"I am planning to issue a request to the international media," Kono said, adding he hoped Japanese English-language media would follow suit.

He referred to a report issued almost 20 years ago by the National Language Council urging the adoption of the Japanese format in English. That didn't take on at the time -- both among the international community and Japanese people themselves, most of whom continued to write their names in English with family name last -- but the hope is that with the new era will come a greater willingness for change.

"Wikipedia does not obey government requests. We have our own style guide ... and we use English forms of names," another user wrote. "All Japanese biographies place the given name before the family name, whereas Chinese ones place the family name first. If we change this for Abe-san, then we would have to change all other articles about Japanese people. This may happen, but should be debated elsewhere than on a single biography page."

That user added, however, that "if most sources start referring to Abe-san as 'Abe Shinzo,' then Wikipedia will follow suit. For now, it's too early to tell if this new directive will take hold."

If Tokyo does turn out to be fighting a losing battle on this point, there will be plenty of opportunities for annoyance in the coming weeks and months.

United States President Donald Trump arrives in Japan for a state visit on Saturday, when he will become the first foreign leader to meet Emperor Naruhito since his coronation. Next month, Japan will host the G20 summit, followed by the Rugby World Cup in September, and the Summer Olympics next year.

At all those events will be Abe Shinzo. Or, depending on which publication you're reading, Shinzo Abe.