Why Learn Japanese?

I get this question all the time. If you’re thinking the same, you may be curious to know the benefits, scope, demand, and career opportunities. Let’s find out in detail!

Japanese is the most popular choice among East Asian Languages, and the reasons are apparent. Roughly 127 million people speak Japanese in Japan. One can also find sizeable Japanese speakers in Korea, Taiwan, England, Canada, Brazil, the USA, and the Philippines.

It is also one of the most widely used languages on the Internet.

While no official data seems to exist, it is generally assumed that a vast majority of Japanese are monolingual. It means very few people speak any other language, including English. One main reason is they take pride in their native language, and there is no such thing as “English for Japanese.”

Among the large number of foreign languages, learning Japanese creates a variety of benefits for Indian and other students.

1. You’ll have access to advanced technology

Japan is the leader in many sectors like automobiles, animation, consumer electronics, computers, optical media, semiconductor manufacturing, infrastructure, shipbuilding, and many more.

The “made in Japan” is synonymous with high quality and technologically advanced products.

Thanks to Japan’s innovative zeal and hard-working culture, it is one of the leading nations in patent filings. As per world intellectual property data, Japan’s total patent application was over 300,000 in 2018 alone. Prominent Japanese brands such as Sony, Honda, Panasonic, Hitachi, Toshiba, Sanyo, Casio, Canon, Minolta, Pioneer, Nikon, Fujitsu, Suzuki, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and hundreds of more have infiltrated the Indian market in a wide range of sectors and still expanding.

Being able to communicate with potential clients, customers, and colleagues can open many doors. The ability to speak the Japanese language in India offers many jobs that require languages. Today, many companies are searching for Japanese language specialists in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and other cities in India.

You can find new Japanese openings in MNCs across India. When you study, you don’t only speak fluently but also gain an insider view of the culture. You will understand the Japanese work ethic, business etiquette, and knowing which cultural faux pas to avoid can often make or break an outstanding sales deal.

Anime, sushi, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo, Hello Kitty, Sudoku, karaoke, manga, martial arts, origami, and more – think about how our daily lives are enriched and entertained by different Japanese products. Whether designing electronic gadgets, inventing innovative, beautiful products, or high-end fashion clothing, the Japanese value craftsmanship, quality, and pleasing the consumer.

Japan is a nation that is geographically isolated. Considering the devastation of the country during WWII and the fact that natural resources are scarce in the island, it’s impressive how the Japanese were able to turn things around. It is astonishing how the Japanese were able to rely on their scientific knowledge and creativity to make their country economically successful. They are leaders in various fields of technology such as fermentation processes, industrial robotics, semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and optical media. They are great innovators, attested by their being on top of the list of patent filings in the world. Each year, around 420,000 patent applications are filed by Japanese inventors.

If you work in the technology field, especially robotics, learning Japanese will be very advantageous for you. You’ll be able to understand Japanese cutting-edge technology. Aside from the robotic tools that help the manufacturing and other labor-intensive industries, Japan has created various robots, including animals and humanoids for various applications.

Do you still remember the Aibo robot dogs? They are being utilized in facilities that care for the elderly. Other robots including the Tree, humanoid Pepper and Paro, the furry seal often coach and lead the elderly through their daily exercises. Palro is a small humanoid conversational robot used in elderly care facilities to guide them in their daily routines or conduct conversations with them. Another version of Pepper has become important in filling the lack of workers in the food service industry. Japanese inventors have successfully created human-like robots as well that are able to conduct normal conversation.

Globalization has opened new markets and allowed countries to engage in trade faster. However, there is always the problem of communication because nations speak different languages, which is why learning new languages is increasingly encouraged. Being able to speak other languages improves economic ties because communication is facilitated and understanding is enhanced. Improving understanding and communication depends on accurate translation & knowledge of the language.

