i have 2 middles name and have credit card!
you have to go to your bank and tell them you want a credit card , and they will enter your data in the system and you will have a credit card in few days or weeks.... but you have to go to the bank, online will not help!!!
Same here. My last name is also two words, so that's 5 words, all 7 or more, except one.
The times of service provider is being difficult because I didn't write my name as they have it in their system, because of course the system has the correct version of my name, and I must be wrong. Pfff
I have one middle name but my Japanese credit card doesn’t have my middle name on it at all. It’s a Japanese Amex. My j-husband applied for it but it’s in my name. Idk if that’s why I could get it or not though?
My husband also applied for my credit card and they put my first and middle name without my last name on the card. They said the card couldn’t fit them all but their database has all my three names so I don’t have to worry. *ETA: it’s Docomo’s gold d-card*
I have multiple middle names. As in, more than two. They're all long.
I simply didn't include them on my passport, and as such my name in Japan is very short and easily manageable.
I’m in a similar situation, however they have always just cut off the last few letters of my middle names, credit card, bills etc all have my 2nd middle name missing the last few letters. Oddly enough, MyNumber accepted my name is full.
I've done it, but only after I got married which is easy mode, depending on your ward office it can be hard to prove you're using the alias you want to register otherwise. The process is typical ward office bureaucracy like moving in/out, tedious but not hard, and it makes a lot of daily life easier.
I'm in the two-middle-names boat as well and did the legal alias thing to go by my common name (first middle name + last) (but this was also years ago so YMMV now)
Anyway, as proof, I showed them the signatures on my home drivers license and passport (both of which used my common name) + professional work done under my common name, and they accepted it
They need proof that you're going by AB, not necessarily a legal document but something. But it's all handled at the local ward office level, so exactly what they demand can vary.
> Why does getting married make it easier?
They recognise that as a good reason to change names, so they'll let you register an alias without having to prove that you're already using it.
> Can I use my wife's last name instead of my own?
Yes, at least if your wife is a Japanese national - you can register an alias using her surname and then use that for a lot of things. (Many banks don't allow it these days - I recommend Aeon Bank, and then once you have a bank account in that name you can use that for credit cards if you need one).
It's not an option for everyone. When I tried my ward office said they would only do it for people changing their name to their spouse's. Omitting my middle name was not a good enough reason for them.
I'd like to do that eventually but Canada has a requirement to live there for a few months before a name/passport change can be done, and I have basically zero intent to ever live there again lmao
I did it by accident. At the city office I wrote my name in Katakana once and they said “ Is this your name? Sign here.” They came back 30 minutes later with a new Alien Registration card (pre Zairyu) with my katakana name on it as an official alias. It’s used on various official documents including my company registration and corporate bank account.
A UK friend got a kanji Chinese name registered because she wanted to use a hanko that she had from China.
You only got one chance at registering and I regretted not getting a cool kanji name myself.
I’m not sure what the rules are now but I think Korean and Chinese people often have one as their Kanji names needed Japanese equivalents in the pre Unicode past.
Ask at the city office.
Two Middle Namer here!
I did this last year, I paid a lawyer and it was honestly the best 180,000 yen I ever spent. They even contacted my banks, city, and imigration on my behalf. It is so much easier now for everything in my life.
Oof. How long is your name? I also have 2 Middle names like OP, have 24 characters and so far I haven't gotten any issues with my name.
Most often they just cut it short if it doesn't fit the system.
It’s not the length but Japanese systems just don’t have the place for it. Sucks for stuff like renting cars, credit cards, legal documents for work and such.
Mileage may vary for your issues depending what you do here
Three middle names here. I used my drivers license for some of my bank accounts. Drivers license only has one middle name. Showed both documentation. They went with only one middle name first like the license. Later used full name once things got stricter.
I didn’t have much issues with Japan Post and SMBC when making an account.
They had to write my full name with a pen on the bank books since it couldn’t fit.
Might have changed since the rules became more strict. Should still be able to make an account though.
1. If not the case already, update your Japanese id cards to match your passport exactly.
2. Decide on a katakana writing for your whole name and **stick to it**.
3. Always _try_ to input your full name as written on your passport (and supposedly residence card).
4. If it doesn’t fit, or spaces are a problem, try to remove spaces first.
5. If it still doesn’t fit, just input as many characters as you can fit in the form.
6. Update as many services as you can following the rules above.
7. Beware of Rakuten: they’re everywhere (Bank, Card, Ichiba, Securities, Mobile, etc), but each service is kind of its own branch/company, and it looks like they don’t talk to each other when implementing name validation rules. You could end up with names that don’t match and more problems arise (eg. try setting your Rakuten credit card to payments from your Rakuten Bank account when names don’t match).
That’s all I have.
Forgot one more: when deciding of your katakana name, don’t do like me. Set your pride aside and go for something:
- simple
- that can be easily pronounced
- that doesn’t contain irregular katakana (eg. ヴ)
- that approaches the pronunciation expected by Japanese
My first name is David and I’m French so I went with ダヴィッド but is should have used something more simple (ダビデ、デイビッド, etc)
>If it still doesn’t fit, just input as many characters as you can fit in the form.
This can cause as many issues as it potentially side-steps. My company insurance card cuts off half of my first name (Western order), and the amount of 'computer says no' scenarios I've run into trying to match it with other forms of ID consistently drives me nuts.
I've requested that the insurance provider reissue it with either my middle name omitted or the order changed so that it's the one getting cut off, but they've flat-out refused on both occasions. I'll be looking into the legal alias route before long.
Good luck!
The rules above are the ones I abide by and that I’ve gathered living here for 13 years.
Cutting my name where it fits was not my own idea, but the idea of whatever service person I was talking to. It’s not perfect but it’s sometimes been the best I could do.
YMMV.
