diff --git a/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/README.md b/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/README.md
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# Kokoro ANE Japanese frontend assets (FluidAudio #914)
+
+FluidAudio's Japanese text frontend (`Sources/FluidAudio/TTS/KokoroAne/G2P/Japanese/`)
+is a Swift port of Misaki's Cutlet: a MeCab-compatible Viterbi tokenizer over
+`unidic-lite` plus Cutlet's kana → IPA rules. The tokenizer reads the standard
+MeCab binary dictionary layout, so the assets are unidic-lite's own files,
+trimmed to the three feature fields the frontend uses.
+
+## Build the assets
+
+```bash
+uv run --with unidic-lite python convert_unidic_lite.py \
+  "$(uv run --with unidic-lite python -c 'import unidic_lite, os; print(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(unidic_lite.__file__), "dicdir"))')" \
+  out/
+```
+
+`convert_unidic_lite.py` keeps the double array and token table byte-for-byte,
+rewrites every feature string to `pos1,pron,kana` (UniDic indices 0, 9, 17)
+and applies the same trim to `unk.dic`; `matrix.bin` and `char.bin` are copied.
+Sizes: `sys.dic` 188 MB → 41 MB, `matrix.bin` 71.5 MB, `char.bin` 0.3 MB,
+`unk.dic` 4 KB. Add Misaki's `ja_words.txt` (`misaki/data/ja_words.txt`, 2 MB).
+
+## Validate
+
+`mecab_reference.py` is a pure-Python reader of the same binary layout with a
+MeCab-style Viterbi; run it against fugashi on any sentences to confirm the
+trimmed dictionary tokenizes identically:
+
+```bash
+uv run --with unidic-lite --with fugashi python mecab_reference.py out/ '今日は良い天気です。' '私は日本語を勉強しています。'
+```
+
+It prints `SAME`/`DIFF` per sentence (surface, pron, kana, unknown flag and
+character category must all match). The Swift `JapaneseTokenizer` mirrors this
+script.
+
+## Publish
+
+Upload `sys.dic`, `unk.dic`, `char.bin`, `matrix.bin`, `ja_words.txt` to
+`FluidInference/kokoro-82m-coreml` under `ANE-ja/assets/` (the Mandarin tables
+live under `ANE-zh/assets/`). FluidAudio downloads them into `<repoDir>/g2p/`
+on the first plain-text Japanese synthesis.
+
+Licenses: unidic-lite / UniDic (BSD), misaki (Apache-2.0), cutlet (MIT),
+num2kana (MIT) — see `ThirdPartyLicenses/JapaneseG2P-LICENSE.md` in FluidAudio.
diff --git a/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/convert_unidic_lite.py b/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/convert_unidic_lite.py
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/convert_unidic_lite.py
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+"""Trim a MeCab dictionary (unidic-lite) to the fields the Kokoro Japanese frontend needs.
+
+Keeps the double array and token table byte-for-byte; rewrites the feature blob so each
+entry's feature string is `pos1,pron,kana` (UniDic indices 0, 9, 17). Applies the same
+trim to unk.dic. matrix.bin and char.bin are copied unchanged. Output layout is the
+standard MeCab sys.dic layout, so the same reader handles both.
+"""
+import struct, os, sys, shutil
+def trim(src, dst, fields=(0, 9, 17)):
+    b = open(src, "rb").read()
+    head = list(struct.unpack("<10I", b[:40])); charset = b[40:72]
+    lexsize, lsize, rsize, dsize, tsize, fsize = head[3:9]
+    off = 72
+    darts = b[off:off+dsize]; off += dsize
+    tokens = bytearray(b[off:off+tsize]); off += tsize
+    feats = b[off:off+fsize]
+    new_feats = bytearray(); cache = {}
+    for i in range(tsize // 16):
+        lc, rc, posid, wcost, foff, comp = struct.unpack_from("<HHHhII", tokens, i*16)
+        end = feats.index(b"\0", foff); f = feats[foff:end].decode("utf-8")
+        parts = f.split(",")
+        # UniDic quotes fields containing commas ("4,0"); pron/kana never do, pos1 never does.
