Differences in representations of Japanese name authority data among CJK countries and the Library of Congress

• China, Korea, and LC have mixed headings in Kanji and other Chinese characters.
• Few organizations display correspondences between Kanji and their yomi.
• Romanized descriptions are different between organizations.
• Some names in hiragana might escape a search.

This study aims to compare representations of Japanese personal and corporate name authority data in Japan, South Korea, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), and the Library of Congress (LC) in order to identify differences and to bring to light issues affecting name authority data sharing projects, such as the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF). For this purpose, actual data, manuals, formats, and case reports of organizations as research objects were collected. Supplemental e-mail and face-to-face interviews were also conducted. Subsequently, five check points considered to be important in creating Japanese name authority data were set, and the data of each organization were compared from these five perspectives. Before the comparison, an overview of authority control in Chinese, Japanese, Korean-speaking (CJK) countries was also provided. The findings of the study are as follows: (1) the databases of China and South Korea have mixed headings in Kanji and other Chinese characters; (2) few organizations display the correspondence between Kanji and their yomi; (3) romanization is not mandatory in some organizations and is different among organizations; (4) some organizations adopt representations in their local language; and (5) some names in hiragana are not linked with their local forms and might elude a search.