Write Your Name In Japanese

Yes, this is writing your name in Japanese *script*.

I think we are looking at this from two different angles. My view is that for something to be ‘in X language’ it has to be more than just transliterated, but an actual part of the lexicon of that language – in dictionaries and the like. Japanese does have some grey areas, where katakana words are used in conjunction with real Japanese words (eg ‘raisu’ vs ‘gohan’) however, which complicates the situation (foreign-sounding words in katakana are not automatically not Japanese). Arabic has similar issues I understand – its transliteration into ‘English’ is not the same sounds as you get in Arabic (eg Taliban vs Taleban).

Therefore my answer to your “same note” question is, no. ‘Mou taku-tou’ is the Japanese pronunciation of Mao Zedong, but it itself is not a Japanese word or phrase (or name). Of course we could always ask “is ‘Paris [pa-riss] English or French? It’s a grey area. Fuzzy and grey, like a little bunny-rabbit. That’s why it’s “my” answer and not “the” answer.

In short, very roughly, there’s the “sounds Japanese/looks Japanese so is Japanese” viewpoint and the “transliteration is not translation” viewpoint.