the regional immigration bureau checked A’s background for an assessment of residential status, it came to light that he had been deported in the mid-1990s and that the passport he used to re-enter Japan had been forged. With these facts, the legal affairs bureau explained to A that his application for naturalization was not likely to be granted and advised him to withdraw his application. Under these circumstances, A renounced his Pakistani nationality, withdrew his application for naturalization, and had no prospect of acquiring Japanese nationality. However, A was given special permission to stay, and he and his family were allowed to continue their stay in Japan. A’s wife and child do not have Pakistani nationality because they have renounced it. They do not have Japanese nationality either because they had withdrawn their application for naturalization. There is no other State whose nationality they might have acquired; they have become stateless. However, A’s renunciation of nationality made under a false name may be invalid, and therefore he may have not lost his Pakistani nationality. Even so, in order to confirm his nationality under his real name, he will need to explain in his home country that he left the country using a false passport and has renounced his nationality under a false name. There is a legal issue of the Pakistani government’s interpretation about who the actor is for the purposes of the renunciation of nationality. It is not clear if A was later able to confirm his Pakistani nationality, and it is possible that he has become stateless. 2. < Case 12 > A person who renounced his or her Bolivian nationality while staying in Japan and failed to restore his or her Chinese nationality B was born in China in 1952 and had Chinese nationality. B renounced his or her Chinese nationality and acquired Bolivian nationality by naturalization in 1993 because the Chinese government had the policy of preferential treatment for foreign investors and because it would be easy to travel abroad. However, the validity of a Bolivian passport was for one year, and it was necessary to renew it in Bolivia; feeling this inconvenient, B thought about restoring his or her Chinese nationality. In 1995, while B was in Japan with the status of a short-term stayer, B went to the Chinese Embassy in Japan and applied for restoration of Chinese nationality. As China does not recognize multiple nationalities, it was necessary for B to renounce his or her Bolivian nationality; based on instructions by the Chinese Embassy, he or she renounced his or her Bolivian nationality in advance. However, later, B was told by the Chinese Embassy that his or her application for restoration of nationality was denied by the authorities in China for the reason that he or she did not have the residential status of a long-term resident in Japan. 91