🚀 go-pugleaf

Dave> I've also heard (in s.c.j.) that it isn't possible to be a dual
Dave> national so if they become Japanese, they have to give up their
Dave> Korean nationality. According to the thread, this doesn't apply only
Dave> to Koreans but to anybody: it isn't possible to have Japanese
Dave> nationality and any other. 

Not only you will lose your nationality as you have to "adapt" your
name for Katakana, Hiragana or Kanji(with Japanese spelling), what
make them lose their original names (in some sense).

Dave> However, while there was some authoritative evidence given that it
Dave> *is* possible for U.S. citizens to be dual nationals (changed maybe
Dave> 10 years ago?) there wasn't any for Japan. Can anybody confirm this? 

Yes and No. You have to give up all nationalities you had before you
became a US citizen, however after you got your citizenship you can
hold another nationalities under some restrictions (You can only
hold these nationalities on the base of convenience, then you 
cannot give the impression that another country is "more important"
than US for you, like doing military service, holding political
posts, etc...) There is a very nice FAQ about this question in
USENET.

In Japan, dual citizenship will be permitted only before you have
20 years old. After that you have to choose what nationality
you want. (In fact, I have some friends who didn't do that option
and still hold their japanese nationality, but this is illegal)
If you naturalize japanese you must give up your nationalities.

ciao,
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| Claude Huss          | Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. Tokyo Research Labs.|
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I haven't lost my mind -- it's backed up on tape somewhere.