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The good news is that this is a problem that's solving itself. Kanji, especially complex kanji, are dying out in favour of katakana. An anecdotal example, as li

The good news is that this is a problem that's solving itself. Kanji, especially complex kanji, are dying out in favour of katakana. An anecdotal example, as little as 20 years ago, all the fish markets had signs for each fish, in kanji. Now all of those signs are in katakana. Many young people can't read the kanji for specific fish anymore. They can probably manage tuna, but hake? Pollock? Most written communication is typed. Which involves typing each word phonetically (and then picking the correct kanji from a list). This is orders of magnitude easier than writing a kanji by hand. You can get by without knowing stroke order or without knowing exactly how to write it. As long as you're even vaguely familiar with a kanji, you'll be able to pick the right one from the list. Give this another generation or so, and I expect the coverage of those "777" will increase to ~100%, and the number of kana-only words will increase dramatically. National pride and linguists be damned, convenience always wins out in the end.

redthrow 7y ago
I think it's good that more private businesses are using kana-based writing (including more widespread furigana usage), but I don't consider the problem being fixed until the mandatory teaching of kanji in compulsory education stops, and maybe I just don't know but there's no sign of that happening.
- Tharkun 7y ago
  Give it time. Compulsory Latin education was very common for a very long time in large parts of Europe. In parts because the catholic church had a lot of influence. Now people barely even remember it. Many schools now offer Latin as an elective subject, and those who are into that sort of thing can study it to their hears contents, without wasting everyone else's time [1]. Something similar will probably happen to Kanji. They'll become more and more useless. And, eventually, education will adapt. Give it another generation or so. [1] I realize that whether or not studying Latin (or Kanji) is a waste of time is a contentious point. If it's your cup of tea, go for it, but don't force it on others. Force them to learn maths instead.

redthrow 7y ago

I think it's good that more private businesses are using kana-based writing (including more widespread furigana usage), but I don't consider the problem being fixed until the mandatory teaching of kanji in compulsory education stops, and maybe I just don't know but there's no sign of that happening.

Tharkun 7y ago
Give it time. Compulsory Latin education was very common for a very long time in large parts of Europe. In parts because the catholic church had a lot of influence. Now people barely even remember it. Many schools now offer Latin as an elective subject, and those who are into that sort of thing can study it to their hears contents, without wasting everyone else's time [1]. Something similar will probably happen to Kanji. They'll become more and more useless. And, eventually, education will adapt. Give it another generation or so. [1] I realize that whether or not studying Latin (or Kanji) is a waste of time is a contentious point. If it's your cup of tea, go for it, but don't force it on others. Force them to learn maths instead.