Of recent the Japanese authorities have directed that in the short period to come, Japanese must revert to the way they used to traditionally name their people.
For a long time, the Japanese had adopted the way the West named its people, starting with the first name and ending with the surname.
In their way however, the surname starts first; and then the first name: such that for Shinso Abe, the Prime Minister, for instance, it would be Abe Shinso. Or, for Naomi Osaka, the tennis star, it would be Osaka Naomi; and so on and so forth.
For us here, the situation has become so confused, such that for a foreigner, it may be difficult for them to know the surname from the Christian, or first name. You find people writing their names as John Emong Peter. They have even disgraced the way the colonialists left us with the issue of first (Christian) name and surname. For instance, in this example, it should be; John Peter Emong.
The English would have written John Nickleson, and not the other way round. But when they are orally introducing themselves, they would say; Nickleson, John Nickleson. It appears this is the way the Ugandans have adopted to the confusion.
Abdulkeri Koik, Amuria Town