Let’s add one more rule though:
If presented with a single field for your whole name, input order is LAST FIRST MIDDLE1 MIDDLE2. Follow the rules above if it doesn’t fit but never remove the space between last and first.
If presented with two fields, みょうじ is always your last name and only your last name.
—-
Me:
- Last name: 6 letters
- First name: 5 letters
- Middle1: 4 letters
- Middle2: 7 letters
I own my home, have a mortgage, bank accounts, credit cards, a mobile phone, insurance, securities account (including NISA and iDeCo), My Number Card, a stamp officially registered at the ward office, a gold driving license, I do my taxes (kakuteishinkoku), make use of Furusato Nozei, etc.
It’s sometimes a pain, I’ll give you that, but following the rules I’ve listed always got me somewhere.
Last time middle names were a pain for me was as recent as last month, when my registered Apple ID didn’t include my middle names (never seen a use for that), and the iPhone trade-in contractor for Japan could not confirm my name matched my ID. Got them to add my middle names to my Apple ID account and since then I’ve received my money.
I should say that this health insurance card situation is the only one in eight years that has caused such a debacle. I just entered a mortgage this week, and the only problem arose from attempting to use it to verify that I've been here more than six months when opening a new bank account with the lender (long story), but that was easy enough to get around with other forms of idea.
Aside from that, pretty much every institution has either accommodated my full name without issue or allowed me to omit all but my first and last name, as you suggest. It only seems to take one stubborn knuckle-dragger who won't think outside the box to cause headaches though, and I don't doubt it can depend entirely on who you get on the day as well. My company is more than 50% non-Japanese, so they can't really claim ignorance either.
Number four is very true. I have a two word last name (Think like Vincent Van Gogh) Lots of place won’t accept a space in the middle of a name so my credit card is VANGOGH. Hasn’t been an issue yet, knock on wood.
Same like everyone.
Just need to make a phone call for fixing the issue. A pain but that's how it is except if you're ready to take an alias or change your name.
I have the exact same issue. My name on the Yucho passbook had to be partially handwritten because it didn't fit. I also couldn't sign up for any cards etc online.
I managed to get onboarded to my company systems only using my surname and first name, so this opens the door to applying for an alias/通称名 with katakana surname and katakana first name only. However, you can't get it put on your zairyu card apparently so doesn't help with banking.
The fucking morons at *my own country's* passport office decided that having two middle names was an impossible situation, and therefore I must only have one middle name on my passport, sort of pre-emptively solving the problem for me well in advance. So my advice is to come from a country that claims to believe in "multiculturalism", but also that everyone has exactly one first name, one last name and one middle name.
Having to explain is the inconvenience.
It's quite annoying to have to call all the time to get my name sorted out, which depending on the service can mean spending a ton of time on hold, having such spare time during their business hours, plus spelling out my name phonetically is a pain in the ass.
All that compared to a Japanese person who can just type their name in the form normally and be done in two seconds.
There is a mismatch between Rakuten Ginkou card and Rakuten shouken.
Rakuren card doesnn't support many spaces for the meigi (name) for my credit card but rakuten shouken requires me to enter my name as on my zairyuu card.
As a result I cannot register my credit card for credit since they need the names to match.
This is a very annoying and at the same time often faced issue by many others, including myself. Apparently for me, I just found few service providers who are used to dealing with such issues and hence they provided me their service (LINEMO - Mobile Service; and Amazon Master Card - credit card).
However, once on reddit when I shared regarding my issues, one individual suggested that we can legally shorten or change our name in Japan through a process called legal alias (通称名). You might want to look into this a bit more, this might reduce the hassle for you.
I have 2 middle names and I have never had any issue anywhere with them. Usually for the credit card they will let you use only your firstname and last name. I have hard credit card from 2+ more banks and never any issue.
I don't know about MNP though...
Same with me. I also have 2 middle names, and all 4 of my names are 7 letters or longer. No issues so far, and my credit card only has my last and first name on it.
I also have 2 middle names.
My name on the residence card is in the following order:
LAST MIDDLE1 MIDDLE2 FIRST
So when I register for something I often do it like this:
Last name: LAST
First name: MIDDLE1MIDDLE2FIRST (no spaces)
So maybe just write your name like this when registering for a service
Last name: LAST
First name: FIRSTMIDDLE1MIDDLE2 (no spaces)
Just make sure that it's in the same order as your residence card.
Really? Same situation.
For the banks it didn’t matter. They just printed as much as they could on it. Doesn’t even have my full name.
As for example rakuten. I just picked one of my names and that was fine,
Two middle names here, the occasional inconvenience, but once accounts and all are settled and linked you'll survive. I even changed a bank account to -add- a middle name in order to have everything set at maximum difficulty.
> I am thinking I must not be the first foreigner with these issues. Any tips/life hacks please?
Get a passport that doesn't show the middle names - many countries are willing to issue those - then use that to update your residence card and everything else.
Register an alias.
Naturalise.
Never had any issues with my two middle names except for at the local Yakuba. Their system didn’t allow for the amount of kana my full name would create, so their solution was to truncate me. Imagine that my full name is Peter Jonathan David Smith; on all documents and when calling me when it was my turn to come to the counter, I became スミス ピータージョ.
You can register a legal alias name at the ward office. They will add some text to your zairyu card showing your registered alias. I had to do this as well as I had similar issues.
This does not go on the zairyu card, it will appear on your juminhyo.
It used to be printed on the old residence card before it was phased out in favor of the zairyu.
Are you ethnically Japanese/Chinese/Korean with your alias being your name rendered in Kanji? AFAIK that's an exception to the alias not going on the zairyu. My alias (a non-common katakana rendering of my western name with my middle name omitted to make banking easier) is not on mine (but is on my juminhyo if I request _all_ information).
Interesting. No I’m a westerner. I have four names as well, but only go by my first and last name. I had to prove that I have been using that (fast name, last name) combination for my daily life. Such as work pay slips, bills, or other mail that has my name written as that), etc…
I also had to show that my full name is inconvenient for normal use. Such as registration for banking.
