How's it going?

My name is Micaela

And today I'm here to do one of these talky-video bloggy-type things regarding Naturalisation

or becoming a Japanese Citizen

This video is inspired by a comment on my last video where i was talking about how I

have been in Japan for ten years and a comment asked me if I was considering naturalisation

and quite frankly, I'm not.

So before I start I kinda want to remind you to not take my word as “Everybody's Opinion”

because I think that Japanese people and foreigners alike, everyone has different feelings about

this subject so what I am about to say is entirely my opinion and you can take it with

a grain of salt if it doesn't suit you!

I think a lot of foreigners who first come to japan, come here with the dream that they

are going to work hard and successfully integrate into the culture they have chosen to adopt,

and thats not a bad thing, its just a very very hard thing to do, especially in a country

like Japan

The reason why we have these ideals in the first place is because we come from countries

with international backgrounds.

For example, I was born in Richmond, British Columbia, and if any of you live in Vancouver

or even in B.C, you will know Richmond is..

Over 50% of the population identifies as Chinese, it's actually the most international city

in all of Canada with over 60% of residents being immigrants.

I grew up in an ethnically diverse country and for me, as a child growing up the only

way I could properly distinguish visitors from actual Canadian residents, was their

accent and the way that they spoke english.

If they had an accent, “oh they must be from outside of Canada”, if they spoke English

just like me, “oh they were probably born here, they're Canadian”

It wasn't really that difficult, you know?

And because of that it's not too crazy to assume that, you know, "if they can blend

in in Canada, why can't I blend in in Japan?"

However, Japan doesn't exactly have the same history with immigrants and internationalisation.

Japan itself was a closed off and isolated country until the mid 1850s, which is really,

in terms of Japanese History, is actually quite recent.

And although an ethnically non-Japanese can apply for citizenship here in Japan, the general

perception of what defines a Japanese person is not what passport you hold, it's all

about your blood and lineage and where you come from, your heritage, pretty much.

This is why Japanese citizens who were born to foreign parents, otherwise known as ha-fu,

or “half Japanese citizens” have a hard time being considered fully Japanese as well,

even if they've lived their whole life in Japan, even if they have a Japanese passport

and are considered a Japanese citizen, even if the only language they know is Japanese,

if they have that foreign lineage they end up being considered in a separate category

from pure Japanese people…

And of course not everyone thinks this way, but there is this general consensus that pure

Japanese are like 100% Japanese, and then there's the ha-fu and then there's the

gaijin, and it's like..

That consciousness is always there.

Basically having a Japanese passport, having all the paperwork that says you're Japanese

isn't what makes you Japanese.

What makes you Japanese is your heritage, ultimately.

So having said that, I think naturalising or choosing to apply to become a Japanese

citizen is totally a personal choice, and there are people who in spite of all this,

still think that.. you know maybe they have good reason to do so, but for me.. this is

the thing.

I look Canadian, there's nothing about this could that could even indicate that I could

be Japanese.

You look at me and you can tell I was born somewhere else, to parents who were also born

somewhere else, and that is just a fact that I can not change.

No matter how long I live here, what kind of job I do, what credentials I have, or how

much I can speak Japanese, I will always be judged, first and foremost by my appearance,

and that i just a fact.

That is..

After ten years you just, ah there's just nothing you can do about it.

It's weird, it does feel strange because, consider it this way:

I don't look at myself every day, like when I'm outside, when I'm going places, when

I'm at the bank, when I'm at the restaurant, or I'm on the train, or I'm going somewhere..

I don't have this consciousness of what I look like to other people.

You know how like dolphins, they communicate with echo-location, they have these sonar

waves and they're like pew and then the things come back and then they're like “oh

now I see.”

..I feel like in a way, I'm a dolphin?

Stay with me.

I feel like I'm a dolphin in the way where it's like, I go out there and I do things.

I do things and then judging by the reaction that comes back at me,

the things that I say and the things that are said back at me,

that's kind of how I have developed this consciousness of who I am in relation to everyone

else.

My identity as a Canadian has been only made stronger by the way that people react when

I'm outside this house, basically.

The fact is that having a Japanese passport, or doing all the paperwork that “technically”

makes you Japanese, will never change the perception of the people around you, they'll

never be like “oh well now that you're Japanese, I see you differently.”

It's never going to happen, so what's the point?

It's taken me so long to understand this, but

It's normal in CANADA to be multiculturally diverse, that's just you know, that's

just the way that we Westerners were raised.

But are we really entitled to walk into a different country and decide what's normal

and what isn't?

Maybe there are people out there who want to naturalise because they think it's going

to prove a point, like “hey, non-Japanese heritage people can become Japanese citizens

too!”

But is that really what's best for Japan?

I'm not saying Japan hates foreigners, nono, they love tourists, they love tourists and

they love having people come and enjoy Japan as it is, but they don't need people coming

here and changing Japan, and that's what they're afraid of.

You know, Japan's dedication to preserving traditional ways, that's what makes it a

unique and wonderful country, and that's what makes people come from all over the world

to visit it.

It's not, you know, “oh, well they should make it easier for us to live because we're

different and we came in and this is how we want it.”

we can't, I feel like, we can't just say that.

I am Canadian, and I'm really really okay with that, because I think that rather than

trying to get Japanese people to accept me as a Japanese person, I'd rather they learn

to accept me as a Canadian.

For all that that is.

You know, I grew up somewhere else, I have parents that were not born here, but I sure

as hell worked hard to learn, and study , and learn how to speak and communicate, and it

is what it is.

And it's worth noting that Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship, meaning that becoming

a Japanese citizen would mean not being a Canadian citizen, and, for me, that doesn't

make sense!

I love living overseas and I love being abroad, and being in Japan has granted me so many

amazing opportunities that I'm thankful for, but at the end of the day, if I can't

go home to the country that feels “normal”, that accepts me and treats me like everybody

else, if I can't have that comfort, what else, what do I have?

Besides, in the mean time, for people who want to stay in Japan long-term, there are

visa options for that!

Visa options that allow you to live in Japan for a long time, pay taxes just like a regular

Japanese citizen, and do all those things without having to relinquish your own identity

or citizenship, and marry yourself to a new country.

I feel like the end-game isn't being accepted as one of them, it's having them accept

you for who you are, and recognise that you're trying really hard.

That would be the happier ending in my opinion.

Sorry this is so boring but I kinda wanted to like, answer that, and get my feelings

out there and kinda start a conversation because I think that there are tons of different opinions,

and I am prepared to read them all in the comments so yeah go ahead and write below

how you feel.

Do you think it's worth giving up your citizenship to become a member of a different country

even if it means that you're like, not really treated like a member of the different country?

Hmmm.

Thank you very much for listening.

I also want to thank you for being really really nice to Tatsu because I like him a

lot, and it really means a lot to me that you guys also like him a lot.

And I think that I'd also like to have him make a video and have him talk about his experiences

because he was not born in Japan either, and um, although he is technically a Japanese

citizen and he kind of has an interesting perspective on it as well, but that's of

course, when he's ready to talk about it, or if you even want him to talk about it.

Yeah.

I will talk to you soon!

Thank youuuu!

Bye!