The
piece is about a potential new policy being pushed by Japan’s Foreign Minister,
Taro Kono, in which he will ask for Japanese names to be written in the
traditional way in overseas media, official documents, educational
institutions, etc. This means writing Japanese last names, or family names,
before first names, or given names. (Interestingly, the article wrote his name
as Taro Kono, instead of Kono Taro, which would be in keeping with the Japanese
custom.) The statement seems to reflect Japanese pride in their culture,
perhaps showing that the country wants to increase their presence on the
international stage. Kono cited the beginning of the Reiwa Era as a reason for
pushing this change. Perhaps this is because as we discussed earlier this
quarter in class, the name Reiwa for the first time came from Japanese literature
instead of Chinese. According to another article I read, at the inception of
the Reiwa era, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo stated that the word ““symbolizes our
nation’s profound public culture and long tradition”, and that Japanese values
should not be allowed to “fade away” (McCurry). Also, there are several international
events and summits occurring in Japan in the near future, including the G20
Summit, the Rugby World Cup, and the 2020 Olympics. The G20 Summit is the first
of these events that will occur, and according to another article I read, Kono
wants the policy to be implemented by then. This is partially due to the fact
that Xi Jinping and Moon Jae-in will be in attendance. Both the Chinese and
Korean President’s names are written in the proper order, family name then
given name, when they appear in English.
Based
on the article provided to us as well as my peripheral reading, it seems like
opinions about the proposal are split in both the government and the public. Some
potential concerns are non-Japanese becoming confused and having to redo all
the names in computer systems. The article also cited Japanese companies that
are strong overseas as potential opponents of the proposal, as it could disrupt
business to overhaul the naming system. A 2000 poll showed a fairly even split,
with 30.6% wanting to keep Japanese names in the Western style, 34.9% wanting
to change to the last name, first name, and 29.6% not caring either way. I
think it’s really interesting that Chinese and Korean names are written
properly in foreign media, but not Japanese. I was curious as to why, but
unfortunately couldn’t find much more than the tidbits in the articles. At the
turn of the 20th century, Japan was trying to modernize its economy
and military, and apparently looked to Europe as an example. Although I am not
sure why, perhaps at the time they felt that adopting the Western naming
convention would help them do this? They must have interacted with Europe enough
for Japanese people to decided to switch the names around, perhaps to appear
more friendly and less foreign.
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