[inveniam]

Hi,
Japanese names do have their meanings clearly, as each kanji has its meanings.
And generally speaking, the meaning of one's name are considered to be very important : every father and mother wants to give their child a good name.
The fact that words and letters have been considered to have special powers may have something to do with this.
But I think the effect of the name on one's life is less direct in Japanese culture than yours. For example, 健 (ken) is a popular name. 健 means "healthy" or something like that. Our prime minister's name is 佳彦 (yoshi-hiko), and 佳 roughly means "good" (佳作, for instance, means "a good piece of work"--rarely used in names, btw). 賢 (this,too, happens to be "ken") is also a common name, and it means "clever", "intelligent", "wise", something like that. Each name reflects their parent's wishes : they wish their child, or his/her life to be a healthy, good, or intelligent one.
As shown above, Japanese names are more adjective-like (I don't know what to say..), and it has little to do with what kind of life he/she actually lives, what kind of profession he/she dreams of, etc.

There're some possible (and each is common) name for "Yuriko" -　百合子, or 由里子, perhaps.
子 is a common word used in girls' names. Yuri is a lily : used in names to reflect its beauty.
(I found it difficult to explain clearly--- sorry my English is not good enough.)

p.s. I think the importance of the meaning of a name in your culture is quite interesting.