Evaluating the Complexity of the Japanese Writing System and Proposing a Working Solution

Abstract: This thesis explores the nature and complexity of Japanese script, seeks to determine whether Japanese script is unreasonably complex, and carefully considers options for reforming it. The three questions that the thesis seeks to answer are as follows. Does the Japanese writing system place undue burden upon users and learners of the language (including Japanese children and foreign learners of Japanese)? How does this burden, due or undue, affect Japanese society and the world at large? If this is a problem, is there an ideal solution to the problem (and if so, what is it)?There are three sections. The first section explains the nature of Japanese writing and why it is the way that it is. This section can be called historical, but only relevant history is included. This section is meant to build a foundation of knowledge that is needed to begin considering the three questions. Section 2 explains the process by which Japanese children learn how to write as well as the learning process' effect on their schedules, mental well-being, and so on. After this the different arguments for and against reform are examined, along with the pros and cons of each argument. The third and final section presents a survey distributed to native Japanese speakers asking them to consider, compare, and rate a short text written in several different writing formats. This is meant to test not only the validity of each reform idea, but also their popularity.A majority (approximately two-thirds) of the survey respondents supported the current writing system, with no reform; most of the other respondents supported reducing the number of kanji to 1,000. In the end, the recommendation made by the author is to run an experiment where schoolchildren are taught no more than 1,000 kanji. At the end of the experiment, further discussion could be made concerning writing reform.