Language policy concerning kanji in contemporary Japan

Abstract

In my thesis I analyse language policy in contemporary Japan and investigate the possibilities and the limitations of a hypothetical script reform in favour of the abolition of kanji (logographic characters originally imported from China) from modern Japanese everyday writing style. After a brief insight on the topic of script, script evolution and script reform in a broad sense and in the specific case of Japan, I focus on the factors pressuring change to the existing language policy, such as the international role of Japan in the era of globalisation and the way in which contemporary technology has drastically affected writing habits over the past 40 years. I then move over to analysing the reasons for which public opinion is still reluctant towards such change, focusing mainly on the underlying Japanese nationalist and linguistic ideology supporting the cultural status of kanji and on the allegations generally adduced to defend such status. I attempt in this work to investigate whether the diglossic situation experienced in Japan in the discrepancy between written and spoken registers is a hindrance to script reform and I explore the further question of which script, namely the Latin alphabet or the kana syllabaries, would best suit the Japanese language if kanji were to be abolished, including findings of a survey I conducted on the topic with a small group of native speakers.