Japanese Language Capability

[Brian]

I currently have Windows 98' (U.S. version). My wife is
Japanese and wants to be able to write e-mail in Japanese
and also get user instruction commands in Japanese so she
can easily operate the computer. We were told that maybe
Windows XP would be the answer. Does this sound
probable? If so, can it be purchased as an upgrade or
should it be purchased as a separate system? Thank you.

 

[CS]

I currently have Windows 98' (U.S. version). My wife is
Japanese and wants to be able to write e-mail in Japanese
and also get user instruction commands in Japanese so she
can easily operate the computer. We were told that maybe
Windows XP would be the answer. Does this sound
probable? If so, can it be purchased as an upgrade or
should it be purchased as a separate system? Thank you.

Windows XP Home and Pro editions support the Japanese language and
other Asian languages to an extent: You will be able to use E-Mail,
Microsoft Office (Word in Japanese), and other Unicode applications.

The Japanese language is installed to English XP as an IME (input
method editor) in order to write Kanji, Katakana, Hiragana characters.
Go to this website for more information:

http://hometown.aol.com/ncc1701mkii/

However, as for instructions, help, menus, dialogs, etc. they remain
in English. The only way for her to receive complete instructions and
help in native Japanese it to purchase a Japanese copy of XP.

Instead of spending the money to upgrade to XP, consider downloading
an installable Japanese IME for Win98. You can do that for free. If
she has difficulty using it, then you can consider purchasing a
Japanese version of XP.