Japan wants International Media to Put Family Names First

This article discusses how Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is pushing for international media outlets to change how the names of Japanese people are written. Similar to how Japanese names are written, he wishes for westernized versions of Japanese names to have the family name first followed by the given name. International media already does this for Chinese and Korean people, but for some reason the standard is not there for the Japanese. The article states that since the 19th century to the early 20th century amid the growing influence of Western culture, Japan has followed the western convention of name order when it comes to writing names in foreign languages.

The article states that "Japan wants...", but it is not as clear cut as that. Even though the foreign minister is pushing for this change, the article states that "one government official urged caution towards Kono's policy, citing potential technical problems, while others showed overall support". Another senior Japanese official said the government will 'cautiously' consider adopting this new name order proposal, but also mentioned concerns over possible repercussions like overhauling computer systems and rewriting government documents like passports. However, education minister Masahiko Shibayama is in full support and said they will call on other government bodies to use family names first. It does look like people are in support of the idea for sure, but some are hesitant because of the difficulties associated with undergoing this change.

It isn't clear how feasible this change is, but it looks like it will be very difficult for Japan. The article does say that foreign media outlets declined to give any immediate response. In another article, people were trying to make changes to the wikipedia entry for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to make it 'Abe Shinzo' per the new naming proposal, but other users were rejecting the changes, saying that "Wikipedia does not obey government requests" and that "If most sources started to refer to Abe-san as 'Abe Shinzo', then Wikipedia will follow suit." If other foreign media outlets had the same attitude (and why wouldn't they?), then it would be near impossible for Japan to get all international media to follow this new proposal.

As for why this proposal has come about, I think it has something to do with Japanese pride and their wish to move away from western influences, especially with the current nationalistic party. Of course, it makes sense that Japanese people would want something as significant to their identity as their name to be properly stated in media outlets and documents. However, I wonder if it will be possible for the Japanese government to get everyone including themselves to adopt this big change. I wonder if it truly is worth all the trouble and costs.

Additional Sources:
- https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/21/asia/japan-name-abe-shinzo-intl/index.html