Japan has passed new regulations to curb the rise of anxiously unconventional baby names. The changes are primarily to pronunciation of kanji characters. This shift follows parents’ trend of making bizarre name decisions. Indeed, the former Olympics competitor and Tokyo 2020 organizing committee chair Seiko Hashimoto apparently took her cue from the Olympics when choosing names for her sons. She named them Girishia and Torino, after the cities respectively hosting the summer and winter Olympics during which they were born.
In what feels like a step back in time, the new regulations now ask parents to give their local authority the phonetic pronunciation of their child’s name. This revision seeks to cut out eccentric or contentious pronunciations. Both of these pronunciations have become contentious in recent years. Japan’s changes to the family registry act don’t entirely prohibit kanji. Where they do, they add a phonetic constraint to make sure that names are intuitive, clear, and easy to produce.
In Japan, a legal document known as the koseki, or family register, is central to family life. In it, she writes down the names, birth dates, and relationships of all the members of her family. The phonetic reading requirement is a rare change to this system, which typically enjoys wide latitude in naming conventions. With an estimated 3,000 kanji allowed under the new law, many of these characters have several standard readings. This flexibility has sometimes resulted in ridiculous appellations that push the boundaries of social acceptability.
Names like Ōjisama, or Prince, and Akuma, which translates to Devil, have astounded audiences with their audacity. Names such as Unko, which is the Japanese word for poop, and Doriru, a humorous version of the word drill, have provoked interest for their profane surprise. Officials are concerned that some of these names are unpronounceable at first glance. This makes it extremely difficult for Americans when they engage with institutional government or simply try to get through their day.
These regulations were established to protect children from difficult and overtaxing appellations. They serve the important purpose of protecting against embarrassment and breakdown in understanding. As Japan grapples with the implications of modern naming trends within its cultural context, these new rules aim to strike a balance between parental freedom in naming and societal expectations.