Becoming Japanese

For many people, their first official romanisation Despite its widespread use in bilingual signage at stations, government buildings and facilities, etc., it can come as a surprise to learn that the latin alphabet is not actually used in Japan in any official capacity. What this means for native born citizens is that until they apply for either a passport or a credit card, there is no official way to render their names internationally. A lack of official use does not mean a lack of guidelines though. When applying for a first passport, the guidelines state quite specifically that the name has to be rendered in strict accordance with the strictest interpretation of the Hepburn convention. And while the Hepburn convention for the most part does a perfectly decent job of presenting Japanese words in a way that English speakers in particular can pronounce almost recognisably, there are times when a little flexibility is desirable. For example, the "Ō" in 大澤 Ōsawa is pronou...

photo used under license from iStock/Getty Since Donald Trump was elected president by the electoral college, many U.S. columnists have been writing columns about emigrating to other countries. Some of these are tongue in cheek, poking fun of celebrities and people passionate about politics who threaten to leave America if their candidate of choice does not get elected (this happens every four years during every election, by the way). Others are dead serious. In these articles, the normal destination country of choice for Americans is Canada. Interestingly, during this cycle, a few journalists and bloggers have actually written about Japan as being a prospective target for immigration for well-to-do liberal mobile American globalists. The interest in Japan as a target for immigration is due to the recent announcement in the slight relaxation in the path to permanent residency status via points system rules making waves in the press. A points system for immigration is not novel ...