On July 10, actor Uchino Masaaki announced through his official website that he has changed his name to 'Uchino Seiyo'. 

Regarding his name change, he explained, "There are still a few people who are called 'Seiyo' with?? (kanji for Masaaki). There was also a part of me who called myself 'Uchino Seiyo' with ???? (kanji for Uchino Masaaki). I thought that it would be better to go with the simple 'onyomi' (Chinese-derived pronunciation)." While 'Masaaki' was the name he received from his parents, he will continue acting with the name 'Seiyo'. 

Uchino revealed, "I don't know how much longer I will pursue my career as an actor, but I wanted to polish up my performance." He continued, "I'm sure there are people surprised by the sudden name change, but I hope to go by 'Uchino Seiyo' as my actor name."

Uchino is scheduled to appear in the stage play, 'TRUE WEST ~Honmono no Seibu~' (September to October 2013), and will also star in the movie, 'Ieji' (Spring 2014 release). 

Source & Image: Cinema Today