While most Japanese citizens acquire their citizenship at birth, Japan does not offer automatic citizenship to babies born within Japan. There are three ways a person may obtain Japanese citizenship by birth: 1) if the father or mother is a Japanese citizen at the time of birth; 2) if the father died before the child’s birth, but was a Japanese citizen; and 3) if the child is born in Japan and both of the parents are unknown or without nationality.
Babies that are born in Japan to foreign national parents that do not meet the requirements listed above, will normally take on the citizenship of the parents. In order to become a Japanese citizen, the baby will need to naturalize as a Japanese citizen upon reaching the age of majority.
If you have any questions about becoming a Japanese citizen, please contact our office for a legal consultation.