This essay highlights journalist Takayama Masayuki’s brilliant critique of Japan’s overly lenient naturalization system, the erosion of national identity, and the media’s role—particularly Asahi Shimbun—in spreading anti-Japanese sentiment. Featuring comparisons with U.S. citizenship processes, it reveals how naturalized foreigners with poor understanding of Japanese history and culture influence politics and public discourse.

A long time ago, an elderly female professor from the Royal Ballet School of Monaco—highly respected by prima ballerinas around the world—visited Japan.
She spoke on the significance of artists with the following words:
“Artists are important because they are the only ones who can shine a light on hidden and concealed truths and express them.”
There is likely no one who would dispute her statement.

Masayuki Takayama is not only a one-of-a-kind journalist in the postwar world, but also a one-of-a-kind artist.
The following is from his regular column published in the latest issue of Shukan Shincho, released today.
This essay once again proves the correctness of my claim that no one is more deserving of the Nobel Prize in Literature today than Masayuki Takayama.
It is a must-read not only for the Japanese people but for people all over the world.
Emphasis within the body text, except for the headline, is mine.

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Name Change Policy 2.0

Ishii Sekihei, who became a Japanese citizen, once lamented that “becoming Japanese is as easy as crossing a pedestrian crossing.”
Take the United States, for example.
To naturalize, one must first obtain permanent residency and live properly for five years.
Chinese individuals who immediately engage in lock-picking upon arrival would be disqualified on that alone.
After five peaceful years, one may take the citizenship test.
Naturally, the test is in English, and failure to understand spoken questions, write responses, or speak fluently leads to disqualification.
Those who pass are then orally tested on ten questions about U.S. history and politics.
Answer six correctly, and you pass.
Example questions include:
“How many amendments does the Constitution have?”
“How many Supreme Court justices are there?”
“Who were America’s enemies in World War II?”
“Who is Susan B. Anthony?”
“Which states border Canada?”
Finally, in front of the Stars and Stripes, one places their right hand over their heart and recites the Pledge of Allegiance, pledging loyalty to the flag and the justice and liberty it represents—for all.
Only then does one become a U.S. citizen.

In contrast, Japan’s naturalization process is far less rigorous.
According to Ishii, at Japan’s Legal Affairs Bureau, applicants are merely asked about criminal records and financial stability.
No one asks if they pledge loyalty to Japan.
“I thought it was abnormal for a country. This makes it impossible to stop foreigners with malicious intent from acquiring Japanese nationality.”
As if on cue, a naturalized Chinese citizen named Xu Haoyu plans to run for mayor of Atami, as reported by lawyer Kitamura in the Sankei Shimbun.
Xu has lived in Japan for ten years but still speaks Japanese poorly.
That alone would bar him from naturalization in the U.S.
Japan also does not require knowledge of Japanese history, so he knows nothing.
He apparently thinks Yasukuni Shrine is just a place that sells fortunes and insists “Yasukuni should be shut down.”
Like many Koreans, he also claims “the Rising Sun flag is a criminal flag.”
One can’t entirely blame Xu—if you read Japanese newspapers, it’s easy to believe Japan was an aggressor state.
The Asahi Shimbun still writes that “the Nanjing Massacre happened.”
Justice Minister Shigeto Nagano under the Hata administration once said, “The Nanjing Massacre is a fabrication. I was there.”
A former army captain also said, “Comfort women were licensed prostitutes, not sex slaves.”
Asahi, the newspaper that fabricated these lies in the first place, immediately notified China and joined Beijing in denouncing Nagano’s statement as “outrageous,” forcing his resignation.
So if the poorly informed Xu believes Japan is an aggressor, half the blame lies with Japanese newspapers.
Given that, proper historical knowledge should be a prerequisite for naturalization.
Lawyer Kitamura also proposes adding “not harboring anti-Japanese ideology” as a condition.
Even so, it’s hard to completely prevent foreigners from posing as Japanese to disparage the country.

For example, Asahi Shimbun published a large opinion piece by Professor Asuka Hisakawa of Tohoku University, who claimed that China—which emits one-third of the world’s CO₂—is actually “a model country for climate action.”
He went further to assert that “Japan is the real villain” because it must pay China one trillion yen in emissions credits.
When we looked into who would say such nonsense, we found he was a bona fide Chinese national, from a family that runs a Chinese noodle shop.
He uses the elegant-sounding Japanese name “Asuka” as his alias and pretends to be a Japanese professor while praising his homeland.
Asahi fully knows this, yet conceals his background, misleading Japanese readers into reevaluating China.
Similar cases abound at Asahi.
They revealed long after the fact that Ushio Fukazawa, who criticized Japanese discrimination, was actually a Korean citizen.

Another example is actress Kiko Mizuhara, who exposed sexual harassment by Japanese film producers.
She was born to an American father and Korean mother and has no ties to Japan.
Using a Japanese name to pose as a whistleblower from within Japanese society feels disingenuous.
Shouldn’t she be speaking under her real foreign name?
You may hate Japan and the Japanese, but at least stop using a Japanese name.