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I like Japanese names. Though I so feel it weird if someone who does not look obviously Japanese has a Japanese name. I suppose it may be because their culture has not been so accesable in our society for as long as other cultures like the ones you listed.
In Japan people thought that one of my parents must have been Japanese because they saw my name, Naomi, as being Japanese. I actually like the fact that I have a Japanese name when I need it - and an English one too.

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Of your favourites I like:
Aiko
Sora
Mai
Sakura - love the cherry blossom.
Akiko - with the meaning of sparkling/shining one.

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What do you think of:
Haruna
Megumi - like because could give an easy English nn "Meg".
Keiko
Emi
Maki
Eri
Eriko
Miki
Kana
Mutsumi
Kazue
Nahomi
Fumie
Sadako - 1000 paper cranes
Mina
Chiharu

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Midori is unusable to me these days as it's an alcoholic drink.

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You can make up names using different sounds, just like the names have different meanings depending on the kanji used. I like Fuyumi with kanji to mean "beautiful winter".

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Did you want any kind of fn/mn? or a Japanese one?

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My 45 PPs - names in profile

I like/love***
Chiyo
Aiko
Sora***
Sayuri ***
Rin ***
Ren***

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wdyt of Haiku? I know it's a poem but I really like it too.

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~Lisa~
_____________________________________________________________________________
!!!!!: Morgaine, Arthur, Vivianne, Lancelot, & Guinevere
???????: William, Charles, Percival, Frederick, George, Ronald, & Ginevra
....: Peter, Susan, Edmund, & Lucy

I am a huuuuuge fan of Japanese names . . . but the primary reason I try to steer people away from Japanese names is because of the meanings; any one name can mean any number of things, and putting the stress on the wrong syllable can change a lovely name into an obsenity. As long as you do your research and feel comfortable that you have a firm understanding of the name you're saddling your child with, as well has a healthy respect for the culture it came from (and the realization that a name from a culture that you don't belong to could unsettle or upset other people) then there's no problem with it!

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Chiyo: Especially great if you're naming her for Memoirs of a Geisha ^_^. I always like Chiyo better than Sayuri. My favorite spelling means "A thousand generations"
Chihiro: As in Spirited away? Actually, I do like it spelled just like it is in that movie.
Aiko: The princess's name, you know ^_^ My favorite spelling roughly means "We are Great Together" (ai = "Together" and ko = "Great").
Sen: Are we getting back into the Spirited Away thing? Sen isn't used as a name in Japan, and it has a few less than flattering meanings (like "Boil" or "Hermit") but it is a nice pronunciation.

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Note for Haru and Sachi (not meaning this as a rant, it's just a little extra info for any layperson who may be reading): you actually have it backwards, the original names are Haru and Sachi from which Haruko and Sachiko are derivations. adding -ko to the end of a name in Japan is similar to adding -ette, -elle, etc. to the end of an English name. The most commonly used Kanji mean "Child" or "Little" (though another common meaning used in names is "big").
While my favorite spelling for Haru does have it meaning "Spring", my favorite spelling for Sachi means "Wish" as opposed to "Bliss".

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I don't see any reason why you couldn't use a Japanese name.
I like:
Saori
Sora
Mai

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I don't like:
Chiyo - I don't like the "chi" sound. I may be prn. it wrong though
Chihiro ***- see above
Midori- LIQUOR

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Britney Tamber
*DH: Adam Jeffrey*

I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to give your child a Japanese name. It would definitely be noticeable, however. You don't look at someone and think "That person doesn't look French! Why does she have a French name?" (at least I don't, anyway), but it would happen with a Japanese name. But if that doesn't bother you, it sounds all good to me.

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A Japanese girl stayed at my house for a while this summer. Her name was Chihiro, so naturally, I now like that name in particular, but I really like Sakura, as well. One I like that you don't have on your list is Saori.

I can't see any reason in the world why you couldn't name your kids Japanese names. I think that Chiyo is particularly pretty. Sakura is also lovely and I love its meaning. :-)

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"Instead of crying over spilled milk, go milk another cow." - Anonymous

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"There is no excellence without difficulty."
- Ovid