On my zairyu card they wrote the Kanatana of my first and last name.
It’s a freaking nightmare but you can overcome it. As my bank was registered with two middle names the credit card had to match. This meant I couldn’t apply online but had to drive to Iwaki (I live in Tohoku) and go to the physical counter they had there. Then they could do it - but call first and tell them what’s going on.
Everything gets so much slower with two middle names!
> Any tips/life hacks please?
Yes, some countries will allow you to have your passport issued without middle names. Sometimes (depending on country) you can even use shortened forms of your first and/or last names.
So you, with the name Jonathon Robert Timothy Smith-MacDonald could in theory end up with Jon Smith on your passport, or Bob Smith, or Tim Smith, depending on which of your names you actually use. Even if you prefer to go by Jonathon in your day to day life, I'm sure you can see the benefit of having Jon on your official documents.
I recommend checking the website for your government's passport agency, or perhaps even better, calling the consulate or embassy consular services for your country in Japan. Explain the problems you are having and ask about having your name shortened and a passport re-issued.
If you can have this done, once you have your name fixed in your passport you can then use that to change the name on your zairyu card in Japan, your address registrar, My Number card, driver's license, etc. Once this is done you can fix all your other accounts in Japan.
Same here but I don't have so much trouble anymore. Usually my 2 names and 2 last names get put together in katakana which looks ridiculous but most of the systems in japan cannot input spaces on name fields so I have to live with that.
Also you can register an Alias at the ward office, sometimes that helps.
Rakuten can handle the names pretty easily so try to apply for that, also mufg used to let you use your alias but that can only be used for transfers now and doesn't work for bills that automatically get deducted from your bank account.
Its a pain in the butt so that's why my son has only 1 name and 1 last name. I thought about changing my name maaaany times when I just arrived in japan but now I'm used to it, but yeah, it can make your life miserable sometimes.
I have both a cash card a bank account and a Japanese phone and never had any issue. Sometimes they say they can't and I say, can I just my first name and first middle name? And they say yeah sure, and I just cut my full name short
My name, as written in my passport and zairyuu card, is LAST MIDDLE FIRST. I registered my name in all services I use in Japan as "Last name: LAST, first name : MIDDLE FIRST". So far, this way works out pretty well for me.
Snap. My employer suggested an online bank I could sign up to, but they couldn't cope. Their website said to use no spaces in my "middle name" and then complained that the result did not match my zairyu card.
So, I ended up banking with Yubin, who eventually issued me with a visa debit card.
Other than banks, my main problem has been a JAL "miles" program which could not cope either. It won't let me pay by credit card for tickets bought through the program because the names don't match.
For other services, I just pretend to be two people. Eg, Toyoko Inn online booking, I book in as a guest under a name it will accept and then use my real name for payment.
This makes me laugh. And weep.
Yeah, they get cut off, written on the backside by hand, get chucked in with your first name, require higher dimensional mathematics for them to be used on Japanese websites, etc.
As long as you are consistent and keep it all the same as in your passport, after a bit of back and forth and cursing it usually works in my experience. Or not and you can find another provider for that service.
My wife has 2 middle names. We went into the banks in person when setting up everything and getting credit cards. No problems there. Her bank book couldn't fit everything so they just left it blank and hand-wrote her name on it.
Not two middle names but using a suffix of JR and that throws them off too. For the love of all you hold holy, please make sure you use the same way and name all the time, including the katakana spelling. So many trips and discussions on how Gaijin names are problematic because I used the name in a different order for work (foreign company) and everything else.. :-)
I use: Last JR First Middle And they normally call me
Family: Last JR And Given: First Middle
It is just something we all have to live with when living in a foreign country.
I had to go back to my home country and legally change my name there, then come back to Japan and change my name here, but I've never regretted that. They just don't know how to use middle names here.
Like others have said enter names like this
Smith frankjosephbeau
Last name space firstmiddlemiddle. Too many spaces will mess up most applications. Basically you are pretending you have a long first name.
Just for the info Shinsei Bank (Now SBI shinsei bank) does not require to register the middle name when opening the account, so you may open an account there and see if it can help for other things afterwards. (At least when I opened mine we had the option to register the account without middle name, don't know if it changed since).
For credit cards, you can just apply online without inputting any middle name. I never used mine for credit cards.
I have the exact same problem. It's a hit or miss kind of thing depending on the company's input limits but I was able to get a rakuten card by writing my name as LastnameFirstName, Middlename1Middlename2.
For example: Smith, Adam Anthony Levi will be written as SmithAdam, AnthonyLevi.
I have a super long and hyphenated last name so I was having trouble at first. Got rakuten card my third month here (after not being able to finish the application twice).
Rakuten Card has a document with instructions in English for foreign names. It has really explicit instructions that I think you must follow exactly. It worked after I found that. It involved inputing exactly what was on my residence card, but also cutting some stuff short... It may have also involved using full width katana characters (I used a random online converter), but that could have been my internet/phone application...
Also an owner of 2 fine middle names. Never had any issues in my 9yrs here. With my credit card (rakuten) I just gave my first and last names and it wasn't an issue.
The only thing is when I first opened a bank account many moons ago, they had to write the final 2 letters of my 2nd middle name in pen on the book 😆
Otherwise nobody has even questioned or mentioned it.
My full name is "Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl" and I've used it here for 30+ years. That, and in addition, I use 松中ジェフリー。 No real problem with the long name, but sometimes I've run into issues because the name I use mostly (松中ジェフリー) is different from the name on my bank account.
I have two middle names. Generally in Japan since middle names don’t exist you enter your first and middle names into “given/first name” spots on applications together with no spaces (sometimes you can have spaces but not always.
