Despite being a difficult language to learn, Japanese is still one of the most popular foreign languages.
I recall Japanese courses offered in the community college that I attended almost always hit the Enrollment Capacity by the first registration deadline. I didn’t really think too deeply about why so many people were interested in learning my native language until I started tutoring Japanese during my senior year of college.
I was pleasantly surprised to meet so many enthusiastic leaners. Some of them were not just interested in learning some useful phrases for their upcoming trip to Japan but they wanted to find a job and live in Japan! Japan is a truly beautiful country with fascinating history and modern culture. I want to share five of the most common reasons why so many of my students are interested in learning Japanese.
The Popularity Of Manga And Anime
Definitely anime and manga have inspired many people to learn about Japanese culture and language. Almost all of my former students talk about their favorite Japanese anime and how it inspired them to pick up their first Japanese book. For instance, Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films are extremely popular overseas such as “Spirited Away”, which won an American Academy Award.
Career Opportunities
China surpassed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy, but Japan’s influence on the global economy is still strong. Electronic and automotive companies such as Sony, Panasonic, Honda and Toyota are known for their excellent quality and efficiency. Non-Japanese speakers working for these companies are encouraged to learn Japanese as it definitely improves your chance of getting hired by Japanese companies if you know how to speak Japanese.
JPOP And TV Shows
Thanks to modern technology, you can watch Japanese music videos on YouTube and other websites. Singers like Namie Amuro and Utaga Hikaru are popular outside Japan and people want to know what they are singing. Also there are lots of Japanese dramas and TV shows available online. Foreigners who are interested in learning beyond a few phrases and Manga and JPOP are the most common reasons people whom I have tutored brought up as to why they wanted to learn Japanese.
Because It Is Interesting
It is fun to learn a different language! Japanese is especially fun because some words sound really funny and I remember my former students were getting a kick out of the word, “tokidoki”! They said it sounded like “okidoki!” Also, when you are learning a foreign language, you get to learn a lot about its culture and it is one of the most rewarding aspects of learning Japanese language.
Dating Japanese Women
This still seems to be one of the reasons as to why many foreign males are studying Japanese. They believe that a Japanese woman makes a good wife and the number of international marriages between Japanese women and foreign males is on the rise. If you are interested in dating Japanese men or women, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with Japanese culture and language.
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What about omnivores?? (just saying)
I started learning japanese as a hobby but later on i become so serious and done p g in japanese .
this article could have been of more than 10,000 words if i wrote about reasons to learn japanese/ love japanese…. -.- what they mentioned are just ABCs
“Dating Japanese wowen?” So no one is interested in Japanese men?
It’s hard to learn, it’s a good challenge and I love challenges <3
Yea they all want to learn it but few actually get very far anyway
How about studing in Japan? I’m one of this weird dreamers who actually are learning Japanese to study there ehehe 🙂 And I know many people who are doing the same thing! 🙂
“Utaga Hikaru” = Utada Hikaru
I was interested in learning Japanese way before I met my soon-to-be-husband 6,5 years ago. From since I was a child, I have seen anime often, I read manga (translated), and somehow I always preferred the looks of Japanese men (lol and women) over the “westerners”. I don’t feel the same look inside as I look outside 🙂 I guess it was inevitable that I will fall in love and marry a Japanese man. しあわせです！^^ Also I am in love with Japanese cuisine, and I really like the honorific culture. And more 🙂
this is actually a mental illness you have started developing in your childhood which is called as Asiaphile or Asian Fetishist . Many Asian or blacks also developed this kind of behaviors to westerners. This is all because you didn’t like yourself and you had a fantasy world when you were a child which happens all of us . that’s normal and it is OK as long as you are happy . But I can not stand many people try to deny the reason they want learn an Asian language or their love to an Asian culture. I dated with white europeans (I am also white but middle eastern), I dated with asians including japanese …to be honest with you there are not so many differences between women . In the end , my last harbour is gonna be a Turkish woman .
Wow this article went downhill fast. Read the first paragraph, thought “Oh sounds interesting”, by the final point I lost it. I really want to understand the basis upon which this article was written, where is the proof, where are the polls, where is the research?!
She did say her conclusions were based on what her students told her… do you need her to cite some pompously scientific research papers to support the article?
The only reason I start learning Japanese is because I want to live in Japan someday. And also Japanese is…