Anyone here became a Japanese Citizen recently?

Has anyone with non-Japanese ethnicity here become a Japanese citizen recently? How was your experience? Is it more strict these days? And how did you pick your Japanese name and kanji?

I applied for Kika years ago but had to withdraw my application because my company retrenched me (you’re not allowed to apply when jobless). I opted to get PR instead after a few years on a new job. I had picked out a Japanese name with auspicious kanji that sounded like my birth name.

FYI my current passport is very disadvantaged for international travel and that was the main reason I wanted to get J citizenship.