The Use and Non-Use of Japanese Names by Non-Japanese

Abstract

While Japan is often said to be homogenous in population, recent years have seen an increase in foreign residents, making it interesting to consider if the same patterns of adaptation of names found in other countries could be observed. A survey amongst foreign residents of Japan showed that while adaptation of names in their pronunciation was common, it was generally uncommon to use Japanese personal names. However, people of Asian heritage used them more commonly. It is suggested that the binary positioning of Japanese identities may make it difficult for some foreigners to take Japanese names, with additional factors such as racial expectations for foreigners possibly influencing some groups’ ability to take Japanese names.

Keywords:

• Japan
• immigrants
• personal names
• identity
• adaptation
• foreigners
• race

Notes

1 I did not restrict it to individuals currently in Japan to maximize potential respondents: 102 were living in Japan, 35 were not; one did not respond.

2 In English at <http://goo.gl/8px9O> and in Japanese at <http://goo.gl/bmY1p>.

3 I did not focus on surnames as changes are possible through marriage and informally taking surnames is a less viable social and legal option.

4 The qualitative data described comes from people’s free answers and a final question asking for experiences to share.