+        trimmed = ",".join(parts[k] if k < len(parts) else "*" for k in fields)
+        noff = cache.get(trimmed)
+        if noff is None:
+            noff = len(new_feats); new_feats += trimmed.encode("utf-8") + b"\0"; cache[trimmed] = noff
+        struct.pack_into("<HHHhII", tokens, i*16, lc, rc, posid, wcost, noff, comp)
+    head[8] = len(new_feats)
+    with open(dst, "wb") as o:
+        o.write(struct.pack("<10I", *head)); o.write(charset); o.write(darts); o.write(bytes(tokens)); o.write(bytes(new_feats))
+    return os.path.getsize(src), os.path.getsize(dst), len(cache)
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    src, dst = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2]; os.makedirs(dst, exist_ok=True)
+    for name in ("sys.dic", "unk.dic"):
+        a, b_, n = trim(f"{src}/{name}", f"{dst}/{name}"); print(f"{name}: {a/1e6:.1f} MB -> {b_/1e6:.1f} MB ({n} unique features)")
+    for name in ("matrix.bin", "char.bin"):
+        shutil.copy(f"{src}/{name}", f"{dst}/{name}"); print(f"{name}: {os.path.getsize(f'{dst}/{name}')/1e6:.1f} MB (copied)")
diff --git a/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/mecab_reference.py b/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/mecab_reference.py
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/models/tts/kokoro/coreml/g2p/japanese/mecab_reference.py
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+"""Reference MeCab-format reader + Viterbi, to validate the dictionary format before the Swift port.
+Reads unidic-lite's sys.dic / matrix.bin / char.bin / unk.dic directly."""
+import struct, os, sys, unicodedata
+class Dic:
+    def __init__(self, path):
+        b = open(path, "rb").read()
+        (self.magic, self.version, self.type, self.lexsize, self.lsize, self.rsize,
+         self.dsize, self.tsize, self.fsize, _) = struct.unpack("<10I", b[:40])
+        off = 72
+        self.darts = b[off:off+self.dsize]; off += self.dsize
+        self.tokens = b[off:off+self.tsize]; off += self.tsize
+        self.features = b[off:off+self.fsize]
+    def unit(self, i):
+        base, check = struct.unpack_from("<iI", self.darts, i*8); return base, check
+    def common_prefix_search(self, key: bytes):
+        """MeCab Darts: returns list of (value, length)."""
+        out = []
+        b, _ = self.unit(0); node = 0
+        n = len(key)
+        for i in range(n):
+            p = b  # check terminal at current node (b ^ 0)
+            nb, nc = self.unit(p)
+            if b == nc and nb < 0:
+                out.append((-nb-1, i))
+            p = b + key[i] + 1
+            nb, nc = self.unit(p)
+            if b == nc:
+                b = nb
+            else:
+                return out
+        p = b; nb, nc = self.unit(p)
+        if b == nc and nb < 0:
+            out.append((-nb-1, n))
+        return out
+    def token(self, idx):
+        lc, rc, posid, wcost, foff, comp = struct.unpack_from("<HHHhII", self.tokens, idx*16)
+        return lc, rc, posid, wcost, foff
+    def feature(self, foff):
+        end = self.features.index(b"\0", foff); return self.features[foff:end].decode("utf-8")
+    def lookup(self, key: bytes):
+        """yield (length_bytes, lid, rid, cost, feature) for all dictionary entries prefixing key"""
+        for value, length in self.common_prefix_search(key):
+            idx, count = value >> 8, value & 0xff
+            for k in range(count):
+                lc, rc, posid, wcost, foff = self.token(idx + k)
+                yield length, lc, rc, wcost, foff
+class CharInfo:
+    def __init__(self, path):
+        b = open(path, "rb").read()
+        n = struct.unpack_from("<I", b, 0)[0]
+        self.names = [b[4+i*32:4+(i+1)*32].split(b"\0")[0].decode() for i in range(n)]
+        self.map = b[4+n*32:]
+    def info(self, cp):
+        if cp > 0xFFFF: cp = 0  # MeCab maps > BMP to DEFAULT? (it uses the last code point info); keep simple
+        v = struct.unpack_from("<I", self.map, cp*4)[0]
+        return dict(type=v & 0x3FFFF, default_type=(v >> 18) & 0xFF, length=(v >> 26) & 0xF, group=(v >> 30) & 1, invoke=(v >> 31) & 1)
+class Matrix:
+    def __init__(self, path):
+        b = open(path, "rb").read(); self.l, self.r = struct.unpack_from("<HH", b, 0); self.b = b
