Language Input Options

Why would you want to type in Japanese?

Even if you choose to use the English OS instead of Japanese, and you want to use an English keyboard rather than a Japanese one, you might still have the occasion where you want to, or need to type in Japanese - even if you're not interested in learning the language. Imagine if one of your Japanese friends/colleagues visited you, and needed to send an urgent mail from your computer, having the option to type in Japanese could come in very handy!

In order to do this, you have to add the "Microsoft IME" (Microsoft Input Editor) as an input language option.

Here are the instructions on how to do this:

1. From the Start Menu, open the "Control Panel".

2. Select "Change keyboards or other input methods".

3. In the "Region and Language" window, select "Change keyboards".

4. Select "Add".

5. From the drop-down list of different countries' keyboards, when you get to Japanese (Japan), expand the options by clicking the [+]. Do the same at Keyboard, and check the box for "Microsoft IME". When you've done that, click "OK" and "Apply" where appropriate.

That is basically all you need to do within the Control Panel.

6. Now, in order to change the language, go to the Language Bar (bottom-right of the desktop) - You will now be given the option to change between the [EN] "English" keyboard and the [JP] "Japanese" one.

7. Choose which character you wish to type in - Hiragana (ひらがな) is the most common. Once you have typed a complete Japanese word in Hiragana, press the [Space] bar to see different kanji options for that word, and hit [Enter] to select.