Japan Govt Panel Suggests Hepburn Style Romanization

   Tokyo, Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese government advisory panel on Wednesday suggested revisions to the country's system for romanizing the Japanese language based on the currently widely used Hepburn style.
   The Council for Cultural Affairs included the suggestion in an advisory report submitted to culture minister Toshiko Abe the same day.
   In 1954, the government released a cabinet notice setting out the standard for the romanization system known as "kunrei-shiki", in which the Japanese "kana" syllabary pronunciation of "chi" is spelled as "ti" and "fu" as "hu."
   Even so, the Hepburn style, in which "chi" and "fu" are used, has become more common in society.
   Referring to the submitted report, the government is expected to revise the cabinet notice as early as within the current fiscal year, which ends next March, for the first time in some 70 years. It will gradually apply changes to textbooks and other materials.

(2025/08/20-18:59)