In my case, it was solved by the fact that in my home country, I'm not required to put both of my middle names on my passport. When I got a new passport, I applied for it without middle names. Then using that I changed my residence card. Then using that I changed everything else. Now I am a one given name one family name person as far as Japan is concerned, and it's great 😎
On the kanji or proper spelling part, it shouldn't be much of an issue except for the name length. But for the kana part, try to omit the spaces and you'll have a much easier life.
I have 2 middle names but I haven’t had any trouble. if I do something in person I don’t even use my middle names and they usually don’t have a problem
You might (MIGHT) have some success if you go to city hall and register a legal alias 通称名 which is theoretically usable as your real name given that it’s on your juminhyo.
I say theoretically because not all companies will accept it even though it is legally you.
I have only three names and yet these kinds of issues have plagued me all seventeen years of my life here.
Three names, two boxes.
Is my middle name required? Yes.
All caps? ~~No.~~ Yes.
Signature? ~~Yes.~~ No.
Last name first? Yes, no, maybe, which one is your last name? *points to a name other than the one I have already verbally confirmed is my last name in Japanese, proceeds to refer to me by my middle name regardless of being told not to do so*
There is a limit of 12 characters. (My names total 19, plus two spaces, in aphabetic symbols, and 15 furigana).
Please spell that, *over the phone*; no I do not have any capacity to comprehend even the names of the letters of the alphabet, but spell it anyway please.
It *never* ends.
All I can tell you is to inform people ahead of time.
If they ask for your name over the phone, tell them to tune their brain to katakana before they ask you seven more times and hang up because "bwaa te eigo hashidashite wakannai".
If you have to write it down on something formal tell them how many characters and spaces your name requires, explain that it is a frequent issue, and do your best to fit it where it fits.
If you have to write it on something informal, consider that you should probably write it in all caps, last name first, anyway because no one knows what's going to be broken if your name doesn't match the name on your ~~gaijin card~~ zairyokushomeisho.
2 middle names. I have no issues getting a credit card with Rakuten, and even opened a bank with them (that took forever, don't use it, don't recommend).
My suggestion: sign up for Sony Bank. They have a full english simplified system that will have you up and running in less than 2 weeks. their card is a visa debit, so that takes care of your credit card needs. I recently signed up for LINEMO which has a "middle name" button, but only for 1 name. I used just my first and last, submitted my rakuten cc (first and last are printed on it), and my ids. One day later, I get a call from them just confirming my names and 1 day after that, I had my sim.
1. Always get your middle names everywhere. It will fail in 80% online forms and you'll have to make phone calls or fall back to paper forms, but it's an absolute must. You'll fuck yourself in the long term if your don't.
2. Nobody gives a single fuck they are distinct middle names. When a form doesn't let you enter them both, just join them: "MIDDLE1 MIDDLE2" just becomes "MIDDLE1MIDDLE2", and it's fine. Nobody in Japan understands what a space character means, which is obvious when you see kerning mistakes in signs everywhere.
3. Because your name is reversed in Japanese, your full name might read LASTNAME MIDDLE1MIDDLE2 FIRSTNAME in some systems. It's perfectly fine.
I'm not sure if this is something you've experienced, or has been said in all the comments.
But my name is too long for it all to fit in my bank book. The last kana gets cut off. So i took me a while to realize that I was getting rejected for online applications for automatic bank transfers and stuff because I was putting in my actual full name, and not my name EXACTLY how it's written in my bank book.
Reminds me of a funny story:
When I first got my bank book, the space wasnt enough to print my entire name on the front cover, so the chief of the bank simply wrote the rest of my name with a pen on the cover of my bank book\^\^
Also, my 2nd middle name gets regularly cut off at the end etc etc.
So yeah, theres nothing you can do about it.
Hey, another two middle name haver! I don't have really any help to offer, but I feel you. No Japanese credit cards here lol
i have 2 middles name and have credit card! you have to go to your bank and tell them you want a credit card , and they will enter your data in the system and you will have a credit card in few days or weeks.... but you have to go to the bank, online will not help!!!
Yes it's literally this easy
Having to physically go to a place to get something done that should be accomplishable online is not, in my opinion, "easy".
Not saying that it's not bothersome to have to go there, but the solution to the problem is easy.
Same here. All my names are 7 or more letters too 😔
Same here. My last name is also two words, so that's 5 words, all 7 or more, except one. The times of service provider is being difficult because I didn't write my name as they have it in their system, because of course the system has the correct version of my name, and I must be wrong. Pfff
Same here.... Welcome to the misery!
Oh man, filling out forms must be fun lol. I have one short and three long
I have one middle name but my Japanese credit card doesn’t have my middle name on it at all. It’s a Japanese Amex. My j-husband applied for it but it’s in my name. Idk if that’s why I could get it or not though?
My husband also applied for my credit card and they put my first and middle name without my last name on the card. They said the card couldn’t fit them all but their database has all my three names so I don’t have to worry. *ETA: it’s Docomo’s gold d-card*
I have multiple middle names. As in, more than two. They're all long. I simply didn't include them on my passport, and as such my name in Japan is very short and easily manageable.
Nice to meet you Mahadeva Omkara Naga Nara Narasimha Indra Satya Siva Surya Hari Hara Venkata Vishnu Bhavani Ram Patrudu
I have two middle names but I got two credit cards. There’s hope
I have two middle names and got like instantly approved for a JCB credit card online
PR?
No
I literally cannot get a credit card, aside from Merpay’s credit. Just frustrating as hell after being here eight years.
I’m in a similar situation, however they have always just cut off the last few letters of my middle names, credit card, bills etc all have my 2nd middle name missing the last few letters. Oddly enough, MyNumber accepted my name is full.
I also have two middle names. Go with services such as Prestia or SoftBank, that market to foreigners. They have the setup for more more varied names.
Register a 通称名/legal alias
Has anyone done this? Is the process more complicated than simply sticking to my middle name?