+    def cost(self, rid_prev, lid_next):
+        return struct.unpack_from("<h", self.b, 4 + (lid_next * self.l + rid_prev) * 2)[0]  # MeCab: matrix_[rcAttr + lsize * lcAttr]
+def tokenize(text, dic, unk, chars, matrix, fields=None):
+    raw = text.encode("utf-8"); n = len(raw)
+    cps = []  # (byte_offset, byte_len, codepoint)
+    i = 0
+    while i < n:
+        c = raw[i]; l = 1 if c < 0x80 else 2 if c < 0xE0 else 3 if c < 0xF0 else 4
+        cps.append((i, l, raw[i:i+l].decode("utf-8"))); i += l
+    starts = {off: k for k, (off, _, _) in enumerate(cps)}
+    INF = 1 << 60
+    best = [(INF, None)] * (n + 1); best[0] = (0, None)  # per byte position: (cost, node)
+    nodes_at = {0: [(0, 0, 0, None, None)]}  # end_pos -> list of (cost, rid, lid?, feature, backptr)
+    # node: (end, cost_so_far, rid, start, feature_off, is_unk, char_type, prev_node)
+    ends = {0: [(0, 0, None, None, None, None, None, None)]}
+    for k, (off, l, ch) in enumerate(cps):
+        if off not in ends: continue
+        prev_nodes = ends[off]
+        key = raw[off:]
+        cands = []
+        for length, lc, rc, wcost, foff in dic.lookup(key):
+            cands.append((length, lc, rc, wcost, dic.feature(foff), False))
+        ci = chars.info(ord(ch))
+        cat = ci["default_type"]; group = ci["group"]; invoke = ci["invoke"]; maxlen = ci["length"]
+        # unknown word candidates (MeCab: invoke if no dictionary hit or invoke flag)
+        if not cands or invoke:
+            cat_id = ci["default_type"]
+            name = chars.names[cat_id]
+            uentries = list(unk.lookup(name.encode()))
+            lens = set()
+            if group:
+                # extend while the same category bit is set
+                j = k; total = 0
+                while j < len(cps) and (chars.info(ord(cps[j][2]))["type"] >> cat_id) & 1:
+                    total += cps[j][1]; j += 1
+                    if maxlen and (j - k) > maxlen: break
+                lens.add(total)
+            for m in range(1, (maxlen or 0) + 1):
+                if k + m <= len(cps) and all((chars.info(ord(cps[k+t][2]))["type"] >> cat_id) & 1 for t in range(m)):
+                    lens.add(sum(cps[k+t][1] for t in range(m)))
+            if not lens: lens.add(l)
+            for length in lens:
+                for _, lc, rc, wcost, foff in uentries:
+                    cands.append((length, lc, rc, wcost, unk.feature(foff), True))
+        for length, lc, rc, wcost, feat, is_unk in cands:
+            end = off + length
+            bestc, bestp = INF, None
+            for pn in prev_nodes:
+                pcost, prid = pn[1], pn[2]
+                c = pcost + wcost + (matrix.cost(prid, lc) if prid is not None else 0)
+                if c < bestc: bestc, bestp = c, pn
+            node = (end, bestc, rc, off, feat, is_unk, cat, bestp)
+            ends.setdefault(end, []).append(node)
+    # EOS
+    final = min(ends.get(n, []), key=lambda nd: nd[1] + matrix.cost(nd[2], 0), default=None)
+    out = []
+    nd = final
+    while nd is not None and nd[3] is not None:
+        out.append(nd); nd = nd[7]
+    out.reverse()
+    return [(raw[nd[3]:nd[0]].decode(), nd[4], nd[5], nd[6]) for nd in out]
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    base = sys.argv[1]
+    dic = Dic(f"{base}/sys.dic"); unk = Dic(f"{base}/unk.dic"); chars = CharInfo(f"{base}/char.bin"); matrix = Matrix(f"{base}/matrix.bin")
+    from fugashi import Tagger
+    tagger = Tagger()
+    mism = 0
+    for text in sys.argv[2:]:
+        toks = tokenize(text, dic, unk, chars, matrix)
+        ref = [(w.surface, w.feature.pron or "", w.feature.kana or "", w.is_unk, w.char_type) for w in tagger(text)]
+        mine = []
+        for s, f, u, ct in toks:
+            fs = f.split(","); pron, kana = (fs[9], fs[17]) if len(fs) > 17 else (fs[1], fs[2]) if len(fs) == 3 else ("", "")
+            mine.append((s, pron, kana, u, ct))
+        ok = mine == ref
+        print(("SAME " if ok else "DIFF ") + text)
+        if not ok:
+            mism += 1; print("   mine:", mine); print("   ref :", ref)
+    print("mismatching sentences:", mism, "of", len(sys.argv) - 2)