How to Type in Japanese on Facebook
By Avery Martin
If you know how to read and write Japanese, you can make it easier for Japanese clients to clearly understand your Facebook messages by typing in their language. Enabling the language input menus on Windows or Macintosh computers helps you get your message across and communicate using the clients' language of choice. If you don't read Japanese, make sure to enlist the help of someone that speaks and reads fluently to ensure that the proper Kanji are being displayed in your messages.
Windows
Click on the Start menu and then select "Control Panel."
Select the "Change Region and Other Language" option.
Click on the "Keyboards and Languages" tab and then the "Change Keyboards" button.
Click the "Add" button located in the General tab.
Click on the "Japanese (Japan)" option and then check the "Microsoft IME" checkbox. Then, click "OK."
Click the "Language Bar" on the Windows taskbar and select "JP Japanese." This turns your preferred language into Japanese.
Click in the text input area on Facebook where you want to type in Japanese and begin typing in Hiragana or Katakana.
Macintosh
Click on the Apple menu, then click "System Preferences."
Select "Language and Text" located in the Personal section.
Click the check box for "Kotoeri" and select the "Hiragana" and/or "Katakana" options. Click the "Show Input Menu in Menu Bar" option.
Click the "Input Menu" flag icon and select Hiragana or Katakana. Begin typing on Facebook in Hiragana or Katakana.
References
Writer Bio
Avery Martin holds a Bachelor of Music in opera performance and a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian studies. As a professional writer, she has written for Education.com, Samsung and IBM. Martin contributed English translations for a collection of Japanese poems by Misuzu Kaneko. She has worked as an educator in Japan, and she runs a private voice studio out of her home. She writes about education, music and travel.