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Man Named By Parents 'Prince' Legally Changes Name to Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls' Character Name

A young man whose birth name was Ōjisama ('Prince') Akaike posted a tweet on March 7 saying that he has legally changed his first name to Hajime. He uploaded a photo showing the letter he had received from the court indicating that the name change was approved.

Akaike, who is 18, told Yahoo! News that the name and kanji spelling 肇 is inspired by Hajime Fujiwara, an Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls character. However, the name was also inspired by Hajime Kawakami, a Japanese Marxist economist of the Taishō and early Shōwa periods. On Twitter, Akaike made a joke about how he had accidentally let slip his Idolm@ster fandom to the news organization.

Akaike also appeared on the Nippon TV program Sukkiri on March 11 to share some of the circumstances behind his decision to change his name. He was named by his mother, and his parents are now divorced. He was often teased as a child for having the name "Prince" because it sounds like a fictional character's name.

When he was in ninth grade, Akaike realized that it was possible to legally change one's own name through the manga series Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo (This is the police station in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika ward). He decided to wait until he had finished high school to apply for a name change so that it would not confuse his friends. He completed the application in March.

Akaike said, "I wanted to show people who have a rough time because of gimmicky names that it's possible to get a name change."

Source: Yahoo! News (Link 2), Hajime Akaike's Twitter account via Yara-on!