I'd also point out that my experience of taking a few semesters of Japanese was that it's pronunciation is very phonetical, at least compared to actual romance

I'd also point out that my experience of taking a few semesters of Japanese was that it's pronunciation is very phonetical, at least compared to actual romance languages, which lends itself well to romanized representation. I actually found it easier than a course I started that purported to teach us to read French, but had no emphasis on the spoken language. I had no idea how the words were supposed to sound as I tried to read it, so I really struggled to read it. I dropped the course because the idea of learning a language without speaking it seemed stupid to me. I would like to hear your arguments against romanization if you feel up for it.