I Became a Citizen of Japan

本文为原文前 6,000 字符的节选翻译，完整内容请查看原文。

I became a citizen of Japan.

我成为了日本公民。

Let me share about it. Some is my anecdotal experience, some my opinion, and some facts. Parsing which of these is what in each sentence is not going to happen.

让我来分享一下这件事。其中包含我个人的轶事经历、我的观点以及一些事实。至于每一句话里哪部分属于哪一类，我就不一一拆解了。

EDIT: I have seen some online reaction to this, and appreciate your kind comments. If you are thinking about applying to naturalize, I encourage you to go ahead and consult at your local Legal Affairs Bureau. Act according to what they tell you there, not stuff you hear or read on the internet in places such as this random gringo’s blog. The list of required documents below is intimidating, but your case won’t be the same as anyone else’s. They treat every application individually, so the horse’s mouth is that of the Ministry of Justice, not me.

编辑：我看到了一些网上的反应，感谢大家的善意评论。如果你正在考虑申请入籍，我鼓励你去当地的法务局咨询。请按照他们告诉你的去做，而不是听信或阅读网上（比如这个随机老外博客）的内容。下面列出的所需文件清单令人望而生畏，但每个人的情况都不尽相同。他们会单独处理每一份申请，所以最权威的消息来源是日本法务省，而不是我。

In 2012, I was at the Legal Affairs Bureau for something else and decided I wanted to start naturalizing. I had been thinking about it for a long time. I stepped into the department that handles naturalization.

2012年，我因其他事务前往法务局，当时决定开始申请入籍。这件事我已经考虑很久了。于是，我走进了负责入籍事务的部门。

Intentionally, the Government of Japan has designed the process of obtaining Japanese citizenship to be opaque, demand extensive documentation, take at least a year, and have an outcome based partly on subjective judgment.

日本政府有意将获得日本国籍的过程设计得不透明，要求提供大量文件，耗时至少一年，且结果部分基于主观判断。

At the first 2012 visit, an old Ministry of Justice bureaucrat kindly listened to my initial consultation. A first consultation usually requires an appointment, but he accommodated me. This would not happen today. Far more people are now applying for citizenship. The Legal Affairs Bureau for Hachioji was then located in Minami Osawa, within city limits but far away on the south edge of town. It takes about 40 minutes to drive or take a train there. Happily, the bureau is now back in the main part of town near the courthouse.

在2012年的第一次访问中，一位年长的法务省官员友好地听取了我的初步咨询。首次咨询通常需要预约，但他还是接待了我。这种情况在今天是不可能发生的，因为现在申请入籍的人数多了很多。当时的八王子法务局位于南大泽，虽然在市区范围内，但位于城市南端的偏远地带。开车或乘火车去那里大约需要40分钟。令人高兴的是，现在法务局已经搬回了靠近法院的市中心区域。

In a small i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶r̶o̶g̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ consultation room, the bureaucrat asked routine questions about my nationality, number of years in Japan, marital and family status, and so on. I was proud of my Japanese fluency, community activity, and experience working in Japanese politics. Subconsciously, I think I expected to be recognized for surpassing specialness.

在一个小小的“审讯”（咨询）室里，官员询问了关于我的国籍、在日本居住年限、婚姻和家庭状况等常规问题。我为自己流利的日语、社区活动以及在日本政界的从业经历感到自豪。潜意识里，我想我期待着因自己的“卓越不凡”而得到认可。

The bureaucrat had seen plenty of people like me. He knew how to dampen expectations: Describe the process.

