Not to wander off topic too much but let's not forget that English is not the only language that uses the Roman alphabet... French, Spanish, Italian, German, just to name a few. Wouldn't "Michael" read in German sound something like "Mikhail" or "Mihael"? Note that the English influence into Japan is only a relatively recent post WWII turn of events. Prior to that, Japan's exposure to the western world came from its contact with the Portugese in the 15~16th century. Post WWI, Japan had very close ties with Germany from which it imported weapons technology as well as its legal system.