"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said William Shakespeare, but for some foreign nationals in Japan, the use of their monikers by Japanese colleagues, students and friends can lead to ambivalent feelings. The topic comes up frequently on online English forums, and opinions vary widely.

For those who are only in Japan a few years, are still quite young or who don't speak Japanese, this may be a nonissue. However, for long-termers who have invested time and effort in learning the language and working to fit into society here, it can be a bone of contention.

In a language where the polite default term of address is last name plus the suffix san, why is there an overwhelming tendency to address ostensibly foreign people in Japanese by first name plus "san," or even just first name only? In the vernacular, referring to someone by name without "san" is known as yobisute. The practice of omitting "san" — or using the more casual kun or chan — is usually limited to family members, close friends or those quite junior to yourself, and would normally be considered inappropriate in a professional setting, especially with someone you don't know well.