The Japanese phonetic alphabet is arranged in Japanese syllabary order, starting with the unique Japanese “aiueo,” not “abc.” It is difficult to remember the unique layout; so, the abc layout is probably more convenient for beginners of Japanese. However, it can be said that it is the “aiueo” sequence that shows the principles of Japanese speech. The 45 basic Japanese sounds are arranged in a systematic way. The base is made up of just five vowels (a, i, u, e, o). Combine these horizontally with the nine consonants (k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w) vertically, and you have 39 sounds. Add one special tone (nn) to these, and you have 45 tones. “Wo” is actually pronounced as “o.” In addition to the basic sounds, there are actually 23 sounds that can be made by inserting a “y” or “h” between a consonant and a vowel. In addition, there are 29 derivatives of consonants and 12 sounds with a “y” between them. There are 109 sounds in total, and once you have mastered the 45 sounds of the basic sounds, you will not have much trouble remembering the derivatives, because they are pronounced in a similar manner. All words of foreign origin are pronounced by replacing them with the closest sound in Japanese. As a result, they differ from the original sound.