Keyboard Layout

When it comes to choosing the language, perhaps even more important than the Operating System, is the keyboard.

If you are familiar with the OS (Windows 7, in particular), you might be able to use the Japanese version surprisingly well due to the interface layout being identical - if you know "where" each menu selection is within the Operating System, you can navigate your way around despite not being able to "read" the selection list headings.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple with the keyboard, especially for those who have learned to touch-type. The words themselves will pose no problem as the JP keyboard too is basic "qwerty", however, the habitual selection of punctuation and special characters [Shift]+[number keys] etc., can be very difficult to overcome - Sometimes, muscle-memory is a bitch! In particular, the "apostrophe" [2 keys right of the "L"] is now [Shift]+[7], and "@" [Shift]+[2] is now [Right of the "P"]. These are just two of the most common ones - See the "Keyboard Comparison" photo for more.

Are there situations where one might deliberately choose to go with a Japanese keyboard, rather than an English/US one?

Yes, but not many. It really depends on the person - For example, if someone has decided that they wish to stay in Japan for a long period of time (eg. more than 5 years, or even indefinitely), the possibility of that person having to type on different people's (Japanese) computers in various locations increases, and it might be worthwhile for them to get used to the Japanese keyboard. However, for those whose stay in Japan will be less than say, 3 years, for them to learn the JP keyboard, only to have to re-learn the Eng/US keyboard when they get back home makes very little sense.

Another situation might be for someone who is working at a Japanese company. They might have no choice but to use a JP keyboard (even if their stay is short) - Although, in that situation, I would recommend arguing with the boss to allow them to use an Eng/US keyboard, as the alternative will most certainly result in lost productivity - They might see their "words-per-minute" rate drop as much as half if they have to constantly go back and fix messed up punctuation. Some companies may be unwilling to make concessions, but rephrasing the situation as "Lost Productivity" makes for a stronger argument.

Advice: You really owe it to yourself to have a go at typing on a Japanese keyboard first, before you make a decision. Try to type at least a few pages, and use as much (correct) punctuation as possible - Only then will you see how much all those years of typing on one type of keyboard has affected your involuntary key-stroke hand movements - ie. Muscle memory.

Let's take a look at the main differences:

Keyboard Comparison

As you can see, the characters marked with a "Green box" are in the same position on both keyboards, but the ones marked with a "Red box" are all different.

Another difference is the length of the "BACKSPACE" key at the top-right - If you are used to hitting it with your right-hand pinky finger, you will most likely hit the (Eng/US) [BACKSPACE] key on the left; where it says "BACK", rather than "SPACE". That would be the [YEN] key on the JP keyboard, and I can tell you from personal experience (even after many, many years) that is still the most common mis-stroke I make - very annoying!

Here is a list of different key-strokes for characters / symbols, depending on the keyboard.

Character	ENGLISH/US	JAPANESE
@	[Shift]+[2]	[1 key right of "P"]
^	[Shift]+[6]	[Shift]+[2 keys right of "0"]
&	[Shift]+[7]	[Shift]+[6]
*	[Shift]+[8]	[Shift]+[2 keys right of "L"]
(	[Shift]+[9]	[Shift]+[8]
)	[Shift]+[0]	[Shift]+[9]
=	[2 keys right of "0"]	[Shift]+[-]
+	[Shift]+ [2 keys right of "0"]	[Shift]+[;]
:	[Shift]+[;]	[2 keys right of "L"]
"	[Shift]+[2 keys right of "L"]	[Shift]+[2]
'	[2 keys right of "L"]	[Shift]+[7]
,	[2 keys right of "M"]	[1 key right of "M"]
.	[3 keys right of "M"]	[2 keys right of "M"]
_	[Shift]+[-]	[Shift]+ [4 keys right of "M"]