A young soccer player of mixed heritage, who holds Japanese citizenship, fell victim to a baseless assumption when he was treated as a foreign national and asked to "naturalize" on paper by soccer officials. 

The first-year junior high school student in Kochi Prefecture was registered as a foreign national by his soccer club without his knowledge, even though he has held Japanese citizenship since birth.

The club then demanded that he submit an application falsely stating that he had only recently obtained Japanese nationality.

In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, the Japan Football Association (JFA) acknowledged the facts of the case and stated, “We will respond to the student and his guardians with sincerity.”

The student’s mother said, “Our goal is not to blame the JFA or the club. We just hope that not only will they improve the rules around paperwork but also deepen their understanding of children with diverse backgrounds.”

The assumption came to light at the end of March this year when the mother received a message on the LINE app from the head of her son’s soccer club.

“Is your son a foreign national?” the message asked.

The mother was taken aback by the abrupt question.

“My child is a Japanese national. Why are they checking this?” she wondered.

The student’s father is American, while his mother is of Japanese and British descent and holds Japanese citizenship.

Since birth, the student has been a Japanese citizen. Under Japan’s Nationality Law, a child automatically receives Japanese citizenship if either parent is Japanese.

The following month, the mother learned more about what had transpired from speaking with the head of the soccer club and others.

Two years earlier, when her son was an elementary school fifth-grader, a staff member from the soccer club he belonged to at the time had registered him as “American” in the JFA system.

Neither the boy nor his parents were ever contacted or asked for confirmation about his nationality.

The mother wondered, “Maybe they just assumed he was an American based on my son’s name, which has some katakana in it, and his parents' roots.”

Although disappointed, she still thought that since her son was not at fault and the incorrect registration had simply been a mistake, the JFA could correct the record and the problem would be resolved.

However, things did not go as she hoped.

To correct the nationality information, both the JFA and the soccer club asked for the student’s passport and an official JFA document called the “foreign player registration application” form.

For players in junior high school and older, the JFA requires all club members to officially register their nationality.

This rule exists because, under the regulations set by FIFA, the international soccer governing body, players cannot easily transfer to clubs in countries different from their nationality.

The foreign player registration application form is used when a foreign national registers as a player or when a player’s nationality is changed to Japanese.

However, in the section asking “the reason for applying,” there is no option for “to correct the nationality,” which was the case of the student.

The student was instructed by officials to choose the item that says, “to change nationality status to Japanese (naturalization).”

The student’s parents objected because it would not be accurate. However, the soccer club continued to insist that they submit the application form.

During this time, the student was unable to play in an official match held on June 8, because his player registration was considered incomplete.

The student was told that without submitting the application form, his registration in the system could not be finalized, and he would be ineligible to participate in official games.

Worried that the ongoing dispute would negatively affect their son, the parents reluctantly checked the “naturalization” box on the application form and handed it to the club staff on June 11.

The student told The Asahi Shimbun, “I was surprised that the team staff, who had known me for years, thought that I was a foreigner and registered me that way without asking.”

The student added, “It was frustrating that I couldn’t play in the official match even though it was not a mistake made by my family and me. I hope the rules will be improved.”

His mother said, “Even though we explained many times that (he) is Japanese, they kept asking us to submit a nationality change application. It was very shocking.”

In response to the family’s complaint, the JFA changed its decision and informed the club that only a copy of the student’s passport would be required and that submitting the application form was unnecessary.

However, the soccer club had already registered the application form in the system.

The student left the club at the end of July. However, the record of his player registration remains.

In response to questions from The Asahi Shimbun, the JFA’s public relations team commented on the mistaken registration of the student as American: “We don’t know the details, but this is a mistake that should never have happened.”

The JFA said: “Up until now, when changing a registration from foreign to Japanese nationality, the usual reason was ‘naturalization,’ so that’s what we listed as an example on the application form. This is the first case where the reason was a correction, and we recognize the need to make the language clearer.”

Regarding that the student was barred from participating in an official match, the JFA said, “Thinking about what the player must have felt, we feel very sorry. As the JFA, we believe that better communication with the club might have made the process go more smoothly.”

Moe Miyashita, a lawyer who works on issues such as racial profiling, said, “Forcing someone to submit documents with inaccurate nationality information against their own or their guardian’s wishes is a serious human rights issue.”

Lawrence Yoshitaka Shimoji, a special researcher in international sociology at Ritsumeikan University and an expert on issues related to mixed heritage and nationality, said, “Registering someone as a foreign national without confirmation is problematic in itself, but asking for a submission based on an incorrect application—such as claiming a nationality change—is an even more serious issue.”

He added, “The response from both the JFA and the club was reckless and shows a lack of respect for individual identity and personal information. They need to take the importance of nationality information seriously.”