Asahi characters

[1] Unlike Simplified Chinese, where simplifications apply to all characters, the general custom in Japanese publications is to print jōyō/jinmeiyō kanji in simplified shinjitai forms, and to print hyōgaiji (表外字, characters outside both lists) using their original, unsimplified kyūjitai forms.

For example, the jōyō kanji 齊, 齋, 劑, 濟 are printed in their shinjitai forms 斉, 斎, 剤, 済, but the hyōgaiji 臍, 纃, 薺 (also containing 齊, making simplification possible) remain unsimplified.

The Asahi Shimbun's policy, however, is always to simplify hyōgaiji in print on the model of shinjitai simplifications.

The character 葛 (kuzu, "arrowroot") has become a source of controversy, as only the simplified form was included in the JIS standards; the kyūjitai form (using 曷) being added as a result of protest from people living in areas or with given names using this character.

Simplification of the 辶 and 示 radicals is also observed by other newspaper companies.