The JIS board
Japanese keyboards follow the JIS layout, which differs from a US board in its shape as well as its legends. There are 109 keys instead of 104: a ¥ key before a shorter Backspace, a ろ key before right Shift, and three input-method keys around a much shorter space bar: 無変換 (muhenkan) on the left, 変換 (henkan) and カタカナ/ひらがな (かな) on the right. Enter is tall, like on European boards, and the key left of 1 is 半角/全角, which switches between half-width alphanumeric and Japanese input.
The symbols differ too: @ has its own key right of P, : and * sit right of ;, ^ and ~ right of -, and Shift+2 is “. Each key also carries its kana for JIS kana input (ぬ on 1, た on Q, ち on A…), drawn bottom right in the picture. The tables under this text list every key that differs from a US keyboard and what the extra keys do.
Testing the IME keys
The IME can catch its own keys before the browser does. For a complete test, switch the IME to direct input (半角 mode), then press every key: each lights up in the picture, and the event log shows its code (NonConvert, Convert, KanaMode, IntlYen, IntlRo). If 変換 or かな don’t respond at all, try once with the IME turned off completely.
Setting up a JIS keyboard
- Windows: Settings, Time & language, Language & region, Japanese, Language options, Keyboard layout: Japanese keyboard (106/109 key).
- macOS: Keyboard Setup Assistant identifies it as JIS when you press the ろ key left of right Shift. Add Japanese – Romaji or Kana under Keyboard, Text Input.
- Linux (GNOME): Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources, + Japanese; set the keyboard model to Japanese 106-key.
The Japanese keys at a glance
These keys differ from a US keyboard. The browser code is the name the key sends in the event log, taken from the US key in the same place, and the kana are what each key types with kana input on.
| Key | Shift | Kana | Browser code | US keyboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 半/全 | Backquote | ` | ||
| 1 | ! | ぬ | Digit1 | 1 |
| 2 | " | ふ | Digit2 | 2 |
| 3 | # | あ | Digit3 | 3 |
| 4 | $ | う | Digit4 | 4 |
| 5 | % | え | Digit5 | 5 |
| 6 | & | お | Digit6 | 6 |
| 7 | ' | や | Digit7 | 7 |
| 8 | ( | ゆ | Digit8 | 8 |
| 9 | ) | よ | Digit9 | 9 |
| 0 | わ | Digit0 | 0 | |
| - | = | ほ | Minus | - |
| ^ | ~ | へ | Equal | = |
| ¥ | | | ー | IntlYen | none (JIS only) |
| Q | た | KeyQ | Q | |
| W | て | KeyW | W | |
| E | い | KeyE | E | |
| R | す | KeyR | R | |
| T | か | KeyT | T | |
| Y | ん | KeyY | Y | |
| U | な | KeyU | U | |
| I | に | KeyI | I | |
| O | ら | KeyO | O | |
| P | せ | KeyP | P | |
| @ | ` | ゛ | BracketLeft | [ |
| [ | { | ゜ | BracketRight | ] |
| 英数 | Caps | CapsLock | Caps Lock | |
| A | ち | KeyA | A | |
| S | と | KeyS | S | |
| D | し | KeyD | D | |
| F | は | KeyF | F | |
| G | き | KeyG | G | |
| H | く | KeyH | H | |
| J | ま | KeyJ | J | |
| K | の | KeyK | K | |
| L | り | KeyL | L | |
| ; | + | れ | Semicolon | ; |
| : | * | け | Quote | ' |
| ] | } | む | Backslash | \ |
| Z | つ | KeyZ | Z | |
| X | さ | KeyX | X | |
| C | そ | KeyC | C | |
| V | ひ | KeyV | V | |
| B | こ | KeyB | B | |
| N | み | KeyN | N | |
| M | も | KeyM | M | |
| , | < | ね | Comma | , |
| . | > | る | Period | . |
| / | ? | め | Slash | / |
| \ | _ | ろ | IntlRo | none (JIS and ABNT2) |
The extra keys of a JIS keyboard
| Browser code | Key | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Backquote | 半角/全角 | Switches the IME between direct (half-width) input and Japanese input |
| CapsLock | 英数 | Caps Lock with Shift; on its own, toggles alphanumeric input in the IME |
| NonConvert | 無変換 | Muhenkan: keeps the text as typed (in the IME, cycles hiragana, katakana and half-width) |
| Convert | 変換 | Henkan: converts the kana you typed into kanji, and cycles the candidates |
| KanaMode | カタカナ/ひらがな | Switches to kana input; with Shift, katakana; with Alt, romaji or kana typing |
| IntlYen | ¥ | | The extra key left of Backspace |
| IntlRo | \ _ ろ | The extra key left of right Shift |
| Lang2 / Lang1 | 英数 / かな | Apple JIS keyboards: the keys either side of the space bar |