[rtpg]

Yes, “easily” based on what people who do it say. But getting citizenship requires [0] renouncing other citizenships.

There’s a permanent resident status which is I think is closest to a green card. You can’t vote but you don’t have to work or otherwise justify your existence. You can temporarily leave the country for several years if you intend to return (apparently this is pretty loose so “several” = 10)

There was a window during COVID where permanent residents were stuck outside the country. It was a couple of months, and I’m hopeful future incidents would be more humane… but citizens were not stranded.

[0] there is some pedantry on “requires”.

[bradlys]

The answer is no. No, it isn’t easy and no you will not get citizenship. Japan is notoriously difficult (impossible) to become a real citizen in.

[rtpg]

I don’t know why you would say it’s impossible. 10k people do it a year, it’s a well documented process. The biggest hurdle is probably the language? Since most people can exist in Japan without a full grasp of the language in more ways than other countries

[midoridensha]

That's a bald-faced lie. Anyone can apply after 5 years and it's not that hard. I know people who are naturalized here.

[karaokeyoga]

I've lived in Japan since 2009. In my opinion, most foreign residents who want to stay here long-term are interested only in permanent residence, and not citizenship. Reason being they don't want to give up their existing non-Japanese citizenship (which is technically a requirement for citizenship in Japan).