Asahi characters

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Asahi characters (朝日文字, Asahi moji) are forms of Kanji particular to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. Unlike Simplified Chinese, where simplifications apply to all characters, the general custom in Japanese publications is to print Jōyō/Jinmeiyō Kanji in simplified Shinjitai forms, and to print Hyōgaiji (表外字, characters outside both lists) using their original, unsimplified forms. For example, the Jōyō Kanji 齊, 齋, 劑, 濟 are printed in their Shinjitai forms 斉, 斎, 剤, 済, but the Hyōgaiji 臍, 纃, 薺 (also containing , making simplification possible) remain unsimplified.

The Asahi Shimbun’s policy, however, is thoroughly to simplify Hyōgaiji in print on the model of Shinjitai simplifications, and so in Asahi Shimbun newspaper publications, (heso, "navel") would be printed as