Kokusekihou: The Fight to Change Japan's Nationality Law (Working Title)

Overview

In 2017, Japan-born Yuri Kondo was denied renewal of her Japanese passport under Nationality Law 11.1 after the Ministry of Justice suspected she had naturalized as a U.S. citizen. When COVID-19 began spreading globally and Japan’s borders started to close, Kondo chose to shelter in place with her family in Japan, overstaying her visa waiver on her U.S. passport. Now unable to leave Japan without risking re-entry denial, Kondo is fighting back by suing the Japanese government and joining a growing movement to challenge Japan’s outdated single-nationality law and redefine what it means to be Japanese in a globally connected world.