CHENNAI: To know how Tamil is popular in Japan, one just has to see how the Japanese celebrate when a Rajinikanth movie is screened there. Similarly, the Japanese language is no less popular in Tamil Nadu as thousands of students, engineering graduates, professionals, housewives and children are opting to learn it. In 2018, about 6,300 people in South India alone had taken the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), which is the ticket to go to Japan for educational or work purposes. “20 years ago, there were hardly 300 people who learned Japanese in India. But, today about 25,000 to 30,000 people learn Japanese here,’’ says MR Ranganathan, chairman and founder of ABK-AOTS DOSOKAI Japanese Language School, affiliated to the Japanese Consulate.
While Anime cartoons and Manga comics of Japan draw children to Japanese schools, Ranganathan says lucrative job opportunities in both India and Japan bring college students and professionals to the language. “An interpreter’s job pays `12,000 while a translator’s job pays `6,000 per day,’’ he says.
K Nitin (26), an engineering graduate, was at sea after writing the UPSC exams unsuccessfully three years ago. He heard from a friend about the scope of the language. “After two years of learning, I was one of the 14 students selected for the teachers training program in Japan,’’ says Nitin, a mechanical engineer in Yamaha Vendor Company, who also teaches Japanese at the ABK on weekends.
In Chennai, Japanese language is also given as an elective in engineering colleges such as SRM and Meenakshi Sundaram Engineering College. The language also acts as a tool to empower housewives. “We have 50 trained teachers, most of whom, are housewives. Women are more committed to teaching and are trained under the Japan foundation,’’ Ranganathan says.
To enhance Japanese speaking skills of students, schools here have native Japanese teachers. Masaki Takatoshi, a native Japanese teacher at ABK-AOTS says: “Seeing native teachers in the institute, the students feel like they want to talk in Japanese. I rarely use English. The students totally speak in Japanese,’’ says Takatoshi who is from Sapporo in Japan.
Although prospects in engineering field is high, people learn the language for passion, hobby and travelling too. Jayashree Sukumar, a chartered accountant by profession, says: “I learned Japanese to travel in Japan and also use it for professional consultancy at work,’’ she says. Amudha K (20), a B.Sc Fashion student says: “I am inspired by the kimono clothes and designs of the Japanese. So to join the ‘Bunka Gakuen’ fashion college in Japan, I took up Japanese.’’