Question for Japanese people...?

Question:

Is it a big deal to ask if you can call a person by his/her first name?
(As in first name only, no "san," "chan," "kun" etc.)

There's someone who only calls me by my first name, but I always call him by his last name & "kun."

Would it be appropriate to ask him why he does that?
& if I ask him if I can call him by his first name (since he does that with me), would that be too forward of me?

Answer:

I think it would not be too forward or awkward if you ask since you are a foreigner so it's okay if you ask something about our culture that you don't understand. Some Japanese people loves it when foreigners ask.
He calls you by your first name because it sounds awkward if we say a non-Japanese name then put -san or -kun. If we put, it's like your friend is calling you Mister, doesn't that sound awkward?
You can call him with his first name without asking permission. It just means you are already comfortable with him, or are you not?
If you call him with his last name with "kun", it sounds awkward to me. It's like you see him as a child (?). Are you both 12 year old boys? lol..

good luck