2. Provides more opportunities for international understanding

The Pacific Rim and Asia continue to increase their global importance. The relationships between India and Japan have strategic and economic significance. Thus, it is critical that more Indians should be proficient in Japanese. It’s common knowledge that the Japanese are very nationalistic and even if they can speak and write in another language they would prefer to have their written texts in Japanese. Thus, access to information could be easier if people know the language. Fluency in Japanese allows people to improve communication and gain deeper knowledge and higher understanding of Japan as a nation and as a culture.

3. Prepares you for a better future, learning Japanese will boost your professional value.

career-wise, Japanese is one of the top 5 most useful languages to study.

As the Asian economy rises, more opportunities for work would be available. Japanese is a language that is not commonly taught or studied, like French, German or Spanish. Learning Japanese will boost your professional value. When you learn Japanese, you’ll have less competition in opportunities available in different fields, such as business, social sciences, humanities, technology, science, journalism and tourism. If you want to be a translator for the government or a language services provider, your competition is lower when you speak Japanese compared to other more commonly taught languages.

You could also have better chances of promotion. If you’re working for an international corporation, speaking a foreign language like Japanese creates more opportunities for you to be assigned to an overseas branch.

4. Makes you appreciate your own culture and language

Learning Japanese will help you to appreciate your own culture as well as your own language because it improves your communication and cognitive skills. Accessing a culture that is very different from yours will heighten your awareness that cultures and languages vary.

5. Makes you understand Japanese culture

The colorful and vigorous cultural aspect of Japan.

The Japanese culture is unique. It’s a combination of traditional and modern practices. Typically, the social conducts are not something you will see in the West. Their cultural traditions are ingrained in the people, young and old, and these traditions dictate the way they react, interact and behave. These are also manifested in the way they write, read, hear and talk. The younger generation could exhibit very modern behaviors, talk and dress differently but they still follow traditions their elders have taught them.

Understanding the Japanese language will open your eyes to Japanese history, martial arts, entertainment, culture and fashion.

6. Improves your skills in studying your other academic lessons

As a student, learning Japanese helps you gain broader perspectives, higher thinking skills and new learning strategies that you can apply to your other academic subjects.

7. You can qualify as an English/Hindi/Marathi teacher in Japan

Your proficiency in Japanese can be your stepping-stone to teach English in Japanese high schools or even work in some local Japanese organizations of the government. The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) is an annual program where foreign students who pass the criteria and review process can stay and teach in Japan for one full year. It is a program to promote internationalization through the development of mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. Its aim is to increase Japanese education in foreign languages. You can continue to study the Japanese language during your stay.

8. It’s your gateway to more Asian cultures and languages

Other Asian nations, such as Korea, China and India exerted influence over Japanese history. Although the Asian cultures are different, they also share some similarities, which you’ll be able to recognize when you study the language. You’ll see the values they share with the country, including aesthetics, ethics and religious beliefs.

It will likewise help you learn other languages in Asia. Japanese grammar is quite similar to Korean grammar. Both have advanced honorifics system to show respect to persons of higher stature, older family members and strangers. Their writing system has similarities with the Chinese writing system, therefore, it would be easier for you to learn and understand either Chinese or Korean.

9. Develop a Second Perspective: Think Differently

Ask anyone who knows several languages and they’ll tell you: Sometimes certain things are just expressed better when they’re not in English. You’ll find there are words in Japanese with a totally different flavor than their English counterparts—if there is a counterpart at all.

10. Unlock a Notoriously Tough Market (Find a Career!)

Let’s talk about this from two angles. First angle: Ever tried inputting business-level Japanese into Google translate? What comes out is often hilariously inaccurate gibberish. While that may be good for a solitary laugh or two (while onlookers watch you fearfully), this is immensely indicative of the level of free translation software nowadays.

In my opinion, the software often fails to be able to translate the nuances which are not directly translatable into English, and especially has trouble with differences in syntax.

11. Tackle 1 of the “Impossible” Languages

Japanese will set you apart from the crowd.

We’ve all heard it, and though we might grudgingly admit we’ve said it ourselves, we know that those intimidating Asian languages are not, in fact, truly impossible. Let’s get back to those “frighteningly unfamiliar characters.” Faced with a written language that uses pictures instead of roman lettering already throws you for a loop, in that you have no reference from which to draw the phonetic pronunciation.

