Forfeiting your citizenship might seem like a strange way to better connect with your country, but Hana Dethlefsen was compelled to make such a decision after getting caught up in the complicated legal web of Japan's Nationality Act.
"I had to give up my Japanese nationality in order to qualify for the JET Programme, which I did at age 21. My understanding was that I would have to give it up at age 22 anyway, so giving it up one year earlier wouldn't have made a difference," Dethlefsen said. JET is a state-sponsored program that invites non-Japanese college graduates to work mainly as language teachers at local schools.
"(But) in my discussions with other half-Japanese friends, I've come to understand that we all have different understandings of what is acceptable," said Dethlefsen, who now has German and Canadian citizenship.
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