"etaka" <etaka@yahoo.com> wrote in message

> Same point. If he has an ARC, then he is NOT Japanese, as what he gave
> on TV as his "real" name, Michael Anthony Sheridan, or his own
> rendition of his name as "Maikeru Sheridan", two names in katakana, on
> his website, would suggest. His "real" (US birth or Japanese
> registered) name does not appear to be "Tomioka", at least not in
> kanji, and not in the order of his professional name "Maikeru Tomioka".
> Perhaps it was his mother's maiden name.

You're talking about people on TV ? Since when do they give their real name
? Why would they ? You don't think Namie Amuro, Matsuda Seiko, Kimura
Takuya, etc...are these people's official name ? At least, those 3 aren't.
So why wouldn't  foreigners also decide on artist names ?

> Maybe he copied the name as it appears on his US passport for his ARC,
> if any, or, as has been suggested by myself and others in other cases,
> the Japanese stuck to the name as it appears in his passport no matter
> what he may have chosen for himself. I have seen the ARC of a Korean
> man (successful construction company owner and karate instructor, not
> stereotypical pachinko parlor or restaurant operator) who is for some
> reason allowed to pass with a Japanese name of at least four kanji (I
> do not know why Chinese or Korean names seem to have three. Anybody?).

They don't *have to*, that's a question of family (many have 1 character for
their name, a few have more)
and fashion (of shorter given names).
I have seen several Zainichi Koreans' cards and these persons are not more
allowed than you to use kanji freely. I mean their card has "hanzi" like on
their passport, for instance Kim Chunmee, while that person uses "Tanaka
Yumi" as Japanese alias, and would find it useful to have the kanji of
Tanaka and the exact Yumi (as the Chunmee is ressembling) on driving
license, etc.

> I note that the resident "Koreans" I have met who go by a Japanese
> name, all used Japanese names that start "Kane". I wonder if their
> Korean names are all "Kim".

Those I know take Japanese names that don't ressemble to their Korean family
name, but usually they have the *similar* given name.
I know Chinese that have split their hanzi in two. For instance 樺　becomes
華木.

Kuri