According to Michel Thomas who has taught celebrities such as Emma Thompson and Woody Allen, those who learn a foreign language are richer, happier and sexier than those who can only speak English! But why learn Japanese and not some other language?
Business
If you are ready to broaden your commercial horizons and try your luck in Asia, the opportunities will be endless.
“When a Japanese manufacturer was asked by his North American counterpart, “What is the best language in which to do business?” the man responded: “My customer’s language.”
Leonard I. Sweer
Japan is in the top three largest economies in the world, some of the best known and most influential companies are based in Japan, and the Japanese spend billions of dollars every year on imports. Learn Japanese and get a better understanding of the Asian market.
Culture
Japan has undoubtedly one of the longest and most interesting histories. The knowledge of the Japanese language will give you access to endless historical, philosophical and theological resources as well as an incredible library of literary and cinematic works, only a fraction of which have been translated into English.
Spending even one week in Japan will make you fall in love with Japanese food, and the pop-culture such as J-Pop, manga and Animé is for many a compelling reason to get to grips with the language.
Education
There are more universities in Tōkyō than in the whole of France and Japan has one of the highest literacy rates in the world. The high level of colleges in Japan is known all over the world and in several rankings the country’s educational institutions are ranked among the top.
If you are still deciding about where to continue your studies you should definitely consider what Japan has to offer. If nothing else, having a second language (particularly an Asian one) is regarded very highly by university entrance tutors and employers, even for work or academia that is not directly related to the language.
Information
Japanese-speakers are the third largest language group on the internet after English and Chinese. Japanese researchers are behind some of the major discoveries in the recent times and nearly half a million patent applications filed every year. Japanese language can give you access to infinite sources of world knowledge as well as many valuable contacts.
Friendship
It is often reported that Japanese people are amongst the most friendly, welcoming and caring people in the world, and make great friends to have. Conversing with Japanese people in their mother tongue when you visit the country is such a rewarding thing to do, and internet communications mean that even if you don’t live in Japan you can still keep in contact.
While one can learn Japanese just for the sake of it, it rarely leads to good results. You need to set a specific goal which would benefit from the knowledge of the language. It can be anything—a dream of studying in Japan, understanding anime & manga, even meeting a Japanese girlfriend or boyfriend—, what’s important is that you believe and stick to it on the way to master the language.
