[Pedantic note] They're not just for people who can't read kanji well: they're also used to provide a phonetic gloss for proper names (where the pronunciation i

[Pedantic note] They're not just for people who can't read kanji well: they're also used to provide a phonetic gloss for proper names (where the pronunciation is ambiguous or unique), or in literary contexts to indicate the intended pronunciation where unorthodox kanji are used for nuance.