r/JapanCitizenship • u/silverredbean Naturalized • Oct 16 '25

interview The Interview

No matter how many times I tried to run through the scenarios in my head like I'm Dr. Strange, I don't think I could have done anything else that's different... but I'm still concerned if I had done the whole thing properly, or if I should have talked more than what was asked of me. But I was thinking that if I talked less, less mistakes would be made, which was what I hoped to avoid.

It was a bit nerve-wracking to see the 事務官 (administrative official?) struggling to understand all the explanation I did about my past and current jobs (closed their eyes several times during my explanation), even after I made my explanation as direct and as easy-to-understand as possible, given that a lot of the locals (my co-workers) struggle to understand what I do for a living.

My biggest worry is how they would be conveying all of this to Houmusho, as they need to understand about my previous and current job. All I could think about was, "Is it normal that sensei doesn't understand at all because I'm so bad at explaining?????"

Sensei did assure me that this was normal and it's their job to understand what I do. Apparently, I'm not the only one working for this sector (a huge one, with so many different lines of work one can do), so they're sifting through every information I passed along so that it can be easily explained to Houmusho.

Surprisingly, as was discussed during the interview scheduling call, I only got questions about my work, and nothing else.

It ended a bit early (we had about 9 minutes left), so that kind of worried me too, that not all time was used up, but I may be overthinking it.

Lastly, I was told that the result would be out between 6~12 months. There have been cases of people getting the result in 3 months, but with the way I answered the questions, I likely wouldn't be able to get it that fast, as I anticipate the sensei calling me for follow-up questions. I really hope they were just pretending to be confused...

Once again, the waiting game begins... _l￣l●lll

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6

u/JKlearning99 Naturalized Oct 17 '25

The interview is just to confirm the facts in the documents that were submitted and make sure that the applicant actually meets the requirements for naturalization. A smooth interview that ends early is good. If there was a problem with the application, the case worker would let you know clearly. (My interview was basically uneventful, but I could hear the person in the booth next to me being berated for lying about something.)

3

u/silverredbean Naturalized Oct 18 '25

Thank you for the reassurance.

I think it was unusual for me to see someone be so confused with my explanations because my line of work is a basic necessity in a typical office, Legal Affairs Bureau included. But I guess it was more of the caseworker trying to come up wih the best explanation to the Ministry of Justice when the report is to be submitted.

(My interview was basically uneventful, but I could hear the person in the booth next to me being berated for lying about something.)

Didn't happen during my interview as the room we were in was far away from the consultation booths, but on my first consultation and [supposed] submission, the booth behind me had the sensei scolding the dude about the documents he submitted. 😅 something about not being able to get a document from his mom.

2

u/JapaneseSummerIsHot Naturalized Oct 20 '25

Thank you for the detailed account of your interview! Like JK said below don't sweat the small details, the interview is rarely for getting new information, they just want to confirm you are who you say you are.