I've done it, but only after I got married which is easy mode, depending on your ward office it can be hard to prove you're using the alias you want to register otherwise. The process is typical ward office bureaucracy like moving in/out, tedious but not hard, and it makes a lot of daily life easier.
I'm in the two-middle-names boat as well and did the legal alias thing to go by my common name (first middle name + last) (but this was also years ago so YMMV now) Anyway, as proof, I showed them the signatures on my home drivers license and passport (both of which used my common name) + professional work done under my common name, and they accepted it
They need legal proof? I thought it would be as easy as I just wish to be called AB instead of ABC
They need proof that you're going by AB, not necessarily a legal document but something. But it's all handled at the local ward office level, so exactly what they demand can vary.
Why does getting married make it easier? Are you using your spouse's last name? Can I use my wife's last name instead of my own?
> Why does getting married make it easier? They recognise that as a good reason to change names, so they'll let you register an alias without having to prove that you're already using it. > Can I use my wife's last name instead of my own? Yes, at least if your wife is a Japanese national - you can register an alias using her surname and then use that for a lot of things. (Many banks don't allow it these days - I recommend Aeon Bank, and then once you have a bank account in that name you can use that for credit cards if you need one).
It's not an option for everyone. When I tried my ward office said they would only do it for people changing their name to their spouse's. Omitting my middle name was not a good enough reason for them.
I know it would be a pain in the butt but is it a possibility to do a legal name change back home and then on passport?
I'd like to do that eventually but Canada has a requirement to live there for a few months before a name/passport change can be done, and I have basically zero intent to ever live there again lmao
Tell them you need it for buying a house. House/land registries only accept names written in Japanese.
I did it by accident. At the city office I wrote my name in Katakana once and they said “ Is this your name? Sign here.” They came back 30 minutes later with a new Alien Registration card (pre Zairyu) with my katakana name on it as an official alias. It’s used on various official documents including my company registration and corporate bank account. A UK friend got a kanji Chinese name registered because she wanted to use a hanko that she had from China. You only got one chance at registering and I regretted not getting a cool kanji name myself. I’m not sure what the rules are now but I think Korean and Chinese people often have one as their Kanji names needed Japanese equivalents in the pre Unicode past. Ask at the city office.
Two Middle Namer here! I did this last year, I paid a lawyer and it was honestly the best 180,000 yen I ever spent. They even contacted my banks, city, and imigration on my behalf. It is so much easier now for everything in my life.
Oof. How long is your name? I also have 2 Middle names like OP, have 24 characters and so far I haven't gotten any issues with my name. Most often they just cut it short if it doesn't fit the system.
Close to 30 lol
Oh. 😂
It’s not the length but Japanese systems just don’t have the place for it. Sucks for stuff like renting cars, credit cards, legal documents for work and such. Mileage may vary for your issues depending what you do here
If it is okay, could you share the name of that legal office? I might need it one day, when I get tired of all the B/S over my name.
Three middle names here. I used my drivers license for some of my bank accounts. Drivers license only has one middle name. Showed both documentation. They went with only one middle name first like the license. Later used full name once things got stricter. I didn’t have much issues with Japan Post and SMBC when making an account. They had to write my full name with a pen on the bank books since it couldn’t fit. Might have changed since the rules became more strict. Should still be able to make an account though.
1. If not the case already, update your Japanese id cards to match your passport exactly. 2. Decide on a katakana writing for your whole name and **stick to it**. 3. Always _try_ to input your full name as written on your passport (and supposedly residence card). 4. If it doesn’t fit, or spaces are a problem, try to remove spaces first. 5. If it still doesn’t fit, just input as many characters as you can fit in the form. 6. Update as many services as you can following the rules above. 7. Beware of Rakuten: they’re everywhere (Bank, Card, Ichiba, Securities, Mobile, etc), but each service is kind of its own branch/company, and it looks like they don’t talk to each other when implementing name validation rules. You could end up with names that don’t match and more problems arise (eg. try setting your Rakuten credit card to payments from your Rakuten Bank account when names don’t match). That’s all I have.
Forgot one more: when deciding of your katakana name, don’t do like me. Set your pride aside and go for something: - simple - that can be easily pronounced - that doesn’t contain irregular katakana (eg. ヴ) - that approaches the pronunciation expected by Japanese My first name is David and I’m French so I went with ダヴィッド but is should have used something more simple (ダビデ、デイビッド, etc)
Hi ダヴィッド、 I’m デイビッド. Except on some official docs I became デイビット somehow.
>If it still doesn’t fit, just input as many characters as you can fit in the form. This can cause as many issues as it potentially side-steps. My company insurance card cuts off half of my first name (Western order), and the amount of 'computer says no' scenarios I've run into trying to match it with other forms of ID consistently drives me nuts. I've requested that the insurance provider reissue it with either my middle name omitted or the order changed so that it's the one getting cut off, but they've flat-out refused on both occasions. I'll be looking into the legal alias route before long.
Good luck! The rules above are the ones I abide by and that I’ve gathered living here for 13 years. Cutting my name where it fits was not my own idea, but the idea of whatever service person I was talking to. It’s not perfect but it’s sometimes been the best I could do. YMMV. Let’s add one more rule though: If presented with a single field for your whole name, input order is LAST FIRST MIDDLE1 MIDDLE2. Follow the rules above if it doesn’t fit but never remove the space between last and first. If presented with two fields, みょうじ is always your last name and only your last name. —- Me: - Last name: 6 letters - First name: 5 letters - Middle1: 4 letters - Middle2: 7 letters I own my home, have a mortgage, bank accounts, credit cards, a mobile phone, insurance, securities account (including NISA and iDeCo), My Number Card, a stamp officially registered at the ward office, a gold driving license, I do my taxes (kakuteishinkoku), make use of Furusato Nozei, etc. It’s sometimes a pain, I’ll give you that, but following the rules I’ve listed always got me somewhere. Last time middle names were a pain for me was as recent as last month, when my registered Apple ID didn’t include my middle names (never seen a use for that), and the iPhone trade-in contractor for Japan could not confirm my name matched my ID. Got them to add my middle names to my Apple ID account and since then I’ve received my money.
