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. I contacted the TSA, as they're the ones who enforce the rule, and got an automated reply, 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 passport flown from the US after 2010? Thank you in advance.