this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2025
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No ‘Pikachu’: Why is Japan at war against unconventional, ‘glittery’ names? (www.aljazeera.com)
submitted 1 month ago by Domino@lemmings.world to c/world@quokk.au
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Japan has introduced new rules restricting how names are spelled and pronounced. The new regulations, announced last week, aim to quell a growing practice of Japanese parents giving their babies unconventional names, known as “kira kira”, or glittery, in kanji, one of Japan’s major writing systems.

But why are such names a problem for Japanese authorities? And do the new rules spell disaster for parents who want to break the mould and name their children Nike, the shoe brand, or Pikachu, the little lagomorphic animated character with lightning powers, which is part of the Japanese media franchise Pokemon?

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[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I don’t think the state should have much say in what someone names their kid beyond something abuse or unpronounceable (thinking of Elmo’s poor kid Xwhatever). I guess it’s a question of where you set the line. Also kind of funny for a place like Japan to do this; you’d think they’d put up with nearly anything to get their birth rate up.