Foreigners Changing Name to Japanese Name

The hanko is like signing your name, it has nothing to do with pronunciation. I never bothered to get one, but I didn't have to sign any legal documents that call for it.

AroundTheWorld said:

If you're staying in Japan for a long time, I've heard its a courtesy to get a hanko so that people can pronounce your name properly.
I.e, my name is McLeod (Mick-cloud) but I should be known as Mikuroudo in Japan.
Am I understanding you correctly?

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As nice gaijin said it is not neccesary. As for being a courtesy, I could understand it would make things easier for the Japanese. Why? b/c when doing business at any institution that needs a hanko ,they then don't have to keep running to their superiors to see if signing your name with a pen can be done. 99% of the time it can be done without a hanko, but every business has their own rules on signing your name over having a hanko so you can't always assume that signing will be ok.

I have to agree that the Hanko is rather different. One can get one's hanko registered at city hall (and in some rare occasions it is necessary). That registers the seal, but it does not effect ones name for legal or pronunciation purposes.

As far as I am aware, non-Japanese do not have a Kosekitouhon. You have to be Japanese to have a kosekitouhon. The concept is itself Japanese, and I am not aware of its existance in Western countries. Non-Japanese can be mentioned in a footnote of their spouse's Kosekitouhon but that merely notes who their spouse is married to.

Non-Japanese have instead a passport and a Gaijin card. The Gaijin card will contain the name on the passport. And since the passport is non Japanese, it will not have kanji on it.

However, (and I am not sure of the conditions for this) one can get a "nickname/handle/commonly-used-name" tsuushou 通称） written on the back of ones gaijin card, which in my case was (changedthe card) in Kanji.

Alright, thank you for the clarification Dave and nice gaijin.