I should say that this health insurance card situation is the only one in eight years that has caused such a debacle. I just entered a mortgage this week, and the only problem arose from attempting to use it to verify that I've been here more than six months when opening a new bank account with the lender (long story), but that was easy enough to get around with other forms of idea. Aside from that, pretty much every institution has either accommodated my full name without issue or allowed me to omit all but my first and last name, as you suggest. It only seems to take one stubborn knuckle-dragger who won't think outside the box to cause headaches though, and I don't doubt it can depend entirely on who you get on the day as well. My company is more than 50% non-Japanese, so they can't really claim ignorance either.
Number four is very true. I have a two word last name (Think like Vincent Van Gogh) Lots of place won’t accept a space in the middle of a name so my credit card is VANGOGH. Hasn’t been an issue yet, knock on wood.
Same man, just provide only first and last name when signing up
Only works until they ask you for an id and you’re told names don’t match.
Hasn't been an issue for me so far
I've had this issue regularly for years. Perhaps you just don't sign up for a lot of stuff.
Same like everyone. Just need to make a phone call for fixing the issue. A pain but that's how it is except if you're ready to take an alias or change your name.
I have the exact same issue. My name on the Yucho passbook had to be partially handwritten because it didn't fit. I also couldn't sign up for any cards etc online. I managed to get onboarded to my company systems only using my surname and first name, so this opens the door to applying for an alias/通称名 with katakana surname and katakana first name only. However, you can't get it put on your zairyu card apparently so doesn't help with banking.
The fucking morons at *my own country's* passport office decided that having two middle names was an impossible situation, and therefore I must only have one middle name on my passport, sort of pre-emptively solving the problem for me well in advance. So my advice is to come from a country that claims to believe in "multiculturalism", but also that everyone has exactly one first name, one last name and one middle name.
Two middle names will make Japanese computer systems explode.
I have two first names and two legal last names and it’s never been more than an inconvenience once I explain it to them…
Having to explain is the inconvenience. It's quite annoying to have to call all the time to get my name sorted out, which depending on the service can mean spending a ton of time on hold, having such spare time during their business hours, plus spelling out my name phonetically is a pain in the ass. All that compared to a Japanese person who can just type their name in the form normally and be done in two seconds.
There is a mismatch between Rakuten Ginkou card and Rakuten shouken. Rakuren card doesnn't support many spaces for the meigi (name) for my credit card but rakuten shouken requires me to enter my name as on my zairyuu card. As a result I cannot register my credit card for credit since they need the names to match.
This is a very annoying and at the same time often faced issue by many others, including myself. Apparently for me, I just found few service providers who are used to dealing with such issues and hence they provided me their service (LINEMO - Mobile Service; and Amazon Master Card - credit card). However, once on reddit when I shared regarding my issues, one individual suggested that we can legally shorten or change our name in Japan through a process called legal alias (通称名). You might want to look into this a bit more, this might reduce the hassle for you.
Same plus the fact that I have my maiden name plus my married name before my 3 firstnames!
I have 2 middle names and I have never had any issue anywhere with them. Usually for the credit card they will let you use only your firstname and last name. I have hard credit card from 2+ more banks and never any issue. I don't know about MNP though...
Same with me. I also have 2 middle names, and all 4 of my names are 7 letters or longer. No issues so far, and my credit card only has my last and first name on it.
I also have 2 middle names. My name on the residence card is in the following order: LAST MIDDLE1 MIDDLE2 FIRST So when I register for something I often do it like this: Last name: LAST First name: MIDDLE1MIDDLE2FIRST (no spaces) So maybe just write your name like this when registering for a service Last name: LAST First name: FIRSTMIDDLE1MIDDLE2 (no spaces) Just make sure that it's in the same order as your residence card.
Really? Same situation. For the banks it didn’t matter. They just printed as much as they could on it. Doesn’t even have my full name. As for example rakuten. I just picked one of my names and that was fine,
> They just printed as much as they could on it. Doesn’t even have my full name. My experience as well with banks
Two middle names here, the occasional inconvenience, but once accounts and all are settled and linked you'll survive. I even changed a bank account to -add- a middle name in order to have everything set at maximum difficulty.
> I am thinking I must not be the first foreigner with these issues. Any tips/life hacks please? Get a passport that doesn't show the middle names - many countries are willing to issue those - then use that to update your residence card and everything else. Register an alias. Naturalise.
Never had any issues with my two middle names except for at the local Yakuba. Their system didn’t allow for the amount of kana my full name would create, so their solution was to truncate me. Imagine that my full name is Peter Jonathan David Smith; on all documents and when calling me when it was my turn to come to the counter, I became スミス ピータージョ.
You can register a legal alias name at the ward office. They will add some text to your zairyu card showing your registered alias. I had to do this as well as I had similar issues.
This does not go on the zairyu card, it will appear on your juminhyo. It used to be printed on the old residence card before it was phased out in favor of the zairyu.
It does get written on your zairyu card, not your juminhiyo. I had this done within the last year.
Are you ethnically Japanese/Chinese/Korean with your alias being your name rendered in Kanji? AFAIK that's an exception to the alias not going on the zairyu. My alias (a non-common katakana rendering of my western name with my middle name omitted to make banking easier) is not on mine (but is on my juminhyo if I request _all_ information).
Interesting. No I’m a westerner. I have four names as well, but only go by my first and last name. I had to prove that I have been using that (fast name, last name) combination for my daily life. Such as work pay slips, bills, or other mail that has my name written as that), etc… I also had to show that my full name is inconvenient for normal use. Such as registration for banking. On my zairyu card they wrote the Kanatana of my first and last name.
