Japan says enough to too “creative” names: children can no longer be called Pikachu or Turin

In Japan, where respect for tradition is considered an important value, to call her son Pikachu or Pū – like Winnie The Pooh – will no longer be granted. The government has in fact approved a significant reform of Kosekithe family register that officially certifies each birth. From now on, in addition to the writing of the name, parents will also have to indicate their pronunciation. If this will be judged too bizarre or far from linguistic conventions, the name may be rejected.

At the basis of this turning point there is a peculiarity of the Japanese language: i kanjiideographic characters of Chinese origin, each with specific meanings and multiple rulings. This flexibility has given rise, starting from the nineties, a An increasingly widespread trend among neogens: that of the so -called Kirakira Nameor “sparkling names”, often bizarre. A phenomenon that mixes creativity, pop imagination, ambition to uniqueness. And, often, arbitrariness.

There was no lack of striking examples: in addition to Pikachu and Pū, names such as Naiki (inspired by the Nike brand) were recorded, Daiya (from “Diamond”) and even Akuma, which means “Devil”. Seiko Hashimoto, former skater and then president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee, He called his children Girischia (Greece) and Turin, in homage to the host cities of the games. A choice that has raised perplexity: if only those who have chosen i kanji He knows the correct pronunciation, what happens when they read them teachers, doctors or employees?

This is precisely the central knot. Too much cryptic names can cause disorientation into official contexts As a school, health, public administration, and put the children themselves in difficulty, forced to explain or continually justify their name.

With the new rules, each name must be legible, consistent and understandable in its pronunciation. If the local authorities deem the proposed reading excessively outside the box, the parents will have to provide a written motivation. And in the absence of a valid reason, it will be required to propose a more accessible alternative.

Behind the intervention, there is certainly a technical motivation: to facilitate the digitization of the administrative system, avoiding errors in databases and electronic documents. But not only. The measure is also an attempt to slow down the spread of proper names. Because, if on the one hand i Kirakira Name they have been experienced by many as a form of rebellion against conformism, on the other They ended up complicating the life of those who bring them.