The Diet has enacted a bill to change the official Japanese name for the country of Georgia from “Gurujia,” which derives from the Russian term “Gruziya,” to “Jojia,” based on the English pronunciation of the former Soviet republic’s name.

The bill to revise the law on the names of diplomatic offices was approved unanimously Tuesday at a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives.

After the chamber earlier passed the amendment, the House of Councilors approved it upon making some modifications. The bill was then returned to the lower chamber for fresh approval.

When referring to countries in official documents, the government uses the names stipulated to under the diplomatic offices law.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili asked that Tokyo use the English-based version as the official Japanese-language name of his country in place of the Russian-derived name, during a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo in October. Abe replied that his administration would consider the issue.

The Georgian government has asked other countries to make the same name switch for official purposes, as sentiment in Georgia toward Russia shows little sign of recovery from the armed conflict between the two countries in 2008. About 20 nations, including Russia and China, continue to use the Russian-derived name, according to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.