2018 Survey of Japanese Language Education
About the 2018 “Survey of Japanese Language Education”
The understanding and tolerance for diverse cultures nurtured through the study of foreign languages and cultures is now more important than ever. Japanese language education also serves a critical role in connecting Japan with the rest of the world. We would like to express our profound respect for the instructors and related persons active in Japanese-language educational organisations throughout the world, who have undertaken this vital activity.
The Japan Foundation conducts a survey of Japanese-language educational organizations once every three years. The 2018 survey is a continuation of the previous survey conducted in 2015, and we are contacting your organisation to request your kind cooperation.
In the previous survey, we confirmed that 3.66 million people are studying the Japanese language at 16,000 organisations in 137 countries and regions around the world. Comparing the results of the survey from 1974, when the Japan Foundation launched the survey, to the latest results from 2015, we can see that the number of organisations providing Japanese-language education has increased 18-fold and the number of students studying Japanese has grown 50-fold.
In addition to publicising a survey report in Japanese and English based on the 2018 survey in the same manner as the 2015 survey, we will also publicise information about organisations conducting Japanese-language education in a database on the Japan Foundation website to disseminate the survey results widely throughout society. There is no other globally conducted survey of a similar nature, and the results of this survey are used in the activities of researchers, international exchange organisations and Japanese-language educational organisations throughout the world. We also hope that the results of this survey can be utilised in the educational activities of all the organisations participating in the survey.
If you have any comments or questions regarding this survey, please contact the local survey implementing organisation or the Japan Foundation, Japanese-Language Department, Planning and Coordination Section Survey Team (kikan@jpf.go.jp). In order for a greater number of people to gain an understanding of the state of Japanese-language education, and in order for the results of our survey to reflect the most up-to-date information regarding as many organisations as possible, we sincerely request your kind cooperation.
May 2018
Hiroyasu Ando
President
The Japan Foundation