adoption by japanese?

Hi there everyone! I'm new here.

My grandmother was born and raised in Japan. Last year, I spent a year abroad in Japan where I stayed with host families, but met with my grandmothers siblings and other relatives. I speak Japanese, so I was able to form a relationship with them, which went very well, and I became partivularly close with my younger second cousins. I'm sure that my great aunt would be willing to adopt me if it would further my education. I am thinking of applying to college in japan, but I would like to work there while in college to make things easier financially.

I'm wondering if it is possible to be adopted by japanese citizens being an american citizen? If anyone knows more about the japanese law (I went to highschool, and didn't learn much on that sort of thing) or had any ideas about it, I would appreciate any information. Thanks!

I think it should be possible, although off the top of my head, I don't know much about this topic. I know more about what happens AFTER one gets adopted. If I get time (not this weekend, for sure!) I'll see what I can find. Otherwise, there are others here who are probably more knowledgeable than I.

If the plan is to get adopted to get into school or get a visa it might be a bit of a no-show. Getting into a Japanese university can be far easier when done as an exchange, and leaves you able to get a scholarship to pay for what is a very, very expensive experience.

Thanks for your help, guys!

You are sansei, right? I think it is far easier to get permanent resident status than adoption.

pipokun said:

You are sansei, right? I think it is far easier to get permanent resident status than adoption.

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That's actually what I was thinking. I'm sansei, but I only have 1 japanese grandparent. I think the official definition of sansei includes having 4 japanese grandparents but parents who were both born in the states. If I'm wrong about that rule, please correct me. I'll love you even more. ^^

May I suggest you contact the Japanese embassy or a consulate?

I think the other posters have given good suggestions already, but I'll post what I found out about adoption of a foreign national.

Under Japanese law, adoption is not going to give you Japanese citizenship. You still need to go through the naturalization process that may take (at least 5) years. It has a lot of paperwork involved, gathering documents and certificates both in the US and Japan. So, you will have to deal with visas the same way other foreign nationals do during your first 5 or more years in Japan.

People of Japanese ancestry have a special visa category (Nikkei-jin), but most who apply are from China, South America, etc. Here, a lot of paperwork is involved, since you have to prove that you are certainly of Japanese ancestry. You will need lot of copies of birth certificates of your family to trace your blood line to your Japanese grandparent. But, once you get this visa, you're able to study and work here.

Both of these are troublesome but allows you to extended stays in Japan. However, these visa statuses do not grant you preferential treatment for university entrance. Since you are not an exchange student, you may have to compete against native-speaking Japanese students on an equal footing, which is impossible if you don't have near-native fluency and exhaustive preparations for the entrance exams. There might be special programs in some universities, but you still have to pay your way through it.

If you come as an exchange student, you are treated that way, and you fall in a category apart from the Japanese students, gaining access to special Japanese language programs for foreigners to help you assimilate into the Japanese study environment. As Ewok has suggested, you might be able to gain scholarship of some kind to fund your study in Japan.

So, all of these options have their positive and negative aspects, and the details must be checked out thoroughly. (What I wrote here is very general and there might be errors in what I think I know.)
As Mike said, it is best for you to consult your nearest Japanese embassy or consulate about visa status and do some research on exchange programs and financial aid.

Good luck on your citizenship

Gentleman10 said:

Good luck on your citizenship

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Citizenship is altogether an entirely different matter.

I would assume Adoption is the desperate last resort....

Sorry, simply, I was adopted, and tis not a light matter, Adoption is ussually to help those kids without parents or parents who dont want them, and childless families or families that want to enlarge it.

You should probably think long and hard about considoring abusing adoption law just for education....


Finally what exactly do you hope to acheive from university? like what subject?.

Is there a university that teaches it better elsewhere, perhaps in the states?.

If Japan is the place to be, exchange student deal sounds good, either way I can only second that you consult a consulate/embassy, they will be more qualified to awnser your questions.

Just remember, as has been said, going to Japan and trying to compete as a normal Japanese means you wont get special treatment or even a few perks on offer for foreigners who go to japan in that capacity, and from all I have seen heard and read, the Japanese educational establishment isnt a cakewalk.


I'm not sure about Japanese universities but western universities train people with an academic interest or ambition in a specific feild, the Japanese education system seems more along the lines of churn workers out for the Japanese economy.

If you go there I wouldnt expect overly engaging debates or any of the typical uni stuff.

But then again I havnt went to uni in Japan.

noranora said:

Hi there everyone! I'm new here.
My grandmother was born and raised in Japan. Last year, I spent a year abroad in Japan where I stayed with host families, but met with my grandmothers siblings and other relatives. I speak Japanese, so I was able to form a relationship with them, which went very well, and I became partivularly close with my younger second cousins. I'm sure that my great aunt would be willing to adopt me if it would further my education. I am thinking of applying to college in japan, but I would like to work there while in college to make things easier financially.
I'm wondering if it is possible to be adopted by japanese citizens being an american citizen? If anyone knows more about the japanese law (I went to highschool, and didn't learn much on that sort of thing) or had any ideas about it, I would appreciate any information. Thanks!

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窶堋ｹ窶堙≫?堋ｩ窶堋ｭ窶堙??堋ｷ窶堋ｩ窶堙ｧﾂ債｡窶堙娯?堋､窶堋ｿ窶堙俄?愿ｺ窶怒窶堙個坂?伉静絶?堙ｰﾂ、ﾅ津､窶歪窶｢ﾃｪ窶堋ｿ窶堙｡窶堙ｱ窶堙??ｪﾂ渉鞘?堙俄?愿ｺ窶怒ﾂ人窶堙個坂?伉静絶?堙ｰ窶堙?窶堙ｧ窶堋｢窶堙可行窶堙≫?堙??ｰﾂｺ窶堋ｳ窶堋｢ﾂ。

She abandoned us over a month ago, Jonathan.

nurizeko said:

I would assume Adoption is the desperate last resort....
Sorry, simply, I was adopted, and tis not a light matter, Adoption is ussually to help those kids without parents or parents who dont want them, and childless families or families that want to enlarge it.
You should probably think long and hard about considoring abusing adoption law just for education....

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Adoption in Japan means something else entirely to what you are talking about. The easiest way to translate the Japanese word into English is "adoption" but it isn't accurate.
Tradionally it was very common for parents-in-law to adopt their daughter's husband in order to keep the family name. Adoption of adults at any age also occured in order to build power between families.
Adult adoption still occurs in present time. My Japanese friend's husband, at the age of 28, was adopted by a wealthy childless couple who wanted their family name to continue. I also read in another forum of an American gay man whose boyfriend's mother adopted him so that he could remain in Japan.