umlaut reduction?

I'm trying to simplify German phonology down to Japanese phonology for
the vague quasi-German/Japanese-merger conlang I've been toying with
doing, and was wondering: I think I can figure out something manageable
for consonants, but how would umlauts tend to be rendered by a i e o u
(plus doubled values...?) phonology?  Or would it perhaps be more
efficacious to extend the Japanese vowel system?  (But I like the vowel
system, and I don't particularly like rounded vowels.)  I am leaning
toward simplification but I'm probably going to end up turning cartwheels
to keep words from being *really* abominably long (due to the more
restricted syllable structure of Japanese, even with some modifications
I've been thinking about) and from sounding the same all the time.

Decisions, decisions.

YHL
shutting up for the night, probably

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