Why Japanese Names Are So Hard to Read

The hidden rules behind kanji, unusual names, and a system that changed in 2025

Pikachu (光宙), Melody (美音), Knight (騎士).

At first glance, these may look like nothing more than anime character names or English words placed side by side. Yet all of them have actually been given as names to children in Japan.

There are other examples as well, such as Prince (王子) and Pooh (黄熊), names so unusual that many people would not even recognize them as names at first sight. In recent years, such examples have sparked major public debate in Japan.

Around the world, it is not uncommon to hear news of actors, singers, athletes, and other celebrities giving highly distinctive names to their children.

Japan, however, is somewhat different.

Put dramatically, it can feel as though someone wrote a single letter like “X” and declared that it should be read as “Jackson.”

You look at the characters and cannot read them. You hear the pronunciation and still cannot know which kanji are being used. In Japan, there was long a cultural freedom for parents to place their own readings onto characters according to meaning and personal intention.

Then, in 2025, a major turning point arrived in that unusually complex history of naming.