Finding the Stella Polaris: Sunken luxury cruise ship
A Japanese deep-sea diving team discovers a former luxury cruise liner from the 1920s that sunk off Wakayama, documenting its findings for longtime fans.
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Japan Times
11 hours ago
- Japan Times
What's in a name? With new guidelines, the Japanese government wants to know.
振り仮名 (Furigana), the small Japanese 仮名 (kana, letters) you see over kanji that help clarify 漢字の読み方 (kanji no yomikata, how to read the kanji), are currently drawing a lot of attention. As the 改正戸籍法 (kaisei koseki hō, Revised Family Register Act) came into force on May 26, the Japanese government announced that 振り仮名 written in カタカナ (katakana) should be recorded for every citizen's name in the 戸籍 (koseki, family register). One of the things this revision aims to do is limit the use of so-called キラキラネーム (kira-kira nēmu). キラキラ is an onomatopoeic term meaning 'shiny and glittery,' while ネーム (nēmu) is the katakana rendering of 'name,' which is usually written as 名前 (namae, name) in Japanese. The term キラキラネーム carries a negative connotation in Japanese by and large; they're the type of creative baby names that in English you might associate with the children of Hollywood stars. In Japanese, these names tend to go beyond the 漢字本来の読み方や意味 (kanji honrai no yomikata ya imi, original reading and/or meaning of the kanji). Additionally, there have been reports that children with キラキラネーム reported difficulties at school or in job hunting, as well as issues when trying to fill out any kind of paperwork. This has left some going as far as to say that bestowing such a name on your child might constitute a form of abuse. So, how will the government regulate these glittery names? According to guidelines that were shared, a name's 振り仮名 that meets any of the following three conditions will be turned down: 漢字の意味や読み方との関連性がない (Kanji no imi ya yomikata tono kanrensei ga nai, There is no connection between the meaning and the reading of the kanji) 漢字に関連性のない別の単語を付加している (Kanji ni kanrensei no nai betsu no tango o fuka shite-iru, It includes an additional word[s] that isn't related to the kanji) 漢字の持つ意味と反対だったり読み違いや混乱を招く、また社会通念上相当といえない (Kanji no motsu imi to hantai dattari yomichigai ya konran o maneku, mata shakai tsūnen-jō sōtō to ie nai, It contradicts the meaning of the kanji, causes misreadings or confusion, or falls outside what is generally considered socially appropriate) For instance, 太郎 is normally read as タロウ (tarō), so a parent couldn't arbitrarily say its pronunciation is ジョージ (jōji), like the English 'George,' or ジロウ (jirō), which is already a commonly used name with the kanji 次郎 (jirō). Names like 心愛, with the reading ココア (kokoa), will be accepted since it is 音読みまたは訓読みの一部を当てたもの (onyomi mata wa kunyomi no ichibu o ateta mono, a reading based on a partial 'on' [Chinese] or 'kun' [Japanese] reading). This reading style is known as 部分音訓 (bubun onkun). For those with English names, this revision isn't all bad. The government has shared a list of currently acceptable characters , and it includes 長音記号 (chō'on kigō [ー], the long vowel symbol); 促音 (sokuon [ッ], the geminate consonant [small 'tsu']); 拗音 (yō'on, diphthongs) like the small ャ (ya), ュ (yu) and ョ(yo); as well as the 'v' sound, ヴ (vu). If the kana ヴ can be applied to your name, as in ケヴィン (kevin, Kevin), you may be thinking this is your chance to finally update your spelling from the traditional ケビン (kebin). However, it's worth remembering that some banks and other companies may not have the ability to accept this infrequent letter. If you want to avoid any contradiction with other registrations, make sure to double-check — you don't want to be a ケヴィン on your tax form but a ケビン with your bank. Japanese citizens are currently awaiting a 葉書 (hagaki, postcard) in the mail that states their names with their currently registered 振り仮名 for confirmation. No action will be required as long as the 振り仮名 is correct, but if any adjustments are necessary, a change request must be filed by May 25, 2026, through マイナポータル (Maina Pōtaru, Mynaportal [portal for administrative procedures]) or at a 自治体の窓口 (jichitai no madoguchi, municipal office counter). This 戸籍 issue may not affect you directly, but the assistance of 振り仮名 — also known as 読み仮名 (yomigana, kana indicating the pronunciation of kanji) — can be of great help to Japanese learners. Even native speakers will occasionally encounter a kanji whose pronunciation is a mystery and think, 振り仮名が振ってあればいいのに (Furigana ga futte areba ii noni, [I] wish there were the kana over the kanji). In the end, this extra bit of clarification may be a welcome move for many in the country. But some learners may look at the word 振り仮名 and wonder why the verb 振る (furu, to shake) is in there. While this verb comes in handy when you actually swing or shake something — よく振ってからお飲みください (yoku futte kara o-nomi kudasai, please shake [the bottle] well before drinking) — it's also used when assigning a job or a role to someone. Maybe your boss will 仕事を部下に振る (shigoto o buka ni furu, allocate a job to a subordinate) at work, just as 振り仮名 is allocated the role of providing pronunciation guides for kanji. When assigning kana to a kanji, some people opt to use the traditional expression, ルビを振る (rubi o furu). The katakana word ルビ (rubi) is said to derive from the ruby gemstone. When letterpress printing was booming in 1870s Japan, the term suggested 5.5-point letters — the best printing size for 振り仮名. These days, the use of ルビ has been on the rise amid a growing demand for やさしい日本語 (yasashii Nihongo, easy/plain Japanese). The term uses やさしい in hiragana so that it can mean both 易しい (yasashii, easy) and 優しい (yasashii, kind). There's even a foundation called ルビ財団 (rubi zaidan). The group seeks a 'rubyful' society that contributes to multiculturalism by harnessing ルビ to foster easy understanding. Here, the suffix '-ful' rhymes with the verb 振る. If you're interested in incorporating more ルビ into your life, a book fair, ルビで広がる本の世界 (Rubi de Hirogaru Hon no Sekai, The World of Books Unlocked by Furigana), is currently being held by Maruzen Junkudo and ルビ財団. It should be a great opportunity for learners to pick up adult-level Japanese books, instead of an 絵本 (ehon, picture book) or 児童書 (jidōsho, children's book). The World of Books Unlocked by Furigana fair will be held at 90 locations of the Maruzen Junkudo group bookstores until June 19. For details, visit
NHK
2 days ago
- NHK
Japanese astronaut Yui meets reporters ahead of his ISS mission
Japanese astronaut Yui Kimiya, who will begin his second long-term stay at the International Space Station as early as July, says he wants his mission to give courage and hope to the Japanese people. Yui made the remark when he spoke to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday. He conducted his first long-term mission at the ISS in 2015. He will head for the ISS aboard US private sector spacecraft Crew Dragon. Japanese astronaut Onishi Takuya, who has been staying at the ISS since March, is scheduled to hand over duties to Yui. The two joined the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency at the same time. Referring to this, Yui said he and Onishi are extremely close friends. He added he looks forward to the rare opportunity of meeting a friend in outer space. Japan's new cargo transfer spacecraft HTV-X may dock at the ISS for the first time while Yui is staying there. He said he aims to catch the spacecraft swiftly and gently with a robotic arm upon its arrival. Yui said he hopes to come up with worthy results to fulfill global-scale expectations. Yui is scheduled to undergo final training for his mission in the United States.
NHK
2 days ago
- NHK
Finding the Stella Polaris: Sunken luxury cruise ship
A Japanese deep-sea diving team discovers a former luxury cruise liner from the 1920s that sunk off Wakayama, documenting its findings for longtime fans.
