This paper is about multilingual signs in Tokyo. It is based on empirical research
conducted in 2003. Special attention is given to the distinction between official and
nonofficial multilingual signs. It will be demonstrated that the two types of signs
exhibit some essentially different characteristics with regard to the languages
contained and their arrangement on a sign. These differences will be interpreted
using the notions of power and solidarity. While official signs are designed mainly
to express and reinforce existing power relations, nonofficial signs make use of
foreign languages in order to communicate solidarity with things non-Japanese. Both
types of signs have their share in changing Tokyo’s linguistic landscape.
Keywords: Japan, linguistic landscape, multilingualism
Introduction
Tokyo is not the first place that comes to mind when one thinks about