With Japanese, you’re both in luck and in for some troubles. I’ll give you the bad news first: Unlike Chinese, Japanese kanji does not have just one phonetic pronunciation per character—so settle in for a lot of familiarization time. However, the good news is that the phonetic sounds all fall pretty much within the range of sounds that we make in the Marathi & English language, and there isn’t a whole lot of variation in tone.

If you want to learn, whatever your purpose – as long as you have a reason – you’re more likely to reach your language goals.

12. It Is Not As Hard As You May Think

Although learning any new language can be difficult, you are already at a distinct advantage as an active English speaker. English is actually one of the hardest languages to learn.

But any new language can be intimidating simply because it’s so different from what you’re used to. However, after you start learning some Japanese characters, you’ll be surprised by how easy they are to remember with regular practice.

13. It Helps With Greater Language Sensitivity

Once you begin to learn Japanese, it will amaze you how anyone could ever mistake it for Chinese, Thai or Korean.

To the untrained and insensitive ear, many Asian languages may “sound alike.” However, as you begin to learn Japanese, you’ll be easily able to distinguish Japanese from Korean and Chinese.

14. It Makes It Easy to Make More Friends Online

For many users in the Western world, the internet is an “English-only” reality. As such, you may assume that citizens in Japan engage in online activities at the same rate as Americans. But this is HIGHLY inaccurate. Japan boasts a population that is among the world’s most internet savvy.

There is a simple reason why interaction between English-speaking people and Japanese citizens isn’t as great as it could be: Often these persons use Japanese-language sites. Learning Japanese will allow you to navigate these locations and find new friends to interact with.

15. It Will Inspire You to Learn Other East Asian Languages

With the possible exception of Japanophiles, or persons exclusively fixated on all things Japanese, persons who learn about the Japanese language and culture may be moved to learn about other Asian countries and cultures.

It’s not unusual for someone to first learn Japanese and then move on to Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai. This will allow for you to greatly expand your understanding of languages and cultures in East Asia.

16. It Gives You a Less-Conventional Approach

Even though Japanese cartoons and video games are popular in the United States, language wise, Americans often opt to take on a European language.

While others boast Spanish, French or German as a second language, saying you can speak fluent Japanese will make you stand out and can allow you to offer a unique perspective as compared to your peers.

17. It Could Help You Study Abroad

Japanese schools have high standards of learning at all levels of education. If you’re interested in studying abroad, Japan would be an excellent place to do so. Of course, studying in a different country would be most beneficial if you can speak the language very well, so make sure you are comfortable with all three Japanese “alphabets” (hirigana, katakana and kanji) before undertaking this endeavor.

18. Highest paying language

Moreover, it is one of the highest paying languages in the translation and interpreter world.

Due to limited supply, many Institutes and Indian & Japanese companies look for foreign language trainers who can train the candidates for various courses or on-site opportunities or deal with Japanese customers.

As a result, skilled Japanese language teachers in India are finding their services in higher demand.

19. Top 10 - Best Foreign Languages to Learn

English (It’s common now.)
1.    Spanish
2.    French
3.    Japanese
4.    Italian
5.    Chinese (Mandarin)
6.    Portuguese
7.    Arabic
8.    Korean
9.    German
10. Russian

20. The World's Top 5 Largest Economies in 2024 (February 16, 2021)

1.    United States: USD 25.3 trillion in 2024. ...
2.    China: USD 20.6 trillion in 2024. ...
3.    Japan: USD 5.6 trillion in 2024. ...
4.    Germany: USD 4.9 trillion in 2024. ...
5.    India: USD 4.9 trillion in 2024.

As you can see, the reasons behind choosing to learn Japanese are varied. However, it can be a rewarding experience that helps you grow your knowledge of the world around you.

Learn Japanesse on WhatsApp

Sarvesh Sakale

Tuesday 25 May 2021

Learn Japanese on WhatsApp

Benefits of Learning Japanese