这位官员见过很多像我这样的人。他知道如何打消我的期待：描述整个流程。

The preliminary documentation I would need to gather (in order of hazy memory, and later aided by referring just now to the spreadsheets I was constrained to create): An original birth certificate for each of my parents and each my six siblings. Original copy of proof of my parents’ marriage. An affidavit signed and dated by my mother attesting that she gave birth to me. List of members of my wife’s family, including their names, dates of birth, nationalities, and current status of interaction with me. A statement regarding whether each above individual wanted to also naturalize, and whether they were in agreement or opposition to my naturalization. Original copy of my birth certificate. Proof of my marriage. List of every address of every place I ever lived and the dates beginning and ending my living there. Complete academic history starting with preschool. Any diplomas or degrees obtained in the course of that academic history. Complete work history with company name, position(s) held, and dates of starting and leaving. All information originating in English had to be submitted in both original form and also translated into Japanese, with a certificate of the accuracy of the translation. Japanese translations could not include alphabet letters—only kanji, hiragana, katakana, or Arabic numerals (I suppose we should give thanks that kanji numerals were not required). But every proper noun in the awkwardest katakana. All documents originating in Japanese submitted with one original and one copy. My certificate of residence. My Zairyu (residence) card. My driver license. All tax returns of me and my wife from some number of years I can’t recall. Statements of withholdings from all employers or income sources for me and my wife. Proof that I and my wife were subject to and had paid applicable taxes to the National Tax Agency, Tokyo, and Hachioji, respectively. Proof of paying health insurance premiums. Proof, issued by the Pension Office, that I had paid my employment insurance. All of the above were going to be evaluated to see that I had not only paid, but paid on time, for said number of years. An official driving record issued by the National Police Agency, listing any and all traffic violations during the maximum 10 or whatever years that such data are retained. I had a company, did I? Then also provide for the same number of years all of its financial statements, proof of paying national corporate taxes, proof of paying consumption taxes, proof of paying prefectural taxes, proof of paying city taxes, proof of paying withheld employee taxes, proof of paying employment insurance. The company registration, Articles of Incorporation, a list of clients, and a description of the business and its prospects. My wife’s family register. A statement from my wife that we were indeed married and had indeed had those kids together. A statement from my wife indicating whether she agreed with or was opposed to my naturalization. Three photographs of our family together on separate occasions (proving that we always pose in the same position as I take a selfie, causing the set of three photographs to look utterly suspicious). A listing of all household income sources and monthly expenditures categorized severally and exhaustively. Certification of Child Allowance disbursements received from the city. List of all loans, the institution making the loan, the amount of principal, monthly payment, and purpose of loan. List of bank accounts, with copy of all pages of each bank book. Proof of current citizenship issued by the US embassy. Original copy and Japanese translation of every page of all my passports expired and current, along with list organizing into a timeline the dates of my travel into and out of every country I had ever visited. Map showing my curren

我需要收集的初步文件（按我模糊的记忆排序，后来参考了我被迫制作的电子表格）：我父母及六个兄弟姐妹每人的出生证明原件。父母婚姻证明的原件。一份由我母亲签署并注明日期的宣誓书，证明她生下了我。我妻子家庭成员名单，包括他们的姓名、出生日期、国籍以及与我目前的互动状态。一份关于上述每个人是否也想入籍，以及他们是否同意或反对我入籍的声明。我的出生证明原件。我的结婚证明。我住过的每一个地方的地址列表，以及居住的起止日期。从幼儿园开始的完整学历记录。在此期间获得的任何文凭或学位。完整的职业经历，包括公司名称、担任的职位以及入职和离职日期。所有英文原始信息必须同时提交原件和日文翻译件，并附上翻译准确性证明。日文翻译中不能包含英文字母，只能使用汉字、平假名、片假名或阿拉伯数字（我想我们应该庆幸不需要使用汉字数字）。但所有的专有名词都必须用极其别扭的片假名书写。所有日文原始文件需提交一份原件和一份复印件。我的住民票。我的在留卡。我的驾照。我和我妻子过去若干年（具体几年我记不清了）的所有纳税申报表。我和我妻子所有雇主或收入来源的预扣税证明。证明我和我妻子分别向国税厅、东京都和八王子市缴纳了应缴税款的证明。缴纳健康保险费的证明。由养老金事务所出具的缴纳就业保险的证明。以上所有文件都将被评估，以核实我不仅缴纳了税款，而且在过去若干年里都是按时缴纳的。由警察厅出具的正式驾驶记录，列出在数据保留期（最长10年左右）内所有的交通违规记录。我有公司是吧？那就还要提供同样年限的所有财务报表、缴纳国家企业税、消费税、都道府县税、市税、员工预扣税以及就业保险的证明。公司登记证、公司章程、客户名单以及业务描述和前景说明。我妻子的户籍誊本。我妻子出具的声明，证明我们确实已婚，且那些孩子确实是我们共同生育的。我妻子出具的声明，表明她是否同意或反对我入籍。三张我们在不同场合拍摄的家庭合影（证明我自拍时总是摆同样的姿势，导致这三张照片看起来极其可疑）。一份详尽分类的所有家庭收入来源和每月支出的清单。从市政府收到的儿童津贴发放证明。所有贷款清单，包括贷款机构、本金金额、月供和贷款用途。银行账户清单，附上每个存折的所有页面复印件。由美国大使馆出具的当前国籍证明。我所有已过期和现行护照每一页的原件及日文翻译件，以及一份按时间顺序整理的、我曾访问过的每个国家的出入境日期列表。显示我当前……的地图。