Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronin4hire
Rather I'm surprised that despite the fact that the Japanese have a very culturally conservative and exclusive national identity that some non-Japanese still persist. Though I suspect it's out of ignorance for some.
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Hmm... I still don`t see exactly where you are going with this. Do you see it as wrong of me to continue the citizenship process despite the fact that I`ll never really "be Japanese" in the ethnic sense? To persist in attempting to gain the same legal rights via citizenship?
I know that you aren`t necessarily referring to my case, or cases like mine, so I will give you slack. However, it`s still a slippery slope to downplay someone`s desire for citizenship based on your views of what that citizenship means. There is a lot more to it than that.
The average Japanese citizen is usually under the impression that you automatically gain citizenship through marriage. I`ve never had anyone react with anything other than complete shock when told otherwise. I`ve been invited by other mothers to take part in town meetings, but as I`m not a citizen I would have little voice there... And that is frustrating.
There are other legal issues that can be alleviated by gaining citizenship... Such as this; Let us say that something happens to my husband. As favor goes to family that has citizenship, his next of kin becomes our son rather than me. As my son is registered as having a disability, his property is ruled upon by the state. Does he need a 100m2 condo? Nope - chances are it would not come to me, but either be passed to the in-laws or sold if they were unable to receive it (with the funds going to my son). Where does this leave me, who isn`t even listed on our household registry (as non-citizens, even those with PR are listed in another registry)? Chances of something like that happening are very low - but they exist. As does the question of who receives custody of our son should my husband die - citizens are favored in cases where the child is a Japanese citizen like my son.
Even without all of that... It would just be nice to be able to say that I am actually a citizen of the country where my home, family, and friends are. The country I`ve spent my entire adult life in, which I cannot imagine leaving. So I guess it is about "being Japanese" to some extent, as I`m more "Japanese" than I am anything else at this point.
ETA: This is a bit of a touchy subject in my case, as I do have real valid reasons. Everytime someone non-Japanese (or rather, from English speaking countries) hears that I am pursuing citizenship... Their
immediate response is "Why do something like that? It`s not like you`ll ever REALLY be Japanese. You`ll ALWAYS be a gaijin!"
That`s not the point, and that`s not what I`m aiming for.