News Details

2024.02.15

【Company Secretary】Writing Foreign Personal Names in Katakana

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ARK Outsourcing KK provides one-stop service mainly to Japanese branches or subsidiaries of foreign-based companies.
In this article, we will introduce the basic information about making English company documents such as articles of incorporation or meeting minutes in a dialogue style. The contents of this article are based on our discussions in the internal study group.

Characters:
Ken (male):      
Ken is 22 years old. He has been with ARK for a year.
(He is excited about his second year at ARK.)

Emma (female):  
Emma is 34 years old. She is a mother of one child and a trainer at ARK.
(She’s wondering whether she should give her husband chocolate or alcohol on Valentine’s Day.)

George (male):   
George is 46 years old. 
(He feels happy because new employees are advancing their career steadily at ARK, but at the same time, he feels a little nervous about it.)

Ken: 
I’ve been worried about something since the beginning of the New Year. This would go away if I had friends all over the world. When you register foreign personal names, you cannot use the Roman alphabet. But it is quite difficult to pick the closest spelling in Japanese (Katakana) because I don’t know how to pronounce them correctly. 

Emma:
You are like a stray lamp. Starting is 2015, it has become possible to set up a business in Japan even if all the representative directors live abroad, but even now, foreign personal names cannot be registered in the Roman alphabet. I often see foreign names in Katakana which are completely different from the original pronunciation in the native language.

George:
A trade name can be registered in the Roman alphabet, but there are still some restrictions for the registration of foreign personal names. You can check foreign names in Katakana on the Internet or ask native speakers for the correct spelling. I hope this rule will be revised in the future. As you know, INVEST JAPAN is promoting “the world’s best country to do business.”

Conclusion
In this article, we mentioned “Writing Foreign Personal Names in Katakana.” 
Please note that this article only introduces general outlines and does not include professional advice. So please make sure not to make any decisions without taking professional advice individually. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

(Reference / in Japanese)
Ministry of Justice
About Using the Roman Alphabet for a Trade Name
Accessed on 30 January 2024

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