So far, from our past experience, COE has been issued, entry into Japan completed successfully, and residence card issued, for other students/candidates who have first name only. However, this has be...en the case as of now. It is hard to promise that for everybody the same case applies, and for all steps it will be problem free. It is something that we will have to confirm step by step, case by case. The most important thing is that the name on your passport and residence card match.