A foreign-born Japanese (外国生まれの日本人, gaikoku umare no nihonjin, literally "Japanese person born in a foreign country") is a Japanese person of foreign descent or heritage, who was born outside Japan and later acquired Japanese
citizenship. This category encompasses persons of both Japanese and non-Japanese descent. The former subcategory is considered because of intricacies of national and international laws regarding the citizenship of newborn persons.
Dual nationality is not recognized in Japan. Under
Japanese nationality law, people who acquire dual nationality before the age of 20 must choose a single nationality before reaching age 22, and people who acquire dual nationality after the age of 20 must choose a single nationality within 2 years.[1]
Children of the
Japanese abducted to North Korea during the 1970s–80s. Although the children had Korean names at birth, they were registered as Japanese and given Japanese names when they arrived in Japan along with their returning parents.