I don’t use iTunes, and the last time I bought anything from the iTunes store was some time in 2008. The recent shutdown of Lala.com, however, resulted in a $40 credit at the iTunes store, so I decided to update the software and shop around.
While I was updating iTunes, I figured I may as well install Safari for Windows, just to take a cursory look at my websites.
So all those problems with Japanese text and sans-serif fonts I’ve been laying down at Google Chrome’s feet? Well, it’s not Chrome’s fault entirely — it’s Webkit’s fault.
Chrome runs on the Webkit engine, which also powers Safari. Viewing this site in Safari produces the same result — no font substitution when a sans-serif Japanese font is required. A visit to Bounce.com on Safari confirms it — the site looks borked on Safari as well.
Just to be thorough, I checked Opera as well. It can handle sans-serif Japanese font substitution fine, although it looks a bit ugly.
UPDATE, 02/27/2011, 08:13: Well, I finally joined the 21st Century and upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7. Aside from all the User Access Control prompts and annoyances with running programs as an administrator, I have to say I rather like some of the subtle touches of Windows 7, but that’s not the point of this update.
Windows 7 and Webkit are rendering Japanese text styled with a sans-serif font. Rather, it falls back on a default font (even if it’s a serif font) than showing nothing at all. This issue hasn’t been fixed in Windows XP, which is inconvenient for anyone holding out on upgrading.