This Farang Turned Japanese!

[Little_Buddy]

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003

Turning Japanese no simple process

The hows and whys of naturalizing in Japan

By ARUDOU DEBITO

Japan's aging society and low birthrate demand dramatic measures, some say.

A 2000 UN report stated unequivocably that Japan must import 600,000 workers per year to maintain fiscal balance. A Prime Ministerial commission that same year concurred: "Japan should set up an explicit immigration . . . system to encourage foreigners . . . to move in and possibly take up permanent residence here."

Unfortunately, this is not happening. Though about 4.5 million foreigners cross Japan's borders every year, the average annual increase in registered foreigners is only about 75,000. So to keep its taxpayer base young, Japan must make foreigners want to stay, even encourage them to become immigrants or citizens.

How difficult is it, say, to take Japanese citizenship?

Well, the process, like naturalization procedures worldwide, has a paper chase. After being screened for eligibility (criteria include living in Japan for five years continuously and having the Japanese level of an eight-year-old), you must submit tax, income and police documents (demonstrating upstandingness).

Second, lineage records both domestic and overseas (for the Family Registry), and other forms are handed over to present a full picture of your background. Some difficulties arise (since documentary systems differ overseas), but the Japanese authorities proved bendy with rules after sufficient explanation (they even trust you to translate documents yourself).

Still, it does get overly intrusive. Surrender snapshots of and hand-drawn maps to your house and workplace. Survey your relatives to see if they approve of your naturalizing. Write a one-page essay on "Why I Want to be a Japanese."

And prepare for an inspection to see how "Japanese" you are.

You read right. Ministry officials may drop by to quiz your neighbors, look at your house interior, refrigerator, and children's toys, and otherwise get cozy about your lifestyle.

How do you pass? "If we feel no 'sense of incongruity' (iwakan)," said a queried official. Sounds highly arbitrary, but I was actually a test case. I am one plaintiff in a controversial lawsuit against a bathhouse and the City of Otaru.

Yet I passed. They said, "suing is permitted under the Japanese Constitution."

If you can tolerate this degree of third degree, and don't mind giving up your original citizenship (Japan is the only OECD country which forbids dual nationality), then things become surprisingly easy.

As ineligible applicants get weeded out at the very start, Ministry of Justice statistics indicate almost everyone who completes the papers gets a passport. The number of newly-minted Japanese is small. About 20,000 per year -- the overwhelming majority ethnic Koreans and Chinese, born and raised in Japan anyway.

So why would a white boy like me do it? To prove a point? No.

In my case (of course, hardly indicative), I don't entwine identity with nationality -- I am who I am even if I had no passport at all. Moreover, I have property, family, and a steady and enjoyable job, giving me good reasons to stay here permanently.

Moreover, Japan has as high a standard of living as any developed country, and can be, if one learns Japanese, as easy to assimilate into (seriously!) and make friends in as anywhere else.

Ultimately, I realized, people like me live here and contribute to Japan like any other citizen. We might as well legally be one.

And once we are, there is no doubt about it. We passed a nationality and assimilation test that many native Japanese, especially the corrupt and the criminal, could not. We earned our stripes. Now, do my fellow Japanese accept this?

Well, if you really must let other people determine your identity, the answer is -- believe it or not -- yes. Very few deny I am Japanese when I tell them so. Many realize, with Japan's internationalization and increased racial intermarriage, that "Japaneseness" is -- and must be -- a matter of legal status, not appearance or acculturalization. Of course it will take time for this notion to sink in, but my two plus years of experience as a Japanese do not disappoint.

So why don't more people naturalize? Partially because of the soul sacrifice of giving up one's birth nationality, but also because there is another perfectly good option: Permanent Residency (PR).

With PR, one can enjoy a stable life with increased financial access and no visa hassles. Recent changes to the laws mean you can get it after five years or so if married to a Japanese, ten if not. You still generally cannot vote or run for office (for me, rights sacrosanct), but PR is sufficient for most potential immigrants.

Still, if Japan were to legalize dual nationality, I bet the numbers naturalizing would skyrocket.

In any case, time is on immigration's side. Japan needs new blood to support the old. Somebody has to pay for the future. Immigration will do that, revitalizing Japan's economy and society in unprecedented ways; look around Shizuoka, Kobe, and Kanto and see the largely positive roles that immigrants are playing.

