Remember all.... if you have legal problems in Japan (ie, ticketing while
driving), having long confusing katakana names is somewhat beneficial.


"Ron Hitler Barrassi" <greg-the-stop-sign@tism.com.au> wrote in message
news:crqjuu$jc$1@nnrp.gol.com...
> windsor wrote:
> > What can you do if your surname is long and extremely difficult to
> > katakana-ise? I wouldn't want people to have to struggle through my
> > surname, with about 50 small tsu's and other annoyances, whenever they
> > want to address me.
> >
> > Can a gaijin shorten his surname when converting to katakana?
>
>
> You can register an official alias. You will still have to use your name
> as written on your passport and alien registration card but for general
> usage you can be anything you want. Some people have unfortunate results
> when they have their name written in katakana. A name like Jonathan has
> an automatic ???on the end, ...???? sounds silly. My name ends up
> with ..???? so I use my given name exclusively.
>
> Two other reasons you might like to do this: to make sure name is
> written as you want it, not how Japanese think it should be (they can be
> quite stubborn about this); and to ensure your middle name is dropped.
> ie your name will often be written FAMILYNAME, 1stGIVEN 2ndGIVEN and you
> will end up being called by your middle name.
>
>