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Question DTP software for vertical Japanese support |
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==Character encodings==
There are several standard methods to [[character encoding|encode]] Japanese characters for use on a computer, including [[JIS encoding|JIS]], [[Shift-JIS]], [[Extended Unix Code|EUC]], and [[Unicode]]. While mapping the set of [[kana]] is a simple matter, [[kanji]] has proven more difficult. Despite efforts, none of the encoding schemes have become the de facto standard, and multiple encoding standards were in use by the 2000s. As of 2017, the share of [[UTF-8]] traffic on the Internet has expanded to over 90
Until 2000s, most Japanese [[email]]s were in [[ISO-2022-JP]] ("JIS encoding") and [[web page]]s in [[Shift-JIS]] and mobile phones in Japan usually used some form of [[Extended Unix Code]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ash.jp/code/code.htm|title=文字コードについて|date=2002|publisher=ASH Corporation|access-date=2019-05-14}}</ref> If a program fails to determine the encoding scheme employed, it can cause {{Nihongo3|"misconverted garbled/garbage characters"|文字化け|''[[mojibake]]''|literally "transformed characters"}} and thus unreadable text on computers.
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[[Unicode]] was intended to solve all encoding problems over all languages. The [[UTF-8]] encoding used to encode Unicode in web pages does not have the disadvantages that Shift-JIS has. Unicode is supported by international software, and it eliminates the need for gaiji. There are still controversies, however. For Japanese, the kanji characters have been [[Han unification|unified]] with Chinese; that is, a character considered to be the same in both Japanese and Chinese is given a single number, even if the appearance is actually somewhat different, with the precise appearance left to the use of a locale-appropriate font. This process, called [[Han unification]], has caused controversy.{{cn|date=October 2020}} The previous encodings in Japan, [[Free area of the Republic of China|Taiwan Area]], [[Mainland China]] and [[Korea]] have only handled one language and Unicode should handle all. The handling of Kanji/Chinese have however been designed by a committee composed of representatives from all four countries/areas.{{cn|date=October 2020}}
== Text input ==
{{main|Japanese input methods}}
Written Japanese uses several different scripts: [[kanji]] (Chinese characters), 2 sets of ''kana'' (phonetic syllabaries) and roman letters. While kana and roman letters can be typed directly into a computer, entering kanji is a more complicated process as there are far more kanji than there are keys on most keyboards. To input kanji on modern computers, the reading of kanji is usually entered first, then an [[input method editor]] (IME), also sometimes known as a front-end processor, shows a list of candidate kanji that are a phonetic match, and allows the user to choose the correct kanji. More-advanced IMEs work not by word but by phrase, thus increasing the likelihood of getting the desired characters as the first option presented. Kanji readings inputs can be either via [[romanization]] (''[[rōmaji]] nyūryoku,'' {{Nihongo2|[[:ja:ローマ字入力|ローマ字入力]]}}) or direct kana input (''kana nyūryoku,'' {{Nihongo2|[[:ja:かな入力|かな入力]]}}). Romaji input is more common on PCs and other full-size keyboards (although direct input is also widely supported), whereas direct kana input is typically used on mobile phones and similar devices – each of the 10 digits (1–9,0) corresponds to one of the 10 columns in the [[gojūon]] table of kana, and multiple presses select the row.
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[[QuarkXPress]] was the most popular DTP software in Japan in 1990s, even it had a long development cycle. However, due to lacking support for downward text, it was surpassed by [[Adobe InDesign]] which had strong support for downward text through several updates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.edit-u.com/conte/dtp04.html|title=DTPって何よ（4） ［編集って何よ］|last=エディット-U|access-date=2019-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.mynavi.jp/article/QuarkXPress_top10-3/|title=アンチQuarkユーザーが気になるQuarkXPress 8の機能トップ10(3) 縦書きの組版が面倒だったけどどうなのよ?|date=2008-07-04|website=MyNavi News|access-date=2019-05-14}}</ref>
At present,{{when|date=March 2019}} handling of downward text is incomplete. For example, [[HTML]] has no support for ''tategaki'' and Japanese users must use HTML tables to simulate it. However, [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] level 3 includes a property "<code>writing-mode</code>" which can render ''tategaki'' when given the value "<code>vertical-rl</code>" (i.e. top to bottom, right to left). Word processors and [[Desktop publishing|DTP]] software{{which|date=August 2025}} have more complete support for it.
== Historical development ==
The lack of proper Japanese character support on computers limited the influence of large American firms in the Japanese market during the 1980s. Japan, which had been the world's second largest market for computers after the [[United States]] at the time, was dominated by domestic hardware and software makers such as [[NEC]] and [[Fujitsu]].<ref>http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/PAC-111.PDF {{Bare URL PDF|date=July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/19/business/company-news-compaq-set-to-invade-japan-market.html | title=COMPANY NEWS; Compaq Set to Invade Japan Market | work=The New York Times | date=19 July 1991 | last1=Sanger | first1=David E. }}</ref> [[Microsoft Windows 3.1]] offered improved Japanese language support which played a part in reducing the grip of domestic PC makers throughout the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Windows 95 launches in Japan - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/11/23/Windows-95-launches-in-Japan/7028817102800/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref>
== See also ==
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*[[Korean language and computers]]
*[[Vietnamese language and computers]]
*[[Ghost characters]] - Erroneous kanji
==References==
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