> strict hiragana character set are readable by natives because they're already fluent in speaking This is an argument for spending more time trying to become

> strict hiragana character set are readable by natives because they're already fluent in speaking This is an argument for spending more time trying to become fluent in speaking (by learning vocab/grammar/etc) than spending time learning how to draw a bunch of characters. The use of spaces would be necessary if Japan were to switch to kana, and that's one of the 3 things Kanamoji-kai recommends as well: http://kanamozi.org/hikari958-08_kanamozibun-kakikata.pdf http://kanamozi.org/hikari958-08_kanamozibun-kakikata.pdf Without spaces kana-only writing would be hard to read for most native speakers. I honestly don't see any issue in not teaching kanji in Japanese classes, any more than not teaching cursive writing or Latin in English classes. They are just not essential. (Please do not start a lecture on how Latin helps you understand English.) > ethnocentric dream of the languge one day being romanized I'm not saying Japan should switch to romaji. I think in Japan's case kana would be much more realistic. Also, I'm not advocating abolishing kanji either (people should be able to write kanji all day everyday if that's what they want to do). I just want the government to (a) stop teaching kanji in public schools, and (b) mandate the use of kana (or some other phonetic writing system) in government documents. I don't see how it's "ethnocentric". For most non-native speakers it's much easier to learn this way. Only non-native Japanese learners I've met who found it "easier to read" kana-kanji writing were people who already knew kanji e.g. Chinese people who were learning Japanese & were not fluent in speaking. The true of the matter is they were just familiar with the characters and they often didn't even know how to pronounce the words.