beyond elementary school?
Students who have studied Japanese in K5 and middle
school can continue to study the language in high schooland college. Many more schools are offering Japanese as aresult of College Board’s implementation of the AP*
Japanese Language and Culture program—a student’sachievement can be assessed and a passing score or higher
is rewarded as college credit.

Why learn Japanese?
“Learning Japanese makes me feel special and happy. I feel
special because I can talk to Japanese people.” –Hannah“I think Japanese is a wonderful language to speak and tolearn about. When I walk through the classroom door, I
feel like I'm entering Japan. Did you know Japan has
different holidays; they even have Children's Day. It is sucha privilege for us to have our school offer Japanese.”–Makaila“Japanese class makes me happy because some people
think learning another language is hard but it is actually
pretty easy.” –Connor

Beyond school, the working world awaits and exchanges
such as the JET Programme and the JapanU.S. Fulbright
Program encourages and enhances the exchanges between
US and Japan, allowing young professionals and educatorsto experience a different culture and reflect upon theirinterest to achieve greater aspirations.
• 2537 US participants were sent on the JET
Programme (20092010 Programme Year).

“If we learn it now we call it foreign language. But if wecontinue we call it a language.” –Lucas“If you are not learning Japanese, you are missing big time.
You get to learn about the different foods, what they dofor fun and the beautiful sights. It feels so amazing when
you go to Japanese class. When you learn something
about Japan, you want to go to Japan and see it.”–JoshuaComments courtesy of Ms. Jessica Haxhi’s 4th grade class,
Maloney Magnet School, CT.

• Over 2400 Fulbright Memorial Teacher Program
scholars from the United States since 1952!
Participants in these programs become like bridges
connecting the US to Japan and this perpetuates until theentire world is connected as one!

“Japanese cultureemphasizes traits
important to success in life.”
Lisa Hodge, Parent

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
333 S. Grand Ave., Suite 2250
Los Angeles CA 90071

t 213 . 621 . 2267
f 213 . 621 . 2590

http://www.jflalc.org
jflaeducation@jflalc.org

For more information, please visit our website at
http://www.jflalc.org ( select Advocacy )*Advanced Placement Program and AP are registered trademarks for the College Board,which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
© 2010, The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles

JapaneseJapanese,

Young
ScholarsforLearn aUnique Language
ExpandCultural AwarenessPrepare for Leadershipin the Global Communityof the FutureJapanese Cultural Icons

Japanese Culture

Arts & Literature

Japan is a leader in many fields that play a vital role in thewellbeing and richness of today’s modern world. (Seepurple box for a list of Japanese cultural icons.) Influencesfrom contemporary Japanese and pop culture such as
anime, manga, and video games, all increasingly popularamong today’s students, have penetrated the global arena.

Haruki Murakami
Author of HardBoiled Wonderland and The End of the World,
winner of the Franz Kafka Prize

Culinary Arts
Nobu Matsuhisa
Owner and chef ofNobu and Matsuhisa
restaurants

Architecture
Yoshio Taniguchi
Tadao Ando
Arata Isozaki

Fashion Design
Issey Miyake
Kenzo
Rei Kawakubo

Ken Watanabe
Last Samurai
Letters from Iwojima

Hayao Miyazaki
Spirited Away©2001, Nibariki, GNDDTMEntertainmentSeiji Ozawa
Past conductor for the Boston
Symphony
Legendary performer atTanglewood
Founder and President ofMidori & Friends

BaseballIchiro Suzuki
Center fielder, Seattle Mariners

Hideki Matsui
First Asian World Series MVP

Daisuke Matsuzaka
Starting pitcher, Boston Red Sox

Nobel Laureates
16 Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, literature, peace, andphysiology/medicine have been awarded to Japanese scholarsthe most awarded to any Asian country.

©2001, Nibariki, GNDDTM

Midori Goto

The richness of Japan’sculture is not a recentphenomenon.
Hokusai’s Great Wave
Off Kanagawa is aninternationallyrecognized artworkthat has been praised
by Vincent van Goghand was a strong influence on
Claude Debussy. Much ofJapan’s modern and pop
culture is derived fromtraditional philosophies andaesthetics dating back many
centuries.
Not only is Japanese culture
timeless, it is also borderless,drawing many Americans to its
simplistic virtues such as thetea ceremony, ikebana(Japanese flower arrangement) and Zen rituals. These
customs have been practiced for hundreds of years in Japan,
with aesthetics and logic reaching far beyond its time andappreciated worldwide.
The door to Japan’s rich culture and history is open to
students of the Japanese language. Being able to under
stand another language creates a deeper understanding of
one’s own language, culture, and society and a morebalanced perspective of life. Students learning Japanese at a
young age will acquire the language skills to increase theircultural awareness and maintain an edge over competitionin their chosen career path.

S T A R T E A R LY
and give your children
the opportunity to blossom into
the global leaders of tomorrow!

Japan/US Partnerships
Although Japan is a relatively small country, it competes
favorably in business, science and technology sectors. Japan’s
GDP is slightly under 9% when compared to the rest of theworld and 33.5% when combined with the US, a strategic
trade and military partner in the Pacific Rim.
The positive USJapan relationship is largely due to an“alliance, which is founded on shared values and sharedinterests that has served our people so well and has provided
peace and security for the region in an unprecedentedway.”* Japan is a vital partner in this shared pursuit with
their leadership in R&D for the fields of robotic, biochemicaland environmental sciences, computer & nanotechnology,
medicine, and consumer electronics.

Japanese Innovation
Neonbright lights illuminating the streets of Las Vegas andused as lightbulbs in homes and flashlights can be credited
to the discovery of the brightblue LEDs by Shuji Nakamura,a Japanese scientist and professor at the University ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara. Since then, LEDs have found theirway into scanners, printers, and color copiers (of which
Japan produces 40% globally). There’s a good chance thatthe machines in your offices and classrooms are a result oftechnological advances from Japan!
As our global community becomes increasingly interwoven
through technological, business, and cultural interaction,communication and comprehension skills across cultures will
be highly desirable. A working knowledge of the Japanese
language will provide access to the various fields where
Japan is a known leader, increasing career possibilities andemployment options.
*President Barack Obama, November 13th, 2009, remarks