hi re is equivalent to what some write as w and orthographically as this sound is not phonetically w because it does not have lip rounding so some folks including me feel that is a more appropriate symbol was useful because it was found on typewriters while had to be written in by hand computers are getting better at displaying this stuff so i say use the more accurate symbol is different in that there is audible frication and the constriction is further forward in the mouth is an allophone of h but is not actually is redundant since it is just a short like j is a short i and w is a short u we could just use a non syllabic diacritic re j j is supposed to mean j it doesnt include c v is not allowed in other words japanese allows an optional j before a vowel and following an optional consonant onset i e v or j v or c v or c j v feb utc