Editing Japan (section)

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Japan}}
[[File:豚骨らーめん 博多天神 いらっしゃい 2010 (5023366778).jpg|thumb|''[[Kanji]]'' and ''[[hiragana]]'' signs]]
The [[Japanese language]] is Japan's ''de facto'' national language and the primary written and spoken language of most people in the country.<ref name="LangPolicy">{{Cite book |last=Fujita-Round |first=Sachiyo |title=Language Policy and Political Issues in Education |last2=Maher |first2=John C. |date=2017 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-02343-4 |editor-last=McCarty |editor-first=Teresa L. |edition=3rd |series=Encyclopedia of Language and Education |pages=491–505 |chapter=Language Policy and Education in Japan |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-02344-1_36 |editor-last2=May |editor-first2=Stephen |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-02344-1_36}}</ref> [[Japanese writing system|Japanese writing]] uses [[kanji]] ([[Chinese character]]s) and two sets of [[kana]] ([[syllabary|syllabaries]] based on [[Cursive script (East Asia)|cursive script]] and [[Radical (Chinese characters)|radicals]] used by kanji), as well as the [[Latin alphabet]] and [[Arabic numerals]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Miyagawa|first=Shigeru|title=The Japanese Language|url=http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/articles/JapaneseLanguage.html|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|accessdate=January 16, 2011|archive-date=April 13, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000413210711/http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/articles/JapaneseLanguage.html|url-status=live}}</ref> English has taken a major role in Japan as a business and international [[link language]], and is a compulsory subject at the junior and senior high school levels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://education.jnto.go.jp/en/school-in-japan/japanese-education-system/|title=Japanese Educational System|accessdate=November 4, 2024|publisher=Japan National Tourism Organization}}</ref> [[Japanese Sign Language]] is the primary [[sign language]] used in Japan and has gained some official recognition, but its usage has been historically hindered by discriminatory policies and a lack of educational support.<ref name="LangPolicy"/>

Besides Japanese, the [[Ryukyuan languages]] ([[Amami Ōshima language|Amami]], [[Kunigami language|Kunigami]], [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]], [[Miyakoan language|Miyako]], [[Yaeyama language|Yaeyama]], [[Yonaguni language|Yonaguni]]), part of the [[Japonic languages|Japonic language family]], are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands chain.<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Mark|chapter=Language shift in the Ryukyu Islands|pages=370–388|title=Routledge Handbook of Japanese Sociolinguistics|editor=Heinrich, Patrick|editor2=Ohara, Yumiko|year=2019|isbn=978-1-315-21337-8|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> Few children learn these languages,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fujita-Round|first1=Sachiyo|last2=Maher|first2=John|chapter=Language Policy and Education in Japan|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-02320-5_36-2|editor-last1=McCarty|editor-first1=T|editor-last2=May|editor-first2=S|title=Language Policy and Political Issues in Education|year=2017|publisher=Springer|pages=1–15|isbn=978-3-319-02320-5}}</ref> but local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Language Revitalization Efforts in the Ryukyus|last=Ishihara|first=Masahide|pages=67–82|year=2016|title=Self-determinable Development of Small Islands|publisher=Springer|editor=Ishihara, Masahide|editor2=Hoshino, Eiichi|editor3=Fujita, Yoko|isbn=978-981-10-0132-1}}</ref> The [[Ainu language]], which is a [[language isolate]], is [[moribund language|moribund]], with only a few native speakers remaining {{as of|2014|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite book|page=1058|chapter=The ethnohistory and anthropology of 'modern' hunter-gatherers: north Japan (Ainu)|last=Hudson|first=Mark|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-955122-4|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers|editor=Cummings, Vicki|editor2=Jordan, Peter|editor3=Zvelebil, Marek}}</ref> Additionally, a number of other languages are taught and used by ethnic minorities, immigrant communities, and a growing number of foreign-language students, such as [[Korean language|Korean]] (including a distinct [[Zainichi Korean language|Zainichi Korean dialect]]), [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].<ref name="LangPolicy"/>