Multilingual Typesetting Note: Not typesetting English with Japanese fonts

What do you think of this typesetting?

I would like to redo this typesetting as it is very difficult to read. There are inconsistencies such as capital letters and uneven number of characters per line, but the problem lies in a more fundamental aspect. What should be fixed and how?

Negative Points

Improvement Plan

Do not typeset English in Japanese font

The reason why this typesetting is difficult to read is because it is set in Japanese font. The English and numbers included in Japanese fonts are called dependent Latin characters, and they are designed to minimize discomfort when mixed with Japanese sentences, such as "Mr. A" and "PCR test". They are not designed for typesetting English sentences. The letterforms are distorted and there is no italics, creating an indescribable discomfort in the entire typesetting. When typesetting English, use an English font instead of dependent Latin characters.

The cause of distorted letterforms dates back to the era of typesetting. Due to the limitations of typesetting machines, letters could not extend beyond the virtual body (the frame where letters fit in, similar to a grid), causing the wrinkles to shift towards the descender (the part of a lowercase letter that extends below the baseline). This results in letters such as g becoming distorted, p and q being truncated, and j and y bending to the left instead of extending downwards, making them difficult to read. The distortion of letters leads to the breakdown of word outlines, making them even more difficult to read.

When looking at the overall layout, you can see that there are uneven shades of white and black. This is because the design and spacing of characters are not adjusted based on the assumption of composing English sentences. A layout with consistent texture is easy to read, but when using English text, the texture becomes uneven and the reading rhythm is disrupted, making it difficult to read.

The dependent Latin fonts used in Japanese fonts have been facing the same problem since the era of typesetting. Fonts developed specifically for digital use may have some improvements, but the premise of mixing them with Japanese characters remains the same. When typesetting Latin characters, be sure to use proper Latin fonts.

In Japanese, it would be

I tried to typeset Japanese in Chinese font. If you are Japanese, you may feel uncomfortable. There are unfamiliar kanji characters in some places, the position of punctuation marks is strange, and the design of hiragana is clumsy. You may be able to read it if you try, but did you have a good impression when you saw this? Wasn't the discomfort getting in the way and preventing the content from entering your head smoothly?

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Main Reference Materials

Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (4th ed.), 2012
Masao Takao "ABC of Western Typesetting (3rd Edition)" TypeTalks Workshop (Seminar), 2015
Seiko Makikura "Common Sense and Uncommon Sense of Japanese Western Typesetting? Typography in Japan from a European Perspective" TypeTalks 29th Edition (Seminar), 2015