Should I Change My Name?

[JapaneseMike]

Perhaps Retire Japan might put out an ebook on the perils of getting your name wrong and how to avoid a lifetime of terrible issues.

sure to be a best-seller.

In the spirit of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it should be called.....
...
...
...

...
...
...
...



Dad Name, Name Dad

`i'll get my coat

[Beaglehound]

Perhaps Retire Japan might put out an ebook on the perils of getting your name wrong and how to avoid a lifetime of terrible issues.

sure to be a best-seller.

I actually think our very own MoneyMatters should have it as a chapter in his putative “pseudo-whimsical yet with an undercurrent of impotent rage” satirical take on life in Japan.

[Beaglehound]

Perhaps Retire Japan might put out an ebook on the perils of getting your name wrong and how to avoid a lifetime of terrible issues.

sure to be a best-seller.

In the spirit of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it should be called.....
...
...
...

...
...
...
...



Dad Name, Name Dad

`i'll get my coat

[kuma]

@kuma, Thanks so much for such a detailed reply. There's an awful lot involved, eh? My initial reaction to seeing the possible steps laid out like that is to give up the idea.

I think it's probably best for me to accept that registration trouble is inevitable, but not an impenetrable wall - it just takes some patience, time and extra work. And it's not forever. It'll resolve itself in 30 to 40 years, and I've ensured the problem isn't passed down to my son, who has his mum's surname and no middle name.

And then there's always the option of naturalization of course. I wonder, would it better to take Japanese citizenship *after* both parents are gone and any inheritance received, or before?

I too reckon the status quo is probably less burdensome than the name change from the UK end, though below is my take on which UK name change solution would be the easiest...

Were I wishing to remove a middle name (I'm not; happy with my name), I think I'd go for the minor change to forenames on the UK passport route.
Sift through existing paperwork, seeing if anything would work as evidence. Payslips show my name in alphabet as firstname lastname (no middle name); health insurance card in katakana as firstname lastname (no middle name). From the UK, I might be able to delete my middle name from any remaining bank accounts, etc. NS&I accept non-residents; could open an account with them without filling in my middle name. Also, 'letter from local council' could be an easy win. Write to last known electoral district in the UK enquiring about eligibility to vote. They should write back. Not the best evidence, and prob not the type of letter they are looking for, but theoretically ticks the box.

Submit covering letter explaining that middle name makes life tough in Japan. 

Apply. Hope for the best.

If successful, go to Immigration with the name change form and new passport (within 14 days of passport issuance) and hope they don't ask for additional supporting evidence. If they do, prepare a statement to the effect that the British Passport Authority accepted the deletion of my middle name but did not issue a name change certificate; the new passport is the sole evidence. The clerk would probably refer to a senior officer... who would have little choice but to accept, really.

But whilst this hopefully helps new financial applications in Japan, could it not generate problems with existing accounts? And even with UK state pension, etc -- might need to write to update more things than you realise. 

[Ori]

Straying from the original question but staying on the name change theme, what happens in the below case:

Foreigner marries a Japanese national; husband and wife keep their original surnames
More than 6 months passes since marriage registration
Foreigner naturalises as Japanese

Does Article 750 of the Civil Code then kick in, forcing the married couple to have the same surname? And is that a major faff if not done within six months of the marriage registration, as the name change has to be done through the courts?

Not going to be relevant for me as my wife took my surname on marriage. Just curious about these things.

I've just recently read on reddit that this has to be done during naturalization.

[kuma]

Thanks for this.

Of course, someone naturalising would need to enact a name change in any case as their name would need to be in kanji, hiragana or katakana rather than alphabet. (https://www.turning-japanese.info/)

Since a name change upon naturalisation is mandatory, the path of least resistance would be for that person to take their partner's surname. In my understanding, the other option would be for the partner to simultaneously change his/her name through the courts.

[Ori]

Since a name change upon naturalisation is mandatory, the path of least resistance would be for that person to take their partner's surname. In my understanding, the other option would be for the partner to simultaneously change his/her name through the courts.

In a typical case when foreigner is a hsuband, and Japanese is a wife, the wife would usually already have husband's surname in katakana, so husband would only have to "katakanize" his name.
Otherwise it could be a tough decision for one of the partners (our case, ha-ha).

[RetireJapan]

In a typical case when foreigner is a hsuband, and Japanese is a wife, the wife would usually already have husband's surname in katakana, so husband would only have to "katakanize" his name.

Not necessarily. Marriage to a foreign national is the only way a Japanese spouse can keep their maiden name, and many do.

My wife has her original surname, which I choose to use as my alias.

If/when I naturalise I will probably take that name, but I could come up with a completely new one, at which point my wife would be saddled with it.

I amuse myself sometimes by suggesting outlandish names that she would hate to have

[Established]

In a typical case when foreigner is a hsuband, and Japanese is a wife, the wife would usually already have husband's surname in katakana, so husband would only have to "katakanize" his name.

Not necessarily. Marriage to a foreign national is the only way a Japanese spouse can keep their maiden name, and many do.

My wife has her original surname, which I choose to use as my alias.

If/when I naturalise I will probably take that name, but I could come up with a completely new one, at which point my wife would be saddled with it.

I amuse myself sometimes by suggesting outlandish names that she would hate to have

I agree, it makes much more sense for a Japanese partner to keep their own last name.

So many headaches and heartaches saved down the road too. Better for any future children.

Depending on the rules in your home country you can always have a western name on their other countries passport.

My wife also has my last name on her passport, as a sort of notation.

[blos]

I would, had tons of troubles with my name since it has one of those special nordic characters too that gets transliterated in a weird way.

Anyway, several years back I removed the middle name from my name, so now katakanisation of my name is just 4+3 characters.

Got the alias, have been using it for years now One of the best things I did here