Learn Japanese.. Why???!!

This is the foremost question in the mind of any one who has ever toyed with this idea of learning Japanese.

So.. why learn Japanese?

Well it depends upon how you look at it! There could be many aspects to learning any foreign language, including learning Japanese. Given that most of us are looking at career opportunities, specifically, unique, distinguished & those with long term advantages, here are some very interesting facts that one must look at.
What generates this need to learn Japanese, in India? Well it clearly is the heightened economic activity between Japan & India which presents excellent career opportunities for our folks , especially the youngsters. Here is why one needs to seriously consider learning Japanese?
1. India’s “look east “ policy as an instrument of over all progress & power.

2. Japan’s view that India is certainly a strong trade & business opportunity that must not be missed. Here are some interesting facts for you to look at (Source: Embassy of Japan – India).
a. As of Nov 2012, 1804 Japanese business were operating in India. This reprsents nearly a 30% increase over the previous year. This is despite the general worldwide negative economic trend
b. Of this South India has a substantial share of 489 companies, Karnataka has about 228 companies (this excludes the 489).

3. Here is a piece of information about how things are progressing on the Japanese investment front . Source – Embassy of Japan – India : “The growth rate of the Japanese companies newly entering India is as high as average years, and what is more remarkable is that the growth rates of its establishments are at a much higher level, which indicates that the Japanese companies which have already entered India are steadily expanding their business in India.”
So the key component that generates the need to learn Japanese comes from the fact that there is robust economic activity in terms of Japanese businesses in india. This gives a huge impetus to learn Japanese.

The China Angle!: As an opportunity, China has always been a favorite destination for Japanese investment. However the latest spurt in Japan-China turmoil which stems from the conflict over the islands of Senkaku has changed things substantially.

The particular surge in anti-Japanese emotion in China is nothing fresh. Anti-Japanese emotion flared up in China due to the new Japanese text books, which allegedly gloss over Japanese wartime offenses in China.
Key Factors which can bridle China’s attractiveness in the context of Japanese investments are : rise in salaries; high cost of economic growth turning less environmental friendly; an aging society as a result of one-child system and the levels of financial savings and imbalances involving the investment pertaining to State-Owned Enterprises.
India’s rise has thus come timely for Japanese investment & these are borne out by facts mentioned above. Thus it needs no seer to confirm that there is a significant opportunity for those who have Japanese skills. In the context of Learning Japanese, the above article establishes the basic reason, the trade & economic triggers. Going forward, in a series of articles we will look at opportunities for higher learning in Japan (for students) , how to learn Japanese & most importantly what’s the intrinsic advantages we as Indian’s have?

SAM