Editing Japanese name (section)

== Names from other ethnic groups in Japan ==
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Many ethnic minorities living in Japan, mostly Korean and Chinese, adopt Japanese names. The roots of this custom go back to the colonial-era policy of {{transliteration|ja|[[sōshi-kaimei]]}}, which forced Koreans to change their names to Japanese names. Nowadays, ethnic minorities, mostly Korean, who immigrated to Japan after WWII take on Japanese names (sometimes called 'pass names') to ease communication and, more importantly, to avoid [[Ethnic issues in Japan|discrimination]]. A few of them (e.g., [[Han Chang-Woo]], founder and chairman of Maruhan Corp., pronounced 'Kan Shōyū' in Japanese) still keep their native names. Sometimes, however, ethnic [[Chinese people in Japan|Chinese]] and [[Zainichi Korean|Korean]]s in Japan who choose to renounce Permanent Resident status to apply for Japanese citizenship have to change the characters in their names because not all characters are legally recognized in Japan for naming purposes.

Japanese citizenship used to require adoption of a Japanese name. In recent decades, the government has allowed individuals to simply adopt katakana versions of their native names when applying for citizenship, as is already done when referring to non-East Asian foreigners: [[National Diet of Japan|National Diet]] member {{nihongo|[[Marutei Tsurunen|Tsurunen Marutei]]|ツルネン マルテイ}}, originally 'Martti Turunen', who is [[Finnish people|Finnish]], is a famous example. Others transliterate their names into phonetically similar kanji compounds, such as activist {{nihongo|[[Arudou Debito]]|有道 出人}}, an American-Japanese activist known as 'David Aldwinckle' before taking Japanese citizenship. (Tsurunen has similarly adopted {{lang|ja|弦念 丸呈}}.) Still others have abandoned their native names entirely in favor of [[Yamato people|Yamato]] names, such as [[Lafcadio Hearn]] (who was half [[Anglo-Irish]] and half [[Greek people|Greek]]), who used the name {{nihongo|Koizumi Yakumo|小泉 八雲}}. At the time, to gain Japanese citizenship, it was necessary to be adopted by a Japanese family (in Hearn's case, it was his wife's family) and take their name.

Individuals born overseas with Western given names and Japanese surnames are usually given a katakana name in Western order ([given name] [surname]) when referred to in Japanese. [[Eric Shinseki]], for instance, is still referred to as ''Eric Shinseki'' (エリック シンセキ), opting to use the native script in rendering his name. However, sometimes Japanese parents decide to use Japanese order when mentioning the child's name in Japanese. Also, Japanese parents tend to give their children a name in kanji, hiragana, or katakana, particularly if it is a Japanese name. Even individuals born in Japan, with a Japanese name, might be referred to using katakana if they have established residency or a career overseas. [[Yoko Ono]], for example, was born in Japan, with the name {{lang|ja|小野 洋子}}, and spent the first twenty years of her life there. However, having lived outside the country for more than fifty years, and basing her career in the United States, Ono is often referred to in the press as {{lang|ja|オノ・ヨーコ}}, preserving the Japanese order of her name (Ono Yōko), but rendering it in katakana. Another example is the inventor of [[Bitcoin]], who has gone under the name [[Satoshi Nakamoto]], and which is most likely a pseudonym, perhaps even of a non-Japanese person; Nakamoto is referred to in Japanese with katakana in Western order, {{lang|ja|サトシ・ナカモト}}, rather than {{lang|ja|中本聡}}.

Christians in Japan traditionally have Christian names in addition to their native Japanese names. These Christian names are written using katakana, and are adapted to Japanese phonology from their [[Portuguese (language)|Portuguese]] or [[Latin]] forms rather than being borrowed from English. Peter, for example, is {{nihongo||ペトロ|Petoro}}, John is {{nihongo||ヨハネ|Yohane}}, Jacob is {{nihongo||ヤコブ|Yakobu}}, Martin is {{nihongo||マルチノ|Maruchino}}, Dominic is {{nihongo||ドミニコ|Dominiko}}, and so on.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/country/JP-age.htm|title=Bishops of Japan (by Age)|author=|date=|website=www.gcatholic.org|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> For most purposes in real life, Christian names are not used; for example, [[Taro Aso]] has a Christian name, {{nihongo|Francisco|フランシスコ|Furanshisuko}}, which is not nearly as well-known. 16th century {{transliteration|ja|[[kirishitan]] [[daimyō]]}} [[Dom Justo Takayama]], on the other hand, is far more well known by his Christian name {{nihongo||ジュスト|Justo}} than his birth name, Hikogorō Shigetomo.