My residential permit will be expiring by August 2917

need to travel to China come April to renew my passport which is due to expire by March 2018. I want submit my application at the Chinese embassy in Sapporo Japan as I live in Hokkadate. is there residential permit validity period required. I heard some said if my visa validity is less than a month I am not eligible for visiting visa to china.. is that true Nigeria embassy in Japan does not renew passport for now. Pls anyone with clear info about this situation?