Hello! My name is Shouq. Recently I have been reflecting on 2023 and everything I have done through it and I wanted to share that in my blog with everyone. So what did I do in 2023? Reading: I read six books, based on my record. My goal was five books so I am happy about that! Four were in Japanese and two were in Arabic. Gardening: I tried gardening for the second year in a row. This year I had a harvest of 30 super tinny mini tomatoes that I ate. Additionally, 20 tomatoes that got rotten before harvest, and 19 others that got rotten after harvesting. In total, I was able to grow up to 69 tomatoes! For a starter, I think it’s a success! Hopefully next year I can continue gardening and try to grow more variety of stuff! Japanese language: I had a goal of passing N1. I took the test in July and December. I did not pass the July one. The December test result is not out yet so fingers crossed! I started a new method of studying Japanese this year which consists of u
Hey there! I'm Shouq, and I've been living in Japan for almost four years now. I've got a bit of a situation with my middle name on official documents – it's quite long. If you've spent a good amount of time in Japan, you'll know that dealing with a middle name here can be a hassle, especially if it's a really long one. It messes up online forms, and I've even been rejected for credit cards because my identity couldn't be confirmed due to the mismatch between cards with and without my middle name. Recently, I found out about something called a "通称名" (tsuushoumei), which is like a legal alias you can register in Japan. This can help solve the middle name issue. You can register a simplified name without your middle name or even use your spouse's last name if you're married. I know some foreign residents here who prefer using their middle name as their first name just because it's easier to pronounce – you can get that registered