Japanese character processing

The Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) specifies about 7000 Kanji characters processed by computer systems. Japanese products made by this manufacturer support all of the standard characters, as well as others.

Input of the characters is accomplished through the following:

  • Kana-to-Kanji conversion (KKC)
  • Romaji-to-Kana conversion (RKC)
Table 1. Special Japanese Keys
Key function Key name Description of function
KKC Non-conversion key muhenkan Leaves Kana characters as is.
KKC Conversion key henkan Converts Kana to Kanji.
KKC All Candidates key zenkouho Shows all possible Kanji representatives.
RKC Romaji Mode key romaji Toggles RKC on and off.
Hiragana Shift key hiragana Becomes Hiragana shift state.
Katakana Shift key katakana Becomes Katakana shift state.
Romaji Shift key eisu Becomes Romaji shift state.
Note: Shift states are maintained until you press another shift key. The initial state is Romaji.