From F**ked Gaijin

Quote:The Agency for Cultural Affairs announced plans to expand the Joyo Kanji (常用漢字) list for the first time since 1981. Many of the additions are currently commonly used in place names like these eleven:

阪 ( as in 大阪 Osaka)
熊 (as in 熊本 Kumamoto)
奈 (as in 奈良 Nara)
岡 (as in 岡山 Okayama)
鹿 (as in 鹿児島 Kagoshima)
梨 (as in 山梨 Yamanashi)
阜 (as in 岐阜 Gifu)
埼 (as in 埼玉 Saitama)
茨 (as in 茨城 Ibaraki)
栃 (as in 栃木 Tochigi)
媛 (as in 愛媛 Ehime)

Let's see, if I'm not mistaken 10 of those 11 new kanjis are in RTK1! And any RTK1 graduate should be able to whip a story for 阜 (hill) in no time.
If you had been studying kanji through more traditional means you may not have come across these. Remember that next time someone tries to tell you that this method is crazy.

Amazing news, nice to see after the Heisig method you're prepped for any changes made to the list

How many kanji are being added?

55? Article says it takes the list to "the 2000 level."

Yes, about 50. That list above is just what's being added to fill the gaps in prefecture names, but it seems they will also be adding characters like 誰, 頃, 嬉, and 癌.

There is also talk of defining an "auxiliary joyo kanji" list, for characters that people should be able to read and use on a PC, but not necessarily write.

http://news.ameba.jp/domestic/2008/01/10591.html

Finally 誰 is added to the jouyou, this should have been in it from the start it's so common.

Curiously, 阜 seems to be one of the non-contracted forms of 阝, corresponding to the part that always appear on the right side of a kanji.

Incidentally, I just took a short trip to Gifu prefecture this weekend, so I've been seeing a lot of 阜.