The Japanese government is aware of this, and has made it easier to stay. Now they must make it easier to become Japanese.

The Japan Times

[jdinasia]

Thailand?

[richard10365]

Maybe you should post this on JapanVisa.com. Not really sure why its here.

[Little_Buddy]

Well, there's been a lot of talk about citizenship and dual-citizenship here, so I thought it would be of interest to some. I find it interesting that a farang became a citizen of an Asian country, and renounced his American citizenship to do so... you don't hear about many cases like this...

[jdinasia]

Not a farang ----- Japan has another term for whites ... and still not Thailand related ....

[Ijustwannateach]

There is some issue overlap. As long as we can apply the OP to conditions in Thailand, I see no problem with it.

I've chatted briefly with this David Arnold fellow electronically before. He's part of a lawsuit against local sento (public bathhouse) owners in Hokkaido, who have made an entrance rule against foreigners- now he is technically Japanese but the bathhouse owners still aren't letting him in, even though he brought his Japanese passport and speaks fluent Japanese. His struggle to become Japanese is reflected in the OP.

The reason the bathhouse owners object to foreigners could be argued as being more behavioristic than racist or nationalistic. Apparently rowdy Russian sailors would get drunk, go to these places and raise hel_l- ruining the atmosphere for everyone else (and spoiling the owner's business, to boot).

In one sense, then, it's not quite as hard here in Thailand to achieve permanent residency and eventually, citizenship. They don't come to your home and see if you have som tam in your fridge or not (they actually inspected his refridgerator to see if he had Japanese food inside!!!). Thais seem more tolerant of a broader range of lifestyles and ways of thinking than the Japanese- even though there is friction, consider the large communities of various other Asians here, not only the expats. (Ironically, as Japan has recently tightened their visa regulations for Thais, it's probably a lot easier for Japanese to settle here- and there are many of them- than it is for Thais to settle in Japan).

The Russians could be regarded as the ones who spoiled things for the rest of the white folks in Hokkaido. Perhaps people like that loony Karr could be blamed for a similar effect here? As time passes, do you think Thailand will remain relatively tolerant and inclusive, or will it head in a direction similar to Japan?

"Steven"

[think_too_mut]

Not a farang ----- Japan has another term for whites ... and still not Thailand related ....

"gaijin"....and it is not derogatory

The post is about a caucasian in Asia, could be linked to Thailand as one of the Asian countries where whites like to settle.

[Little_Buddy]

Not a farang ----- Japan has another term for whites ...

Gaijin, Laowai, Gweilow, Bule, Haole - all farang by other names.

[Little_Buddy]

"gaijin"....and it is not derogatory

That's debatable.

It most certainly can be used in a derogatory way - as when an elderly Japanese man sneered it at me as he passed me and a mixed group of gaijin and Japanese on the sidewalk. My Japanese friend immediately took offense and turned and glared at him, but then quickly told us "don't worry - just forget it - don't say anything".

I would argue that the term is somewhat derogatory in and of itself. It means "outsider", and Japan, more than most cultures, is extremely ethnocentric, where being non-Japanese is generally a bad thing. The term is more severe than "foreigner" in English - it's more like "alien", or perhaps "<deleted>".

[Ijustwannateach]

It depends on the tone- gaijin can simply mean foreigner or it can mean barbarian! I imagine that similarly for Thais, farang can have a variety of connotations depending on whether it is used in a neutral manner or spat out like a curse.

In both countries, however, the former, more colonial attitude towards European foreigners has changed. I know people who have lived in both countries for decades; they say that the former respect accorded them simply for being a foreigner has almost faded away. I can see both advantages and problems in this for us as foreigners.

One could argue that in the Japanese system they take care of the problems that countries like France have with Muslim immigration by simply requiring the immigrant to be fully integrated to begin with.

Thailand seems less uptight- is this a good thing? a bad thing? Would you feel comfortable with being required to change your name legally into Thai characters?

"Steven"

[think_too_mut]

"gaijin"....and it is not derogatory

That's debatable.

In my company (a large US computer vendor) the word is used by directors (Japanese) in presence of their white counterparts or even higher (APJ, corporate) executives, with an interpreter translating every word.

It might be intonated to sound derogatory but in it's regular form it is not.

