Universities collaborate to improve Japanese skills of foreign workers

With the help of people trained through the program, we are hoping to realize a multicultural society where both Japanese and foreigners live comfortably," Iwate University Vice President for International Liaison Toshihiro Yabu said.

Step in the right direction, and I hope that their communities improve because of it. Sadly even after going on to 2 generations of living here, change comes slowly.

Living comfortably is going to take a heck of a lot more than the foreigners learning Japanese, sure it helps, but the people in the communities they live and work in, MUST be educated too!

Three universities in northeastern Japan have formed an alliance with international exchange organizations to improve Japanese language education for foreign workers and trainees who are helping the nation address its acute labor shortage.

One of the lamest excuses often heard about Japan Inc. corporate practices and foreign staff is "they do not understand about Japanese manners and common sense".

No, exploitation and wage theft are universal languages.

Communities and businesses in the region have invested little in training Japanese language teachers and tended to rely on volunteers, making it difficult to ensure quality education was available to the foreign workforce.

"With the help of people trained through the program, we are hoping to realize a multicultural society where both Japanese and foreigners live comfortably," Iwate University Vice President for International Liaison Toshihiro Yabu said.

There are so many Japanese language school that can offer cultural assistance to people, now they need to provide customized program because of visa status?

Watch universities struggling to survive the birthrate decline and economic woes step into this arena in the near future. It’s actually a good thing too, training up these often vulnerable to abuse trainees in the language so that they will be better equipped to deal with the unique challenges of working in Japan and the culture.

As other posters have pointed out if the expectation is to speak Japanese that's okay, but if the expectation is that they are Japanese have have the same mannerisms and give up traditional things from their own country that's not going to work .

Perhaps they should focus on language education of another kind.

Something far more needed, English skills for the Japanese in order to compete and deal internationally in the 21st century.

Many still think that during the Japan boom it got by became a powerful country despite the severe lack of English.

Yes true in a time of snail mail, weeks if not months to get even the tiniest deal done, giving Japanese businesses time to use a "translation team" or go-between business.

Today instant business world, you go to a Japanese business's website and try ordering and odds are at best they use auto translate and cannot deal or take orders not in Japanese and don't ship outside Japan.

Good initiative, but will foreign workers have enough spare time to attend class?

Also, if Japanese teachers are not knowing for being effective educators in other subjects in their native language. Look at the poor track record with English language education in Japan. If Japanese teachers already have a poor track record teaching a foreign language to local. I do not see much success with Japanese teachers teaching Japanese language to foreigners any better than now.

They first need to learn how to teach better for this initiative to really make a difference.

Antiquesaving

Today instant business world, you go to a Japanese business's website and try ordering and odds are at best they use auto translate and cannot deal or take orders not in Japanese and don't ship outside Japan.

It's perfectly understandable that most JP e-commerce sites are in their native language, and do not ship internationally. That's common for e-commerce sites in many countries. It's easy enough to use Chrome or Edge with auto-translate, and utilize a mail forwarding service. (I have to often use one to forward stuff the US to Japan, as they don't ship directly either.)

The real issue with JP websites is the design. OMG, they're a mess. It's like their servers exploded, leaving everything on every page. It's like their websites all suffer from hoarding sickness. I've never seen such overloaded and disorganized webpages anywhere else. It's the online equivalent of walking through a DonQ.

garypen,

Agreed. I just took a PCR test and my J-wife couldn’t understand the J-website.

On teaching Japanese, decades ago the local area had about 30 Vietnamese refugees and the teachers were teaching them Keigo - ultra-polite language because, the teachers told me, everyone in Japan will be above them socially.

Things have changed since then, but the teachers of Japanese have to be taught how to teach first.

A person can learn to speak Japanese in a year or so. You can learn hiragana and katakana at the same time. However, learning to read and write kanji can take decades, especially if someone is working 60+ hours a week. I hope these universities concentrate on communicational Japanese and don’t expect them to learn kanji as well.

@Garypen

It's perfectly understandable that most JP e-commerce sites are in their native language, and do not ship internationally. That's common for e-commerce sites in many countries. It's easy enough to use Chrome or Edge with auto-translate, and utilize a mail forwarding service. (I have to often use one to forward stuff the US to Japan, as they don't ship directly either.)

The real issue with JP websites is the design. OMG, they're a mess. It's like their servers exploded, leaving everything on every page. It's like their websites all suffer from hoarding sickness. I've never seen such overloaded and disorganized webpages anywhere else. It's the online equivalent of walking through a DonQ.

I agree Japanese websites tend to be a hot mess!

…we are hoping to realize a multicultural society where both Japanese and foreigners live comfortably," Iwate University Vice President for International Liaison Toshihiro Yabu said.

What a load of platitudinous cobblers.

TT

Anecdotal only, but I never heard from a Japanese person in 27 years that I didn’t understand customs or Japanese common sense. I learned what I needed to know and didn’t learn what I didn’t need to know.

I knew foreigners in Japan who, after 30 years, couldn’t write their address in Japanese. You get out of it what you put into it. People with issues working in Japan have to accept Japan as it is, not as you think Japan should be.

