Hi there
It would be interesting to hear what your thoughts are about the
shortcomings of the current implementation of ruby text in LibreOffice,
and what makes it "not proper" or "unreliable":
https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/shared/01/05060000.html
There are a few open bug reports about the current implementation:
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/showdependencytree.cgi?id=50607&hide_resolved=1
If some issues are not listed there, it would be appreciated to report
them (one report per issue) on our bug tracker.
Some suggested contacts:
* The Japanese community, e.g. for testing and feedback:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Language/LocalMailingLists#Japanese
* Jonathan Clark, TDF developer currently working on language support
* Heiko Tietze if you have questions about extensions. It would be great
to see it published on https://extensions.libreoffice.org/ by following
the instructions here:
https://extensions.libreoffice.org/en/home/using-this-site-as-an-extension-maintainer
Cheers
On 10/1/26 02:43, Akebono Translation Service wrote:
To the LibreOffice Development Community and Interested Developers,
I am writing to introduce an open-source extension that addresses a
critical gap in Japanese typography support within LibreOffice: the
absence of proper furigana (ruby text) functionality. Furigana are
essential phonetic guides that make Japanese text accessible to
learners, children, and even native speakers navigating complex kanji.
Despite their importance, no open-source office suite has provided
reliable furigana support: until now.
The extension I have developed enables automatic furigana generation
in LibreOffice Writer by connecting to a MySQL database of
kanji-to-reading mappings. Originally designed for my Japanese
language school’s website, this solution has been adapted into a
LibreOffice extension to liberate users from dependency on proprietary
software like Microsoft Word. The lack of furigana support has long
forced Japanese language professionals into using closed-source tools,
perpetuating a cycle of vendor lock-in and limiting accessibility.
This extension breaks that cycle.
While the core logic of the furigana system (PHP and MySQL) was
manually developed, the LibreOffice integration was achieved through
vice coding: iterative experimentation with LibreOffice’s UNO
framework until the pieces fell into place. The result is a
functional, self-contained extension that renders furigana as true
ruby annotations, stable under reflow and preserved across exports.
However, the codebase could benefit from refinement, optimization, and
expansion by developers with deeper expertise in Python, UNO, or
LibreOffice’s architecture.
I have documented the journey, including the technical challenges and
the broader implications for digital sovereignty, in a blog post:
https://www.loekalization.com/blog/blog/2026/01/09/liberating-japanese-typography-the-day-i-broke-silicon-valleys-monopoly/
This project is not just about solving a technical problem. It is
about reclaiming control over linguistic tools and ensuring that
open-source software serves all languages equitably. I am donating
this extension to the community under an open-source license and
commit to remaining actively involved in its development. That said, I
openly acknowledge that parts of the script were assembled through
trial and error, and I welcome collaboration to improve its
robustness, scalability, and usability.
If you are interested in contributing (whether by refining the code,
expanding the database, or integrating the extension into
LibreOffice’s official distribution) I invite you to explore the
repository and reach out. Together, we can transform this proof of
concept into a polished, community-driven solution.
This is my first open-source release, and I find myself at a
crossroads. The extension works, but I am uncertain about the next
steps for improving its robustness, ensuring its scalability, or
integrating it into LibreOffice’s broader ecosystem. I need the
community’s help to move forward. Whether it is refining the code,
optimizing performance, or expanding functionality, your expertise
would be invaluable.
I look forward to your feedback and collaboration.
Respectfully,
Loek／ルーク／卢克
Loek van Kooten, Japanese/Chinese/English-Dutch game translator
Rumi Tasaki, English/Dutch-Japanese game translator
www.loekalization.com
Your Japanese, Chinese, Korean, English and Dutch game localization
specialist
Powered by CATTITUDE, our very own CAT tool
--
Crown Business Center
Paviljoen B, Unit B-19/20
Pompoenweg 9
2321 DK Leiden
The Netherlands
Tel: +31-6-10895993
VAT ID: NL803534371B01
Chamber of Commerce reg. no.: 28066372
--
Stéphane Guillou
Volunteer (Quality Assurance and elsewhere)
Email: [email protected]
Matrix: @stragu:matrix.org
Fediverse: @[email protected]
Web: https://stragu.gitlab.io/
