Symptoms
Consider the following scenario:
On a system with User Account Control (Windows Vista, Windows 7, and above) while using the Japanese IME keyboard input toolbar, the toolbar may not behave as expected with applications that run as Administrator. Specifically, clicking the KANA button will typically set the Input Mode to Hiragana. However, when the application is running as Administrator, clicking the KANA button has no effect.
On a system with User Account Control (Windows Vista, Windows 7, and above) while using the Japanese IME keyboard input toolbar, the toolbar may not behave as expected with applications that run as Administrator. Specifically, clicking the KANA button will typically set the Input Mode to Hiragana. However, when the application is running as Administrator, clicking the KANA button has no effect.
Cause
This is an issue with User Interface Privilege Isolation (UIPI) security features in Windows Vista and newer operating systems.
Resolution
Applications that do not need to be run as Administrator should be run with normal User privileges. For applications that need to run as Administrator, it is necessary to manually select Hiragana on the IME toolbar Input Mode dropdown menu. This will also set KANA mode.