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On November 25, 2025, Japanese media revealed that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is preparing to effectively double the residency requirement for naturalization from 5 to nearly 10 years — aligning it with permanent residency rules.
What is actually changing (and when)
- The written law may stay “5 years” for now, but the Ministry of Justice will apply far stricter interpretation from 2026
- Student years and technical intern periods will likely no longer count
- Any long absence abroad (even 6+ months) could reset your entire clock
- Deliberate non-payment of taxes, national health insurance, or pension = automatic rejection
- Even minor traffic tickets can be flagged as “poor moral character”
2024 numbers (before the door narrows)
- Applications received: 12,248
- Approved: 8,863
- Rejected: 639
Most experts expect approval rates to drop sharply from 2026.
Timeline every long-term expat needs to know
- January 2026 → Full foreign-resident policy package released
- Spring 2026 → New screening guidelines officially begin
- If you already have 8+ years in Japan → You will probably still qualify under old rules
- If you have 5–7 years → Contact an English-speaking administrative scrivener before March 2026
A quiet reflection while walking home through Gion
Japan has never made belonging easy. That is part of its beauty.
Torii gates require you to bow. Tea ceremonies demand silence and precision. Citizenship, it seems, is simply becoming the same — heavier, slower, more deliberate.
And yet, real belonging here was never only about a blue passport.
It grows in the small daily acts: removing your shoes, returning your konbini tray, feeling the seasons change in temple bells.
The gate is narrowing, but it is not closing.
The path is simply asking us, once again, to walk it with patience.
