Concerns over Japanese nationality being easier to obtain than permanent residency came up in parliament talks last month, raising the question of how to make naturalizing — a status that confers suffrage — more difficult.

“A lot more people are saying now that they’ll go ahead and naturalize because getting the permit for permanent residency is difficult,” said Upper House lawmaker Hirofumi Yanagase, who urged the Justice Ministry to revise the criteria in parliament last month.

Naturalization requires applicants to have lived in Japan for at least five consecutive years, half of the duration required for permanent residency, in principle.