Japanese have this insane need to hold the boss in high respect. Never show the boss you respect him or you will never get a pay rise. First and only lesson needed. I work for this hotel, my accommodation was sharing with two others. I ended up finding a storeroom which the bosses bike and other boy toys were stored. I move them into the main storeroom and in there I found a single mattress which is a rare sight in Japan. So I claim this mattress and furnish the spare storeroom. I also found a bar fridge and A kettle and set the storeroom up has a SPC. My job consisted of dropping of and picking up clients at ski resorts in the valley also consist on keeping driveway and car parking and delivery areas clear of slow which had a watering system to melt the snow but not the driveway which would end up with a meter high mound of snow when the snow plough pass by if it dump that night. On these morning I was up 4.00 am and shovelled snow until 6.30 depending on the amount of snow dumped the pervious night. So some day after drop off I would take a nap between 10.00 and 15.00 if not needed to pick up arriving clients. This one day I went to my SPC and found someone had stolen my mattress and went searching for it and found it in one of the Japanese traditional rooms. I sorted out the house manager Masa who was Japanese I ask why he stolen mattress. He told me in his best English. Boss said guest want to sleep on Mattress so I took mattress. Guest come first. I said Boss know we only had one mattress and I have it. I asked Mass why do you think he ask you without asking me first. Because I tell him where to go and go buy a new mattress. Masa reply Boss is boss and must do what boss want. I told Masa that wrong never listen to boss. If I don’t get good rest this not good for guest because I am not in good mood and treat guest rudely that is end result. Next time boss to you to take my mattress you say don’t tell me tell John San And I will deal with boss. Now boss know he can push you around he also know that when you ask for pay rise he will lie and say in present climate I can not give you rise all because you treat boss with very high respect. So just do normal job and if ask to do more asks for more money or don’t do it. Masa end up working many hour overtime without pay because of stupid notion of treating boss with high respect.

The Japanese use of the English language is horrendous and very few Japanese seem to understand that Romaji is not English its phonetic Latin.

And to make matters worse a large part of the written Japanese language was changed or lost after the war making the pictographs of kanji illegible.

The younger generation doesn't identify the kanji as pictographs anymore or realize their origin .

If the government of Japan wishes foreign workers to understand Japanese better then i suggest they start paying better attention to how the English language works also.

And no double standards !

And for god's sake- research the internet or use a dictionary if you want to communicate with foreigners.

It's really not that difficult.

Its sad to say that most of the other countries in Asia have better understanding and use of the English language than Japan.

Japan doesn't care if the English they try to use is incorrect but however they are very stern and adamant about the correct use of the Japanese language.

The online JLPT test service needs a total updating and user friendly system.

It is way overdue for Japan to get with the program and join the international community in making language study easier.

Iam glad to hear they are making a positive effort .

As it appears many people have lost interest in learning Japanese.

Meanwhile there's people like gary writing books on Japanese history having been translated by a USA foreigner of the Japanese version of history.

How ridiculous is that !

Good post from ALT or possibly a linguist

＠Kyo wa heiwa dayo neToday  05:00 pm JST

The Japanese use of the English language is horrendous and

I wouldn't disagree despite so-called minimum 6 years of compulsory English education( although 3~4 hours per week mainly reading and writing) . Well even native English ALT at schools seem too useless to improve the situation. What a shame.

very few Japanese seem to understand that Romaji is not English its phonetic Latin.

BS, what kind of Japanese are you mingling with , if you do?

And to make matters worse a large part of the written Japanese language was changed or lost after the war making the pictographs of kanji illegible.

Mind your own business. It is not that Japan made it illegible, but it introduced simpler form, Toyo-Kanji and then Joyo-Kanji, like Simplified Chinese are being used nowadays in China.

The younger generation doesn't identify the kanji as pictographs anymore or realize their origin .

No, there are still many Joyo-Kanji which kids could enjoy how each one of those constructed to mean what it means

If the government of Japan wishes foreign workers to understand Japanese better then i suggest they start paying better attention to how the English language works also.

And no double standards !

I have no idea about your point.

And for god's sake- research the internet or use a dictionary if you want to communicate with foreigners.

It's really not that difficult.

Correct me wrong. Are you telling Japanese should spent time/study to communicate with foreigners in their language IN JAPAN? Are you a type of person who uses violent language in English when in trouble with Japanese by assuming they don't understand anyway? There are so many of those foreigners like that nowadays

Its sad to say that most of the other countries in Asia have better understanding and use of the English language than Japan.

I would rather think of history of Asia before WW2.　Am I wrong？

Japan doesn't care if the English they try to use is incorrect but however they are very stern and adamant about the correct use of the Japanese language.

On the other hand, what shameful for foreigners, I dare to say, is , very often, they try to use broken casual Japanese, like TAMEGUCHI, 반말(パンマル). In Asia, like Korea/China/Japan, you should stick to only standard polite form language unless you are as native as Japanese.

The online JLPT test service needs a total updating and user friendly system.

It is way overdue for Japan to get with the program and join the international community in making language study easier.

Do not underestimate technology, you could see the days you don't need language education if with a iphone

Iam glad to hear they are making a positive effort .

As it appears many people have lost interest in learning Japanese.

You don't need learn Japanese to live on in Japan even for decades? How many of these JT experts

do read and write and speak Japanese? From my personal experience I doubt it.

I got a much cheaper, better and simple IDEA! how about printing work and public services form in their languages like most other nations do!?

One of the biggest OBSTACLES facing any migrant to any country is communication, Japan is on of the toughest if not the toughest places to migrate to due to this obstacle , makes me wonder if it is intentional!???