Thais and their children (unknown, just people enjoying Pattaya water park) call my daughter "farang noi" or "nong farang" and that does not sound derogatory at all.

But when pointing at a big, fat, drunk, tatooed, shirtless farang and saying "farang baa", it does sound bad.

[Maigo6]

When I'm in Japan, I refer to myself as Gaijin.

When I'm in Thailand, I refer to myself as Farang.

I don't feel uncomfortable with that.

[mamastar]

"I would argue that the term is somewhat derogatory in and of itself. It means "outsider", and Japan, more than most cultures, is extremely ethnocentric, where being non-Japanese is generally a bad thing. The term is more severe than "foreigner" in English - it's more like "alien", or perhaps "<deleted>". "

As I justwannateach pointed out, it is a matter of tone, and ordinarily it's not derogatory, despite the origin of the term. I've not been in Thailand for too long, so don't understand the nuances of the word "farang", but have heard it used by foreigners and Thais alike. I do know that in Japan, foreigners call each other "gaijin", and refer to non-Japanese looking people as such.

Unfortunately for Little Buddy, many people in Japan still feel that being Japanese is about blood, not about legalities. If you've lived in the US, UK, Aus etc. for a long time and consider yourself from there once you have nationality, most would consider you as such, and accept your passport. Given that Japan has not been a country that has opened its doors freely to foreigners for that long, and given the pride in Japanese heritage, it must be difficult for people to accept a naturalized westerner. I am not condoning this nor excusing it, but that is the way it has been, and hopefully it may change in the future. Please note the large number of Koreans who have lived in Japan for generations, and still carry an alien registration card and need visas. Not to mention the naturalized ones whose families have been in Japan for generations, whose names can give away their Korean background, and be subjected to some form of racism.

In Asian countries where race is not as mixed as in Western countries, maybe it is difficult to accept a westerner as their own?

[Ijustwannateach]

I think the "race" barrier would still apply socially in Thailand. Even if someone lived here the better part of their lives, spoke the language perfectly, and had a Thai passport, I doubt that they would be considered "Thai" by the majority of Thais who didn't know them. (of course, there are many countries where this would also happen).

I'm just saying that we're lucky here in Thailand that things AREN'T so strict as in Japan (as illustrated by the OP's example)- even though many of us complain about how difficult the paperwork and the conditions are.

"Steven"

[mamastar]

I think the "race" barrier would still apply socially in Thailand. Even if someone lived here the better part of their lives, spoke the language perfectly, and had a Thai passport, I doubt that they would be considered "Thai" by the majority of Thais who didn't know them. (of course, there are many countries where this would also happen).

I'm just saying that we're lucky here in Thailand that things AREN'T so strict as in Japan (as illustrated by the OP's example)- even though many of us complain about how difficult the paperwork and the conditions are.

"Steven"

Do you think that is to do with Thai being a more open culture and accepting of others? I guess Thailand has many Chinese, Japan is more like just Japanese. I also wonder if it is to do with the economy? I know it's not too difficult to get citizenship in the Philippines, but I figured that was wanting wealthier foreigners who could afford the process. Whereas in Japan, I guess the foreigners are not necessarily considered wealthy, as they might do here and in the Philippines. A good majority of the foreigners (possibly as they are here) teach in some form, and in Japan is not the highest paying career.

[Little_Buddy]

Thailand seems less uptight- is this a good thing? a bad thing? Would you feel comfortable with being required to change your name legally into Thai characters?

"Steven"

I'm not clear on what you mean here - are you saying that Thailand seems less uptight than Japan? In what way? And how does changing one's name into Thai characters come into it?

[Little_Buddy]

Do you think that is to do with Thai being a more open culture and accepting of others? I guess Thailand has many Chinese, Japan is more like just Japanese. I also wonder if it is to do with the economy? I know it's not too difficult to get citizenship in the Philippines, but I figured that was wanting wealthier foreigners who could afford the process. Whereas in Japan, I guess the foreigners are not necessarily considered wealthy, as they might do here and in the Philippines. A good majority of the foreigners (possibly as they are here) teach in some form, and in Japan is not the highest paying career.

