Jinmeiyō kanji
A ministerial decree of 1946 limited the number of officially sanctioned kanji for public use to the 1,850 tōyō kanji. Only kanji on this list were acceptable as registered names, despite the fact that the list excluded many kanji frequently used in names up to that point. However, on May 25, 1951, the cabinet extended the set of characters usable in names by specifying the first 90 jinmeiyō kanji. Over the years, the Minister of Justice has increased the number of name kanji, and has a plan for further addition in response to requests from parents. As of  April 30, 2009, there were 985 jinmeiyō kanji, but this number was reduced to 861 in late 2010 when 129 jinmeiyō characters were transferred to the jōyō kanji list, and 5 characters were transferred from the jōyō kanji list to jinmeiyō characters. In 2015 and 2017, 2 kanji in total were added to the jinmeiyō list, making the total number 863. In Japan, name kanji are taught at the junior-high level. History. Below is a list of changes made to the jinmeiyō kanji list since its creation in 1951. May 25, 1951. The first 92 characters of jinmeiyō kanji  were published: Seven of them were later transferred to the jōyō kanji: With the last one also being simplified to (dragon). July 30, 1976. 28 kanji were added, for a total of 120 characters. One was later transferred to the jōyō kanji: . October 1, 1981. Introduction of the jōyō kanji list, which includes the 8 characters mentioned above; those 8 are thus removed from the jinmeiyō kanji list. 54 other characters are added for a total of 166 name characters. March 1, 1990. 118 kanji were added for a total of 284 characters. December 3, 1997. 1 kanji was added , for a total of 285 characters. February 23, 2004. 1 kanji was added, for a total of 286 characters. June 7, 2004. 1 kanji was added, for a total of 287 characters. June 11, 2004. No addition to the jinmeiyō kanji was made on this date. However, a plan for 578 additions was put forward to the council on jinmeiyō kanji of the legislative council of the Ministry of Justice. The list included certain characters in strong demand by parents for use in their children's names, such as: Many others were included not for their potential uses in names  (as is noted), but rather because of their frequent use and being easy to read and write. Examples include: At this same council, the decision was made to call for suggestions on characters to be included or excluded via the Ministry of Justice website, until July 9, 2004. July 12, 2004. 3 kanji were added, for a total of 290 characters. July 23, 2004. No additions were made. After sharp protests, the council decided to withdraw nine characters from the 489 whose inclusion had been discussed. These nine characters were: The 480 other characters still remained under consideration for inclusion , with one additional character added to them, namely ("kiku", "to draw up water with one's hands"). September 27, 2004. 484 characters and variant forms of 209 jōyō kanji were added, bringing the total number of the jinmeiyō kanji to 983. April 30, 2009. 2 more characters were added for a total number of 985 characters. November 30, 2010. In late 2010, the Japanese government added 196 characters to the jōyō kanji list. The list now includes 129 characters previously classified as jinmeiyō kanji, 11 of which are currently used in Japanese prefectures or nearby countries: At the same time , 5 characters deleted from the jōyō kanji list were added to the jinmeiyō kanji list, making the total number of jinmeiyō kanji 861: January 7, 2015. 1 kanji was added, for a total of 862 characters. September 25, 2017. 1 kanji was added, for a total of 863 characters. List of jinmeiyō kanji. The list is split into two parts: Jinmeiyō kanji not part of the jōyō kanji. Variants are given in brackets. The 18 variant characters included in the list, with non-variant forms in parentheses, are: Traditional variants of jōyō kanji. The modern form ("shinjitai"), which appears in  the Jōyō Kanji List, is given in brackets. Note that is merely the closest Wikipedia can come to the form on the official list, where the first (top left) stroke is horizontal rather than vertical. Actual usage in names. Usage of the Jinmeiyō Kanji in Japanese names varies widely. For example, 之, is used in over 6000 names, and the 53 kanji used most commonly in names are all in over 500 names each.