I want to have a Japanese name
 

I have a typical Arabic name, and besides the prejudice that comes along with it, it's kind of boring. So I have decided to legally change name to a Japanese one. They are way more beautiful and exotic sounding These are the names I'm thinking of, which do you think is the best:

Sousuke
Akira
Kaneda
Keitaro
Shuji

None. You're not Japanese.

How old do you have to be to legally change your name where you come from?

I like Keitaro

It's old school.

I wouldn't change my name but my girlfriend is half Japanese half Austrian.

If we ended up having a kid I'd like to give it a Japanese and German first or middle name. I like Ryosuke.

OMG! Go for Uzumaki Naruto! DO EEETTT

As much as I love the 'idea' of a Japanese name, I'd prefer my name pronounced with a Japanese accent. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Jaimeizu" Genius

Although, I have given myself the nickname 'Miku', from my middle name 'Nicholas', which is 'Miklos' in Greek, so.... shorten that and..... voila!! A Japanese nickname. lol

Sitron I can smell you from here.

An interesting fact is that if you become a permanent resident o Japan you can legally take a Japanese name. There are no restrictions, you could change your name to Miyamoto Musashi, and that's what would be printed in your passport.

You can or you have to? I thought it was a legal obligation to take a Japanese name

I think that's only if you take up citizenship. To be a permanent resident I would imagine its optional, as Sangetsu seems to say. Even then I'm not sure about it being obligatory to take up a Japanese name when one becomes a citizen, I think that rule no longer exists (assuming I'm right in that it existed at all).

Edit: Japanese nationality law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - yeah, according to wikipedia (reliable, I know . . . ) it was only when becoming a citizen that one had to adopt a Japanese name, and this practise stopped around the 80's.

High Five!

In my country you can only change your name if you have a strong reason pushing you to do so. You cannot just choose to change it for no reason other than you want to cause you don't like it enough.

Why would you want a Japanese name, anyway? Cause honestly, a non-Japanese person with an obvious Japanese name, sounds like you're trying to get yourself laughed at.

I would understand if you had some blood in you and you wanted to get closer to that side of your family that you know nothing about and want to support it but to change it over what people think and it sounds boring? That in my opinion is not a very good reason. My last name tsuruneru and that to me dose not make much since but im ok with it.

Wapanese or another reason?

That can also be a reason that he's not telling us.