Yuko Shimizu: Hi. My name is Yuko Shimizu.

You say Yuko Shimizu. That's an English way of saying it. In Japanese, we say the last name first and the first name last. So, the Japanese pronunciation is Shimizu Yuko. It's a little different but it's the same name.

And the funny thing about my name is it's a very, very common Japanese name. I have friends that have the same exact name, but it sounds exotic outside of Japan because it's a Japanese name.

Actually, I heard the original designer of Hello Kitty has the exact same name, written differently in Chinese characters, I believe. So, I still get emails asking me about Hello Kitty or sign their plush toy every now and then.