Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
4 days ago
- #Education reform
- #Romanization
- #Japanese language
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs recommends replacing the Kunrei romanization system with Hepburn-style spellings.
- The change is expected to be approved within the current fiscal year and gradually implemented in textbooks.
- The Kunrei system, established in 1954, writes phonemes like ち as 'ti' and �� as 'hu', while Hepburn uses 'chi' and 'fu'.
- Hepburn spellings for し, じ, and つ will be 'shi', 'ji', and 'tsu', replacing Kunrei's 'si', 'zi', and 'tu'.
- Double consonants will be written by repeating the consonant, and long vowels can be marked with a macron or doubled letters.
- Personal and organizational names will retain their preferred romanization.
- The review of romanization rules began in 2022, initiated by then-education minister Masahito Moriyama.