Japan's immigration and naturalization policy
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- LEE Sooim
- Principal Investigator
- 龍谷大学
About this project
- Japan Grant Number
- JP21530574
- Funding Program
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research
- Funding organization
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Project/Area Number
- 21530574
- Research Category
- Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
- Allocation Type
-
- Single-year Grants
- Review Section / Research Field
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- Humanities and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Sociology > Sociology
- Research Institution
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- Ryukoku University
- Project Period (FY)
- 2009 〜 2011
- Project Status
- Completed
- Budget Amount*help
- 3,250,000 Yen (Direct Cost: 2,500,000 Yen Indirect Cost: 750,000 Yen)
Research Abstract
Today, over 13,000 applicants, mostly Koreans and Chinese, acquire Japanese nationality annually. Given demographic trends in Japan, these numbers are likely to increase. Therefore, Japan's naturalization policies are likely to have major implications for both the future of Japanese society and its immigration policy. Yet, despite its importance, relatively little is known about the process of Japanese naturalization. The final decision whether to accept a naturalization application is left largely to the Ministry of Justice, and the procedures and criteria for making a decision remain ambiguous and shrouded in a veil of bureaucratic secrecy. The aim of this paper is to explore the ways in which Japanese naturalization policy is carried out, to trace the ways in which it has evolved, and to shed light on the underlying myths, beliefs and implications of economic and political interest on which those policies are based.
