This is a very interesting story. I'm American, living in Japan with a Japanese spouse, and we have a 4-year-old boy who is currently a dual citizen. I always thought the age to decide was 20, but I guess it's actually 22. Either way, I'm really hoping that by the time my son is that age, Japan will have come around on the "no dual citizenship" policy. But who knows what the state of the world will be like at that time. Maybe that'll be the last thing on our minds. Maybe this is naive, but in cases like Naomi's, or my son's, when they give up their US citizenship, are they granted any other kind of US status? Like special permanent residency or something like that? Or are they stripped of literally everything? When visiting the states, they'd have to apply for ESTA and do all that stuff?
With Naomi, yes she is very popular. But I think it's important to make the distinction that she is very popular *right now*. What about when her tennis career is over? Also, being loved or being popular has nothing to do with being accepted as a Japanese person. People will be happy about this news, because it means potential medals for Japan in the Olympics. But if you ask people if Naomi is Japanese, many people will say no. Look no further than Ariana Miyamoto for evidence of that. There is an element in Japanese society and pop culture of welcoming and celebrating the foreigners who bring glory to Japan, ala the foreign athletes on the various national teams and pro sports teams. They talk about how great Japan is, bring awareness to their respective games, and help Japan win on an international stage. But God forbid a foreign ball player in Japan come close to breaking a Japanese player's record. Whenever a foreign baseball player comes close to breaking Sadaharu Oh's HR record, they'll be intentionally walked to make sure the Japanese player's record is preserved. This kinda shit happens a lot in Japan. The foreign players are a curiosity, a novelty, and a means to an end, but they are not Japanese or equal to Japanese in the eyes of many Japanese people.
I guess my point is just that, for Naomi, it's not going to be as easy as some people seem to be suggesting. She's popular now, but if Naomi is putting any stock in the idea of her being truly accepted as a Japanese person, she's gonna be in for a rude awakening. I'm sure she already knows this, though.