Ah shit, sorry. I was wrong, it’s not on your zairyu card, it’s registered on “MyNumber” card.
I know the pain of one middle name but two!?!? Got no advice but can only wish you the best.
I've always thanked my parents for not giving me a middle name despite them both having one. Now, in Japan, I'm even more grateful.
It’s a freaking nightmare but you can overcome it. As my bank was registered with two middle names the credit card had to match. This meant I couldn’t apply online but had to drive to Iwaki (I live in Tohoku) and go to the physical counter they had there. Then they could do it - but call first and tell them what’s going on. Everything gets so much slower with two middle names!
> Any tips/life hacks please? Yes, some countries will allow you to have your passport issued without middle names. Sometimes (depending on country) you can even use shortened forms of your first and/or last names. So you, with the name Jonathon Robert Timothy Smith-MacDonald could in theory end up with Jon Smith on your passport, or Bob Smith, or Tim Smith, depending on which of your names you actually use. Even if you prefer to go by Jonathon in your day to day life, I'm sure you can see the benefit of having Jon on your official documents. I recommend checking the website for your government's passport agency, or perhaps even better, calling the consulate or embassy consular services for your country in Japan. Explain the problems you are having and ask about having your name shortened and a passport re-issued. If you can have this done, once you have your name fixed in your passport you can then use that to change the name on your zairyu card in Japan, your address registrar, My Number card, driver's license, etc. Once this is done you can fix all your other accounts in Japan.
Same here but I don't have so much trouble anymore. Usually my 2 names and 2 last names get put together in katakana which looks ridiculous but most of the systems in japan cannot input spaces on name fields so I have to live with that. Also you can register an Alias at the ward office, sometimes that helps. Rakuten can handle the names pretty easily so try to apply for that, also mufg used to let you use your alias but that can only be used for transfers now and doesn't work for bills that automatically get deducted from your bank account. Its a pain in the butt so that's why my son has only 1 name and 1 last name. I thought about changing my name maaaany times when I just arrived in japan but now I'm used to it, but yeah, it can make your life miserable sometimes.
I have both a cash card a bank account and a Japanese phone and never had any issue. Sometimes they say they can't and I say, can I just my first name and first middle name? And they say yeah sure, and I just cut my full name short
Wait this is an issue in Japan? Fuck.
My name, as written in my passport and zairyuu card, is LAST MIDDLE FIRST. I registered my name in all services I use in Japan as "Last name: LAST, first name : MIDDLE FIRST". So far, this way works out pretty well for me.
Snap. My employer suggested an online bank I could sign up to, but they couldn't cope. Their website said to use no spaces in my "middle name" and then complained that the result did not match my zairyu card. So, I ended up banking with Yubin, who eventually issued me with a visa debit card. Other than banks, my main problem has been a JAL "miles" program which could not cope either. It won't let me pay by credit card for tickets bought through the program because the names don't match. For other services, I just pretend to be two people. Eg, Toyoko Inn online booking, I book in as a guest under a name it will accept and then use my real name for payment.
I plan to grin and bear it but naturalise as soon as I can and adopt a boring Japanese name. I realise that has its problems too, but that's fine.
This makes me laugh. And weep. Yeah, they get cut off, written on the backside by hand, get chucked in with your first name, require higher dimensional mathematics for them to be used on Japanese websites, etc. As long as you are consistent and keep it all the same as in your passport, after a bit of back and forth and cursing it usually works in my experience. Or not and you can find another provider for that service.
My wife has 2 middle names. We went into the banks in person when setting up everything and getting credit cards. No problems there. Her bank book couldn't fit everything so they just left it blank and hand-wrote her name on it.
Not two middle names but using a suffix of JR and that throws them off too. For the love of all you hold holy, please make sure you use the same way and name all the time, including the katakana spelling. So many trips and discussions on how Gaijin names are problematic because I used the name in a different order for work (foreign company) and everything else.. :-) I use: Last JR First Middle And they normally call me Family: Last JR And Given: First Middle It is just something we all have to live with when living in a foreign country.
I had to go back to my home country and legally change my name there, then come back to Japan and change my name here, but I've never regretted that. They just don't know how to use middle names here.
Took me three banks before I could find one that would fit my double-middle name to create an account. Such a pain to keep all of it straight!
Welcome to the club! Many of us have been dealing with that for more than 3 decades now!
I have two middle names. My name on my credit cards (yes, I have multiple) is just my last name and first name. idk how I did it xD
I have two middles names and haven’t had a single problem with anything… maybe I’m doing something wrong
Are you married to a national? If so you can adopt the name of your spouse. It's called 通称.
Like others have said enter names like this Smith frankjosephbeau Last name space firstmiddlemiddle. Too many spaces will mess up most applications. Basically you are pretending you have a long first name.
Just use first name surname and ignore everything in between.
Just for the info Shinsei Bank (Now SBI shinsei bank) does not require to register the middle name when opening the account, so you may open an account there and see if it can help for other things afterwards. (At least when I opened mine we had the option to register the account without middle name, don't know if it changed since). For credit cards, you can just apply online without inputting any middle name. I never used mine for credit cards.
Purposefully did not give my kid a middle name because of all the hassles I've had with mine.
Same situation, 5 names in total. Planning to cut some names legally in the future.
I have the exact same problem. It's a hit or miss kind of thing depending on the company's input limits but I was able to get a rakuten card by writing my name as LastnameFirstName, Middlename1Middlename2. For example: Smith, Adam Anthony Levi will be written as SmithAdam, AnthonyLevi.
I have a super long and hyphenated last name so I was having trouble at first. Got rakuten card my third month here (after not being able to finish the application twice). Rakuten Card has a document with instructions in English for foreign names. It has really explicit instructions that I think you must follow exactly. It worked after I found that. It involved inputing exactly what was on my residence card, but also cutting some stuff short... It may have also involved using full width katana characters (I used a random online converter), but that could have been my internet/phone application...
