Gov't to use family name first in Roman alphabet in documents
The government on Friday decided to follow the family-name-first order when using the Roman alphabet to write Japanese names in official documents, in a break from the long tradition of reversing it in line with other languages such as English. "In a globalized world, it has become increasingly important to be aware of the diversity of languages that humans possess. It's better to follow the Japanese tradition when writing Japanese names in the Roman alphabet," education minister Masahiko Shibayama said at a press conference. Shibayama proposed the idea and won approval from his fellow cabinet ministers at a meeting on Friday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said details still need to be worked out but the government will step up preparations for the change. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will decide whether to ask the private sector to follow the government's decision, according to Suga. Critics doubt whethe