Most people in Japan still read and write top to bottom

Japanese can be written in two ways. The words can go from left to right, like English, or they can go from top to bottom of the page. A new survey^*1 asked people in Japan how often they read or write from top to bottom. It also asked how often they write by hand.

The survey was done for the Agency for Cultural Affairs, a part of Japan's government that looks after culture and language. It ran from January 13 to March 3, 2026. Questions were sent by mail to 6,000 Japanese people aged 16 or older all over the country. Answers came back from 3,777 of them, or 63.0 percent^*2.

In total, 67.3 percent said they read or write from top to bottom in their daily lives. Of all the people who answered, 28.5 percent said they do it often, and 38.9 percent said they do it sometimes. Another 27.0 percent said they do not do it much, and 4.7 percent said they never do it. Together, that is 31.7 percent.

The number was higher for the youngest and the oldest people. Almost 80 percent of people aged 16 to 19 said they read or write from top to bottom. About 75 percent of people aged 70 or older said the same.

People were also asked where they read or write this way. The top answer was paper books and dictionaries, at 69.6 percent. Paper newspapers came next at 58.7 percent, and paper magazines were at 45.4 percent. Letters and postcards were at 38.6 percent.

On writing by hand, 69.6 percent said they do it in their daily lives, and 29.4 percent said they do not. The two things were connected. Among people who write by hand, 76.0 percent also read or write from top to bottom. Among people who do not write by hand, only 46.8 percent do.

Finally, 80.4 percent of people said that the habit^*3 of writing by hand should be kept as something important.

1. *1 survey: a set of questions that many people are asked, to find out what they do or think
2. *2 percent: how many out of every 100
3. *3 habit: something a person does often, as a usual part of life