Claiming that a provision of Japan’s Nationality Law that does not recognize so-called dual citizenship violates the Constitution, a woman licensed as an attorney in the U.S. and living in Fukuoka Prefecture has filed a lawsuit seeking confirmation of her Japanese citizenship and invalidation of the disposition that denied her a passport.
The lawsuit was filed in Fukuoka District Court by Yuri Kondo, 75, a licensed attorney in Arizona, USA, and currently resides in Fukuoka Prefecture. According to the complaint, Kondo was born in Japan, moved to the U.S. when she was 24 years old, and acquired U.S. citizenship 18 years ago, making her a citizen of both countries.
Since then, she has traveled back and forth between Japan and the U.S. using both passports, but five years ago, when she went through renewal procedures at the passport center in Japan, it was pointed out that she was suspected of having become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and her passport was not issued because she had lost her Japanese citizenship. This is the reason why the passport was not issued to her. The Japanese Nationality Law stipulates that a person loses Japanese nationality if he or she voluntarily acquires foreign nationality. Ms. Kondo claims that this provision violates the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom to renounce one’s nationality, and is seeking confirmation of her Japanese nationality and invalidation of the passport issuance order. Source: NHK
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