Spanish phonetics are, for all purposes, identical: a = ah, e = eh, i and y = ee, o = oh, u = oo as in "cool". Spanish speakers have to be very careful when picking Japanese names, though, as some names in Japanese are impolite nouns and verbs in Spanish. When my brother lived in the Far East, his co-workers and clients often commented upon how his accent was really quite good (even for a Westerner). Japanese was easy for him to pick up. Mandarin was the challenge he took to with relish, going so far as to take "full immersion" courses while he lived in Beijing.