TSA - married name in parenthesis on passport

My wife's Japanese passport lists the surname as "Suzuki (Smith)". However, the chip only produces "Suzuki" when scanned. So I'm worried about flying to Japan from the US, because the of the TSA's name-must-match-exactly policy.

The Japanese consulate worker says to use only "Suzuki". The Japanese travel agency says to use "Suzuki Smith). The JAL website says not to use the name in parenthesis. The TSA's answer to my email was essentially, "Ask the airline"...

If we use "Suzuki" on the ticket, it won't match what is under "surname". But if we use "Suzuki (Smith)", it won't match when the scan the chip...

Has anyone here with a name in parenthesis on a Japanese passport flown from the US after 2010? Thank you in advance.

I am a Japanese woman living in Japan, and have flown to the US in 2011 with my name written this way in my passport:

My name on my passport is like "Hanako Suzuki (Smith)," but the one in parenthesis is just for convenience, and my official name is Hanako Suzuki. So when i buy air tickets it is always Hanako Suzuki.

"Smith" is neither hyphenated or a middle name, so it has no place on "official" papers, and it is only for convenience, as far as I understand it, just to show that I am married to "Mr. Smith" :)

AK, thank you very much. You didn't have any problems with TSA on your return flight back to Japan?

Nope. :)

You just need the name as per your passport.

The chip has other information that only TSA and other border security can see.

Some for example if your passport has:

Surname: wii
Middle: 2
Name: Koohii
Title: Ms

Then your airplane ticket should read: Ms Koohii 2 wii or Wii/Koohii 2 Ms depending if you get it from online or travel agent.

If your Surname has more like: Ryan-Smith, your ticket will read as Ryansmith as airline system do not have a way to put - in the system

Hope this helps!