Do you change your name when you move to Japan?
When becoming a Japanese citizen, you have to put down a Japanese name on the official documentation. Most Westerners will simply adapt their name to katakana, but some Chinese and Korean applicants will use the Japanese pronunciations of the characters in their names if it’s possible and makes sense.
Can I use my Chinese name in Japan?
5 Answers. Yes you can of course, as many have said. However, I am not sure why nobody mentioned that you can also pretty much use the kanji in your name and just associate to them a Japanese pronunciation as well.
Can you keep your last name in Japan?
Japan is the only country in the world to have such a ruling in its civil code, which stipulates that couples must choose at the time of marriage to adopt one surname, according to Japan’s Ministry of Justice.
Do you have to have the same last name in Japan?
One other consideration is that currently where two Japanese citizens are married they must have the same family name, so if you are married to a Japanese person you need to negotiate whose surname you are going to go with. If you value the sound of your name, you don’t have to.
Do Chinese women change their last names after marriage?
“After marriage, Chinese women don’t change their name. Is that really a sign of high status?” asked Mu Qing Shan, who did not respond to attempts to contact her. “Doesn’t letting a woman take your surname raise her status?” Less egalitarian than discriminatory, then.
Why do Japanese people have given names to their children?
The practice of putting given names first gained wide acceptance during the late 19th century and early 20th century, when Japan looked to Europe as it sought to modernise its economy and military. Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono. Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA
Why is Japan’s foreign minister asking media to use family names first?
Japan’s foreign minister will ask international media organisations to use the family name first when writing Japanese names – as is customary in the Japanese language – in an attempt to reverse a century of linguistic convention.