Enforcement Regulation of the Nationality Act
The entirety of the Enforcement Regulation of the Nationality Act (Order of the Attorney-General's Office [Homu-fu] No. 69 of 1950) is hereby amended as follows.
(Notification of Acquisition of Nationality)
Article 1  (1) With regard to a notification of acquisition of nationality under the provisions of Article 3, paragraph (1) or Article 17, paragraph (2) of the Nationality Act (Act No. 147 of 1950; hereinafter referred to as the "Act"), if a person who intends to acquire nationality has domicile in Japan, it must be made through the Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau or District Legal Affairs Bureau having jurisdiction over the domicile of said person, or if said person has domicile in a foreign country, it must be made through a consular officer (including the head of an embassy or legation who performs the duties of a consular officer or a person who administers affairs on behalf of such head; the same applies hereinafter) who is stationed in the foreign country; provided, however, that if said person has domicile in a foreign country but has residence in Japan, the person may make this notification through the Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau or District Legal Affairs Bureau having jurisdiction over the place of residence.
(2) A notification of acquisition of nationality under the provisions of Article 17 of the Act, paragraph (1) must be made through the Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau or District Legal Affairs Bureau having jurisdiction over the place of domicile of the person who intends to acquire nationality.
(3) The notification set forth in the preceding two paragraphs must be made in writing by way of the person who intends to make the notification appearing in person at the Legal Affairs Bureau, District Legal Affairs Bureau, or overseas diplomatic establishment.
(4) A written notification must state the following matters and be signed by the person who makes the notification:
(i) the name, current nationality, date and place of birth, domicile, and sex of the person who intends to acquire nationality;
(ii) the names and the registered domicile of the parents of the person who intends to acquire nationality, and if the mother or father is a foreign national, their name and nationality; and
(iii) the grounds for acquiring nationality.
(5) In the case of making a notification of acquisition of nationality pursuant to the provisions of Article 3, paragraph (1) of the Act, the following documents must be attached to the written notification set forth in the preceding paragraph; provided, however, that if it is not possible to attach the document set forth in item (iii) or item (iv) for unavoidable reasons, a document stating such reasons is to be submitted, and if a judicial decision on acknowledgment of parentage has become final and binding, the documents listed in items (iii) through (v) are not required to be attached:
(i) certified copies or certificates of all matters of all of the family registers and removed family registers since the birth of the mother or father who has acknowledged parentage;
(ii) a document certifying the birth of the person who intends to acquire nationality;
(iii) a written statement made by the mother and father explaining matters such as the background to the acknowledgment of parentage;
(iv) documents certifying the records of overseas travels of the mother and father regarding the time when the mother conceived the person who intends to acquire nationality; and
(v) other materials sufficiently showing the existence of a natural parent-child relationship.
(6) In the case of making a notification of acquisition of nationality pursuant to the provisions of Article 17 of the Act, a document sufficiently proving that the person who intends to acquire nationality meets the conditions for acquisition of nationality must be attached to the written notification set forth in paragraph (4).
(Application for Permission of Naturalization)
Article 2  (1) An application for permission of naturalization must be made through the Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau or District Legal Affairs Bureau having jurisdiction over the place of domicile of a person who intends to nationalize.
(2) The application set forth in the preceding paragraph must be made in writing by way of the person who intends to make the application appearing in person at the Legal Affairs Bureau or District Legal Affairs Bureau.
(3) A written application must state the following matters and be signed by the person who makes the application, and a document sufficient to certify that the person who intends to nationalize meets the necessary conditions for naturalization must be attached thereto:
(i) the name, current nationality, date and place of birth, domicile, and sex of the person who intends to naturalize;
(ii) the names and the registered domicile of the parents of the person who intends to nationalize, and if the mother or father is a foreign national, their name and nationality; and
(iii) matters that will be a helpful reference for determining whether or not to permit naturalization.
(Notification of renouncement of nationality)
Article 3  (1) The provisions of Article 1, paragraphs (1) and (3) apply mutatis mutandis to a notification of renouncement of nationality.
(2) A written notification shall must the following matters and be signed by the person who makes the notification, and a document sufficiently proving that the person who intends to renounce nationality meets the conditions for renouncement of nationality must be attached thereto:
(i) the name, date of birth, and domicile of the person who intends to renounce nationality, and the indication of the person's register; and
(ii) the person's current nationality.
(Notification by Statutory Agent)
Article 4  When a statutory agent makes a notification of acquisition of nationality or renouncement of nationality or an application for permission of naturalization pursuant to the provisions of Article 18 of the Act, the name, address, and qualification of the statutory agent must be stated in a written notification or written application, and a document certifying the agent's qualification must be attached thereto.
(Attachment of Translation)
Article 5  If attached documents of a written notification or written application are prepared in a foreign language, translations of these documents must be attached to them, with the translator being identified.
(Notice Regarding Selection of Nationality)
Article 6  (1) The notice prescribed in Article 15, paragraph (1) of the Act may be provided through a consular officer who is stationed in a foreign country if the person who is to receive the notice is in the foreign country.
(2) The Minister of Justice, when having provided the notice pursuant to the provisions of Article 15, paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of the Act, is to have the Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau or District Legal Affairs Bureau notify the mayor of municipality (in the case of the areas of the Tokyo Metropolis that are divided into special wards and the designated cities set forth in Article 252-19, paragraph (1) of the Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947), the ward mayor) having jurisdiction over the place of registered domicile of the person who received the notice, with regard to the name of said person and indication of the person's family register, as well as the day on which the notice arrived at the person.
(Notice of Hearing)
Article 7  A notice of a hearing pertaining to the pronouncement set forth in Article 16, paragraph (2) of the Act may be provided through a consular officer who is stationed in a foreign country if the person who is to receive the notice is in the foreign country.
Supplementary Provisions
(Effective Date)
(1) This Order comes into effect as of January 1, 1985.
(Notification of Acquisition of Nationality under Special Provisions)
(2) The provisions of Article 1, paragraphs (1), (3), (4), and (6), Article 4, and Article 5 apply mutatis mutandis to a notification of acquisition of nationality under the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1) or Article 6, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions of the Act Partially Amending the Nationality Act and the Family Register Act (Act No. 45 of 1984).
Supplementary Provisions  [Act No. 73 of December 18, 2008]
(Effective Date)
Article 1  This Order comes into effect as of the date on which the Act Partially Amending the Nationality Act (Act No. 88 of 2008; hereinafter referred to as the "Amendment Act") (January 1, 2009) comes into effect
(Notification of Acquisition of Nationality under Transitional Measures and Special Provisions)
Article 2  With regard to a notification of acquisition of nationality under the provisions of Article 2, paragraph (1) or Article 5, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions of the Amendment Act, the provisions of Article 1, paragraphs (1), (3), (4), and (6), Article 4, and Article 5 of the Enforcement Regulation of the Nationality Act amended by this Order (hereinafter referred to as the "Amendment Regulation") apply mutatis mutandis, and with regard to a notification of acquisition of nationality under the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions of said Act, the provisions of Article 1, paragraph (1) and paragraphs (3) through (5), Article 4, and Article 5 of the Amended Regulation apply mutatis mutandis.
(Matters to Be Stated in Written Notification of Acquisition of Nationality)
Article 3  The provisions of Article 58-2 of the Enforcement Regulation of the Family Register Act (Order of the Ministry of Justice [Shiho-sho] No. 94 of 1947) apply mutatis mutandis to a notification of acquisition of nationality in the case where nationality is acquired pursuant to the provisions of Article 2, paragraph (1), Article 4, paragraph (1), or Article 5, paragraph (1) of the Amendment Act.