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Japan Times
6 hours ago
- General
- 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
a day ago
- NHK
Police interpreters in Japan to be allowed to help by phone in interrogations
Japanese police are set to allow interpreters to help interview foreign suspects by phone as crimes involving foreign nationals are on the rise across the country. Currently, about 4,200 police officers and staff who speak foreign languages and around 9,600 interpreters in the private sector take part in interrogations in person and sign confession statements. But police are facing the need to swiftly respond to an emergency and to secure interpreters specialized in minor languages. The National Police Agency has amended its criminal investigation rules, enabling interpreters living in remote areas to provide their services remotely. In principle, they are required to interpret in person if they can. But if they cannot, those living in distant areas can go to a nearby police station and provide interpretations over the telephone to those in an interrogation room at another police station. The new rules are set to go into effect on July 1. The National Police Agency says foreign visitors committed 21,794 criminal offenses last year. A total of 12,170 were suspected of involvement. The figures were significantly lower than the peaks in the past, but they have been on the rise in recent years.
The Herald
a day ago
- Business
- The Herald
Japan's ispace counts down to second moon-landing attempt on Friday
Japanese start-up ispace aims to become the first non-US company to achieve a controlled moon landing as it prepares for the touchdown of its second uncrewed spacecraft on Friday, two years after its inaugural mission ended in failure. Tokyo-based ispace hopes to join US firms Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, which have accomplished commercial landings since last year amid an intensifying global race for the moon that includes state-run missions from China and India. The mission also highlights broad public and private sector expectations from Japan, which remains committed to lunar exploration as part of NASA's Artemis moon programme, despite mounting uncertainty about its future as President Donald Trump reshapes US space policies. 'A moon landing is not a dream but it has become a reality,' ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada has said. The company's first lunar lander in April 2023 crashed onto the moon's surface due to a software issue that incorrectly assessed its altitude during descent over precipitous terrain. Its second lander, named Resilience, in January shared a SpaceX rocket launch with Firefly's Blue Ghost lander. Blue Ghost took a faster trajectory to the moon and touched down successfully in March. Currently circling about 100km above the lunar surface, Resilience carries a rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary and payloads worth a total of $16m, including scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. After Friday's landing on Mare Frigoris, a lunar sea relatively close to the moon's north pole, scheduled for 4:17am. Japan time (1917 GMT, Thursday), the 2.3-metre-high lander and the microwave-sized rover are tasked to capture images of regolith, the moon's fine-grained surface material. If successful, ispace said it will transfer the ownership of the collected material to NASA to fulfil what it says would be the world's first commercial transaction of lunar resources. According to a 2020 NASA statement, ispace's Japan and Luxembourg units would each receive $5,000 under this arrangement. NASA was not immediately able to comment on the impact of the Trump administration's proposed budget reductions on the contract. An ispace spokesperson declined to comment. JAPAN'S LUNAR ENTHUSIASM The company envisions establishing a lunar colony of 1,000 inhabitants by the 2040s, tapping the moon's water resources. It plans seven more missions in the US and Japan through 2029, including a NASA-sponsored one as part of the Artemis programme, to capitalise on increasing demands for lunar transportation. About a dozen corporate partners have provided support for ispace missions, including titanium materials from Citizen Watch and design expertise from automaker Suzuki. In Japan, a wide range of businesses from construction firms to carmakers engage in lunar exploration research, and the breadth of industrial interest in the moon may surpass that in the US, said Atsushi Uchida, research director at Mitsubishi Research Institute. The government has been keen to promote Japan's roles in the Artemis programme, signing an agreement with NASA last year to include two Japanese astronauts and a Toyota-built rover in forthcoming missions to the lunar surface. Exploration of the moon and Mars is one of the key objectives of Japan's newly-established multibillion-dollar space venture fund. 'Having ispace, a domestic transportation option, is a huge advantage for Japanese businesses and universities that foray into lunar exploration using government funds,' said Ritsumeikan University professor Kazuto Saiki, who participated in Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) SLIM mission that achieved Japan's first lunar landing last year. JAXA president Hiroshi Yamakawa said last month he was rooting for ispace's reattempt because their 'success will attract attention to the whole Japanese space industry'. Investors are keen. Shares in ispace, which made a blistering market debut in 2023 but languished after the landing failure, have risen about 60% year to date, epitomising a space start-up boom in the Japanese capital market. Reuters
NHK
a day ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan panel to probe cause of soaring rice price
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has assembled a top-level task force to investigate the ongoing rice crisis. He is calling for long-term solutions that bring down the price of the country's staple grain. Prime Minister Ishiba is heading the ministerial panel. It will hold its first meeting on Thursday. The panel will investigate what caused the price surge and how the government has handled the situation. Its ultimate goal is to fix problems in the supply system. This is the government's latest attempt to stabilize rice prices. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro last week began selling stockpiled rice through no-bid contracts, a first in the country. Ishiba said earlier that the government needs to ensure a continuous supply of the grain. "It is necessary to provide rice at a price that will reassure consumers," he said. "For that to happen, sustainable production needs to be achieved through improving efficiency." Agriculture Minister Koizumi also stressed the need to get to the root of the problem. "I think it is important at the ministerial meeting to thoroughly examine why this latest surge in rice prices happened," he said. Ministers will focus on mid- to long-term policies. Possible topics include increasing exports, production adjustments and subsidies for farmers.
NHK
a day ago
- Science
- 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.
