The government and ruling parties began considering tightening the requirement for acquiring Japanese nationality to 10 years of residency or longer in principle, compared with the current five years, informed sources said Monday.
By extending the necessary period of residency to at least 10 years, Japan would bring the nationality requirement into line with that for obtaining permanent residency. The move is expected to be implemented by changing how the nationality law, which stipulates the requirements for naturalization, is administered instead of by revising the law.
In September, the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai), an opposition party at the time and now a junior ruling party, noted in a policy proposal that the requirement for naturalization, which gives successful applicants a greater legal status, is laxer than that for permanent residency.