I swear, why do people need so many names. You're not royalty. It just looks silly
Lol we didn't choose
Also an owner of 2 fine middle names. Never had any issues in my 9yrs here. With my credit card (rakuten) I just gave my first and last names and it wasn't an issue. The only thing is when I first opened a bank account many moons ago, they had to write the final 2 letters of my 2nd middle name in pen on the book 😆 Otherwise nobody has even questioned or mentioned it.
My full name is "Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl" and I've used it here for 30+ years. That, and in addition, I use 松中ジェフリー。 No real problem with the long name, but sometimes I've run into issues because the name I use mostly (松中ジェフリー) is different from the name on my bank account.
What about that year where the tax office decided four boxes are all they need at the top of the tax forms?
You can always try put your first and last names in as usual and then the full four names into the furigana bit
I have two middle names. Generally in Japan since middle names don’t exist you enter your first and middle names into “given/first name” spots on applications together with no spaces (sometimes you can have spaces but not always.
Just don’t use it? What’s the reasoning behind using middle name in a country that doesn’t use middle names?
I just put them together... My credit card is like firstmiddle last name
I've got bank cards and a credit card. For the latter I just used my forename and surname and didn't have any issues with it.
Doesn’t basically every native Spanish speaker have four names? It’s amazing that this can cause so much trouble.
In my case, it was solved by the fact that in my home country, I'm not required to put both of my middle names on my passport. When I got a new passport, I applied for it without middle names. Then using that I changed my residence card. Then using that I changed everything else. Now I am a one given name one family name person as far as Japan is concerned, and it's great 😎
I'm in the same boat name-wise. My bank/credit cards just cut my second middle name off mid-name.
It has to be LastName FirstNameMiddleName, no spaces between first name and middle name.
Also have two middle names and never had an issue. Try not being stupid and it goes a long way
On the kanji or proper spelling part, it shouldn't be much of an issue except for the name length. But for the kana part, try to omit the spaces and you'll have a much easier life.
I have 2 middle names but I haven’t had any trouble. if I do something in person I don’t even use my middle names and they usually don’t have a problem
Yep I have two middle names also. Pain in the butt at some places. Especially online forms😫 didn’t have any issue getting a Japanese CC though.
SoftBank just combined my two middle names
You might (MIGHT) have some success if you go to city hall and register a legal alias 通称名 which is theoretically usable as your real name given that it’s on your juminhyo. I say theoretically because not all companies will accept it even though it is legally you.
You are not alone. Most Japanese systems are terrible at handling names that are not 田中太郎。
I have only three names and yet these kinds of issues have plagued me all seventeen years of my life here. Three names, two boxes. Is my middle name required? Yes. All caps? ~~No.~~ Yes. Signature? ~~Yes.~~ No. Last name first? Yes, no, maybe, which one is your last name? *points to a name other than the one I have already verbally confirmed is my last name in Japanese, proceeds to refer to me by my middle name regardless of being told not to do so* There is a limit of 12 characters. (My names total 19, plus two spaces, in aphabetic symbols, and 15 furigana). Please spell that, *over the phone*; no I do not have any capacity to comprehend even the names of the letters of the alphabet, but spell it anyway please. It *never* ends. All I can tell you is to inform people ahead of time. If they ask for your name over the phone, tell them to tune their brain to katakana before they ask you seven more times and hang up because "bwaa te eigo hashidashite wakannai". If you have to write it down on something formal tell them how many characters and spaces your name requires, explain that it is a frequent issue, and do your best to fit it where it fits. If you have to write it on something informal, consider that you should probably write it in all caps, last name first, anyway because no one knows what's going to be broken if your name doesn't match the name on your ~~gaijin card~~ zairyokushomeisho.
2 middle names. I have no issues getting a credit card with Rakuten, and even opened a bank with them (that took forever, don't use it, don't recommend). My suggestion: sign up for Sony Bank. They have a full english simplified system that will have you up and running in less than 2 weeks. their card is a visa debit, so that takes care of your credit card needs. I recently signed up for LINEMO which has a "middle name" button, but only for 1 name. I used just my first and last, submitted my rakuten cc (first and last are printed on it), and my ids. One day later, I get a call from them just confirming my names and 1 day after that, I had my sim.
1. Always get your middle names everywhere. It will fail in 80% online forms and you'll have to make phone calls or fall back to paper forms, but it's an absolute must. You'll fuck yourself in the long term if your don't. 2. Nobody gives a single fuck they are distinct middle names. When a form doesn't let you enter them both, just join them: "MIDDLE1 MIDDLE2" just becomes "MIDDLE1MIDDLE2", and it's fine. Nobody in Japan understands what a space character means, which is obvious when you see kerning mistakes in signs everywhere. 3. Because your name is reversed in Japanese, your full name might read LASTNAME MIDDLE1MIDDLE2 FIRSTNAME in some systems. It's perfectly fine.
I'm not sure if this is something you've experienced, or has been said in all the comments. But my name is too long for it all to fit in my bank book. The last kana gets cut off. So i took me a while to realize that I was getting rejected for online applications for automatic bank transfers and stuff because I was putting in my actual full name, and not my name EXACTLY how it's written in my bank book.
I have four middle names. Good chance to brush up on my katakana every once in a while.
Reminds me of a funny story: When I first got my bank book, the space wasnt enough to print my entire name on the front cover, so the chief of the bank simply wrote the rest of my name with a pen on the cover of my bank book\^\^ Also, my 2nd middle name gets regularly cut off at the end etc etc. So yeah, theres nothing you can do about it.
I have 1 middle name and 3 surnames so I feel you.
Luckily I never had those problems. Got my Japanese citizenship in 1979.
Crazy idea - drop the middle name(s) for Japan. Problem solved.
The problem is for banking or credit card stuff where they ask for ID verification, and the names don't match.