bill - 6:31 am on Oct 16, 2001 (gmt 0)

Welcome to WebmasterWorld Sean :)

I've got English Win2K running English FP2K and can accomplish Japanese input just fine. You really can't install a Japanese software on an English OS in most cases. The Japanese language input capability comes from the OS, not the software. You'll probably get error messages saying that the software target language doesn't match the OS language. You can work vice versa without any problem (Japanese OS with English software).

I assume you installed Japanese language support in your Win2K. This installs Microsoft IME 2000 which while not as robust as the IME in a native Japanese version of the OS, is a whole lot more powerful than any of its predecessors.

Office 2000 promoted the availability of Multilanguage Packs which could be added onto an English OS installation. These softwares were priced far above the standard software prices, so I never picked one up...but I haven't seen anything about them since. I have no idea if this concept survived to Office XP/2002.

Another option would be to use a dual boot option between a Japanese and English OS. Switch to the Japanese OS for input and use the English OS for everything else...of course this effectively doubles your costs as well ;)

hope that helps.