No, I think it comes from ideology or worldview. Philippinos are a diverse people, speaking many languages, and they are Catholic, which is a universal religion. Some Philippinos are part-Spanish or part-Chinese, but nobody considers them less Philippino. Thailand, likewise, is diverse, with different dialects and even ethnicities (Khmer, tribal, etc.), and the Thai worldview is largely shaped by Buddhism, another universal religion. You are right also that the Chinese are well integrated into Thai society - more so than in any other SE Asian country.

Now you might say that Japan is also a Buddhist country, but it's not really. Even if most Japanese will have a Buddhist funeral someday, and even if half of them are officially "Buddhist", in practice, they're not. 9 out of 10 Japanese will answer "no religion!" if you ask their religion. Buddhism was the dominant world-view in Japan at one time, but the military rulers put an end to that and made Confucianism and Shinto more dominant. Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan, with it's own "creation myth" (the Japanese Royal family are decended from the Sun goddess, and Japanese people are related to this royal family, and thus sort of a divine, special race).

The militarists who founded modern Japan in 1867 and ruled through 1945 developed "State-Shinto" a religion / political ideology, in which the Emperor is literally a god and the Japanese people uniquely different from all other humans and superior in some fundamental way.

Today, even if few Japanese will actually say "I'm Shintoist", and don't believe the dogma literally, still they have a mindset shaped by that worldview, which amounts to "us pure, superior, Japanese vs. all those strange, subhuman foreigners, some of whom somehow developed superior technology which afforded them a temporary position of dominance in the world, but which we'll soon leave in the dust and assume our proper place as master race".

Japanese don't see themselves as Asians, and certainly not as Westerners, even though they have long been highly modern and rather "Westernized". They've been largely isolated on the Japanese islands for 1500 years or so, with only sporadic and limited contact with other cultures and people. They see themselves as Japanese and Japanese only. This mentality partly explains why they have such a hard time learning English (or any other foreign language). They regularly tie LAST (along with North Korea!) among Asian nations in tests of English proficienty. So few of them learn English to any degree of proficiency simply because they can't conceive of foreigners as full human beings whom they'd ever want to have a real conversation with.

I know, I know - nobody is supposed to speak so freely in this age of political correctness, and a bunch of people are going to come and bash me now and say it's all nonsense, and I'm an idiot and they have wonderful Japanese friends who laugh at what I'm saying, etc. Fine. I still stand by what I say, most of which is fact, and some of which is theory, which helps me to explain what I learned and experienced while living in Japan (with a Japanese family) for over a year.

[mamastar]

Japanese don't see themselves as Asians, and certainly not as Westerners, even though they have long been highly modern and rather "Westernized". They've been largely isolated on the Japanese islands for 1500 years or so, with only sporadic and limited contact with other cultures and people. They see themselves as Japanese and Japanese only. This mentality partly explains why they have such a hard time learning English (or any other foreign language). They regularly tie LAST (along with North Korea!) among Asian nations in tests of English proficienty. So few of them learn English to any degree of proficiency simply because they can't conceive of foreigners as full human beings whom they'd ever want to have a real conversation with.

I agree with the religion part, but not totally. I myself am of Japanese heritage but western upbringing. I am part buddhist and shinto from my parents, but with my Christian education, am also part Christian. Although I can't say that many people are like that, I would say most are part buddhist and shinto, without really understanding what either are about. So all go to temples AND shrines and pray, with no conflict at all. It's not so much religion, as part of the culture.

I also must agree with the above quote, that they are Japanese and don't particularly see themselves as part of Asia. (Note how I distance myself here with "they" )

I think difficulty in learning other language also stems from the stiff mindset of Japanese. The difficulty in understanding that there are many different ways of saying a certain thing, and there isn't always one way of expressing it in English. English has been a subject to many Japanese, not a language, and is something to cram for. Given the perfectionist nature of some Japanese, I think it may be difficult for some to consider language as a tool for communication not as a subject, and there would possibly be reluctance to speak (hence improve) because of a fear of making mistakes.

I do think Japanese are interested in speaking to foreigners (though perhaps not older generation, some of whom avoid foreigners like the plague) and I do think with the younger generation, "gaijin" are a cool thing. However, partly due to a pretty crappy and rigid education system, they haven't been taught how to speak it, only read and write somewhat. It is unfortunate, but something that seems to be gradually improving.

Sorry for writing about a non-Thailand topic, but given the title of the thread....