Getting Japanese input keys to work on US computer

Factual Questions
1

I have a Sager running Win7. I’ve installed the Japanese and Microsoft IME keyboard, so I can switch between a US setup and a Japanese one. I have no problem typing kana/kanji. But I have a Japanese USB keyboard that has input switching keys where the tilde is on a US keyboard, and also next to the spacebar.

These function on the Japanese computers to switch between kana and romaji input methods. While I can switch from US to Japanese, I can’t switch between hiragana and romaji or (really what I’m looking for) katakana with a keystroke. I have to click the icon at the bottom and choose katakana.

So can I get my computer to accept the foreign keys? Or alternatively, is there another way to do this with keystrokes that I haven’t thought of?

Yes, this is slightly (a lot) lazy. But I’m always excited about new shortcuts. You should’ve seen me when I discovered shift+tab.

2

This might help?

Also, just to check: you know that F7 converts Japanese input into katakana? F6-F10 cover all the various input types, I believe.

3

Hm, neither the F keys nor the ALT+CAPS is working on the J computer at work, but I’ll give it a shot on my laptop when I get home and see what’s up. Thanks for the suggestions.

4

Just to clarify about the F keys thing, they don’t change your input method; they change text that you’ve typed. So if you’re inputting in hiragana and want a word in katakana you can type it in hiragana and then hit F7.

5

ヒラガナ
Thanks cckerberos, that’s exactly what I was looking for.