Name: Japan bans baby names like Pikachu and Kitty: BBC Learning English from the News
Uploaded: 2025-12-27T21:01:30.000Z
Duration: 7 min 54 s
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This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

In this program, Japan changes law to stop baby names like Pikachu and Kitty.

In this program, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com so let's hear more about this story.

So Japan has changed the law to stop people naming their babies things like Pikachu and Kitty.

New rules have come in on the pronunciation of kanji.

Those are the Chinese characters used as one of the three forms of Japanese writing.

The change is designed to prevent unofficial pronunciations of the kanji characters.

In recent times, these unusual interpretations of the characters have allowed people to call their kids names seen as strange or silly by the authorities.

Japan introduces rules to put outlandish baby names to bed.

And that headline again from the Guardian, "Japan introduces rules to put outlandish baby names to bed."

First of all, the word outlandish, now, that describes something strange or unusual,

But we're interested in this expression, put something to bed, because we're talking about babies.

Beth, I can sense that this is some kind of joke.

Okay, but hang on before we get to the joke.

If you say that you have put something to bed, you mean you've dealt with a difficult situation successfully.

So, for example, I had a bit of a disagreement with one of my neighbors about where they leave their rubbish bins for collection.

But we got together and discussed it, and we put it to bed.

So you successfully dealt with the issue, and now it's not a problem.

Well, that's good, Neil, because you don't want to be fighting with your neighbors.

So, Beth, can you work out why in this headline and with this story, the expression put something to bed is a bit of a joke?

Yes, it's a joke because we're talking about a dispute,

here between the Japanese authorities and people who give their kids outlandish names, and

the dispute has been put to bed, resolved through new laws.

And babies sleep a lot and need literally to be put to bed.

Okay, Neil, let's put this section to bed and get a recap of the vocabulary.

We've had put something to bed- deal with a problem successfully.

For example, the company put to bed threats of strikes by offering workers a big pay rise.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines

Today we're talking about a new law in Japan, designed to stop people giving their babies unusual names like Pikachu.

In recent times, parents in Japan have been choosing names for their babies which have been seen as more individual and creative than traditional names.

The names are described in Japanese language as Kira, Kira, which means shiny or glittery.

And it's this idea that we're going to look at in our next headline.

You can't call your baby that... Japan limits the choice of baby names to stop "flashy" ones.

And that headline again from Euro Weekly, "You can't call your baby that... Japan limits the choice of baby names to stop "flashy" ones."

So the word we're going to discuss is flashy.

Okay, well, the word flashy is an adjective, but

it helps to look at the root of this word flash.

Well, a flash is a short moment of bright light like on an old fashioned camera.

And Beth, what happens when you see a flash?

So you have to look in the direction of the flash to see what just happened.

So something that is flashy is something that attracts.

So what sort of things can be described as flashy?

Well, if someone has a very expensive watch or car,

one that seems to be worn or driven mainly to attract attention, we can say that it's flashy.

if they behave or present themselves in a way that makes people look at them.

And a note, we often shorten flashy to just flash.

That's a flash watch you're wearing, Beth.

Oh well, I thought you'd notice it, Neil.

We've had flashy, which describes something expensive or designed to attract attention.

For example, the singer arrived at the awards ceremony in a flashy car.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about new rules on the pronunciation of Japanese characters,

which will prevent parents choosing unusual and flashy names for their babies.

We've been hearing about a current trend in Japan of giving babies unusual names.

The authorities say it can be hard to know how to pronounce these names

and can also cause the children embarrassment in later life.

Our next headline is about official attempts to stop this trend.

So let's have our next headline, which comes from South China Morning Post:

Don't do it: Japan takes aim at baby names like 'Nike' with new rules on Kanji readings.

And that headline again from the South China Morning Post, "Don't do it: Japan takes aim at baby names like 'Nike' with new rules on Kanji readings."

So this headline says that the rules take aim at baby names like Nike.

And we're looking at the expression take aim at.

If you take aim at something, literally, you try to hit it

either by throwing or kicking something or pointing a weapon at something you want to hit.

So a football player will take aim at the goal when they're taking a free kick.

Or a soldier with a gun will take aim at an enemy soldier.

The Japanese authorities are taking aim at this new trend for baby names like Pikachu and Nike.

They are attacking the trend as if they are aiming a gun at it.

And we see this expression commonly when talking about official attempts to deal with problems or criticise something seen as bad.

So, for example, we might hear the government has taken aim at unemployment by offering young people training opportunities.

We've had take aim at something - try to deal with an issue or criticize something.

So, for example, she took aim at her rival for the job promotion by pointing out all his weaknesses.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story and don't forget to follow us on social media.