about ¥180,000–200,000 a month take-home) for a single person is a comfortable level; applications at ¥2.5–3 million are possible; below about ¥2.5 million the risk of refusal is high;
  • a family needs more — the balance of income and spending matters, not one number;
  • a regular full-time job (正社員) is best; contract or agency work is possible with a stable record;
  • after changing jobs, wait 6–12 months; switching to freelance work during the review almost always ends with a request to withdraw;
  • a mortgage or student loan is not a problem; debts out of proportion to income and spending above income are;
  • business owners: a profitable company without negative net assets, director’s pay of about ¥180,000–250,000 a month or more, employees enrolled in social insurance (社会保険).

Japanese and your current nationality

Japanese for daily life, and one nationality

Japanese

What level of Japanese you need

The Ministry puts it this way: “Japanese sufficient for daily life — speaking, reading and writing”. The law sets no JLPT level and a certificate is not required, but you may attach one. Practitioners aim for the level of a Japanese 3rd-grade schoolchild — roughly N4 or above.

It is checked at the interview: questions about your family, work and reasons, all in Japanese. If the officer is unsure, you take a written test (in practice about 15 minutes: reading kanji, converting between hiragana, katakana and kanji, short texts). A JLPT certificate does not exempt you from it. The personal history and the statement of reasons (帰化の動機書) are handwritten in Japanese.

Want to build your Japanese in Japan? See our long-term language programs.

Condition 5

Giving up your current nationality

A naturalized Japanese national cannot keep a former nationality: you must be stateless or lose your nationality on becoming Japanese. This applies to children who naturalize too. If your country will not release you for reasons beyond your control, the Minister may make an exception in special circumstances, for example family ties with Japanese nationals (Article 5(2)).

Some countries end your nationality automatically when you take another one; others need a formal renunciation through their embassy. In practice, for those countries the Legal Affairs Bureau tells you when to renounce — often when the review is nearly finished. Check your own country’s rules with its embassy. Dual nationality and renunciation

FAQ

Questions about the requirements

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Do my years before 2026 count?

Yes. The new rules concern how applications are reviewed, not how years are counted: all your continuous residence in Japan counts, including the years before 2026. You simply need 10 years in principle now, not 5.

Short trips do not. In practice administrative scriveners advise keeping each trip under 3 months and the total under about 100 days a year. A single trip of 3 months or more usually restarts the count.

No, it is not a condition. Your Japanese is checked at the interview and sometimes with a written test. You may attach a certificate as extra evidence, but it does not exempt you from the test.

The law sets no amount, and income is assessed for the household. Practitioners give about ¥3 million a year for a single person as a guide. Stability matters more: a steady job, no debts, no late payments.

One or two minor violations in 5 years — no. About 5 violations in 5 years, or 3 in the last 2 years, are a common reason for refusal. Drunk driving or a suspended licence means waiting several years.

Since April 2026 resident tax is checked for 5 years and pension and health insurance for 2 years, including the payment dates. A late payment inside that window is a common reason for refusal. It is safer to wait until the window is clean and pay on time throughout.

Not officially. In practice, with a 1-year period of stay the application is usually not accepted, and you are told to wait for an extension of 3 or 5 years.

No. The Highly Skilled Professional status shortens the path to permanent residency (1–3 years), not to citizenship: the general residence periods apply. See naturalization from a work visa.

Work in Japan

Taxes and pension: what the review checks

All topics: Work in Japan — the full guide

Sources

Where this information comes from

Facts were checked on 7 October 2026 against the Nationality Act (国籍法) and the Family Register Act (戸籍法) on e-Gov, the website of the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Affairs Bureaus (法務局). The Ministry publishes no figures for some points — how long a trip abroad breaks your residence, what income is enough, how long the review takes. There we rely on what Japanese administrative scriveners (行政書士) consistently report and say “in practice”.

This page is general information, not legal advice. The Minister of Justice decides each application, and the Legal Affairs Bureau may ask for more documents. Rules for your current nationality come from your own country’s law.

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