Kanji/Katakana/Hiragana

I currently have an American name. I plan to move to Japan and go by a Japanese name there, and eventually change my name to it if/when I get naturalized. My question is, since it�fs a Japanese name but I�fm a foreigner, what form of Japanese (Kanji, Katakana, etc.) would I use? (Also, as far as Kanji if I were to use that, I know that there are different meanings based on which Kanji you use. I�fve heard that one combination could mean �glight�h, or something similar. Which one would that be?)
Thanks!

I guess you have time enough to consider well about your name. This is something you need to talk and discuss with someone close to you who is Japanese. Because you will have this name the rest of your life.

If you are really planning to neutralize to be a Japanese.

I do not know how long you are in Japan?
Just I would like to know why you choose to neutralize?

I have been in Japan for 15 years and have a daughter 12 years.

But I dont see any benefits to become Japanese.

I dont want to give up my passport since it has a strong value.

Just interested to understand. Thanks

I currently have an American name. I plan to move to Japan and go by a Japanese name there
Two different issues:

As a foreigner, by default you name would be in kana, even if it looked Japanese.

If you take a new name, even if it was a "Japanese one", most people would still write your name in kana because you are from overseas. Even if you become a citizen, it doesn't mean you get a name in kanji or even hiragana, kana will be the default. A name in kanji would be weird.

There was a thread recently about name changes, and the point was made by one of the Japanese posters that changing a name in Japan is complex.

When you naturalize, you are allowed to pick a Japanese name including kanji that you will use. But before that, you can't officially use kanji/kana for your name, because your name on your passport does not use it. For less official things, or sometimes even at the discretion of the person helping you, your legal romaji name might be "translated" into katakana, and this can be set as a legal alias at city hall so you can use it for more official things too. At the highest level, your documents will still be written in romaji, but you will be able to use katakana for your name as well after awhile for all but the most official stuff. Then if/when you naturalize, you can choose a name including kanji for yourself.

Even if you become a citizen, it doesn't mean you get a name in kanji or even hiragana, kana will be the default. A name in kanji would be weird.

This is incorrect; you indeed get to choose how to write your "new" name and can choose kanji, hiragana, or katakana. By the way "kana" also includes hiragana and kanji, so this is especially confusing. I think you meant to say "katakana will be the default", but again, that is not true. Katakana is the default for how to write foreign names in Japanese. Once you become Japanese, you can write your name pretty much however you want within the three, or even mix them. I'm not sure how a name in kanji would be "weird" for a Japanese citizen...

@Murny - thanks for your answer and information. But even being a Japanese Citizen does not stop Japanese born people looking at and treating non-Japan born citizens differently, that is why I expressed an opinion (based on what I have seen about the use of names) as using kanji for being a bit "weird" and katakana (yes I should have specified) would be higher up on the expected ways of writing a name.

@JapanCustomTours Ah, I see. Yes, it probably is a little strange for a Japanese person to find out that someone who doesn't "look" Japanese has a completely Japanese name and is actually a Japanese citizen. For those who have naturalized, it is probably something they have to become used to to have to explain why they have a Japanese name and what their citizenship is. I believe in some cases that the stress and annoyance of this becomes too much and people may regret naturalizing. On the other hand, I think it is important for Japanese people to have contact with these naturalized citizens to open discussions on what it means to be Japanese, and also to hopefully not make instant assumptions based on someone's looks... or name. My daughter, who is a Japanese citizen with a Japanese name will have to deal with this because she doesn't "look Japanese" at all. I worry about it.