Program for Learning Business Japanese and Japanese Business

Foreign students take a total of 12 Business Japanese and Japanese Business courses during the course of two years. There are currently two classes being held a week with a total of four classes being offered.

In Business Japanese classes, the initial focus is on learning basic skills, such as Japanese conversation at the office and on the phone or standard expressions used in business letters. The content gradually moves on to a more practical and comprehensive nature. An example is theme-based information gathering. Here, a student decides his or her theme, visits a business to carry out interviews, analyzes the information collected, and presents the results. This makes it possible for the student to develop the Japanese language and problem solving skills required in the business scene.

In Japanese Business classes, students first learn basic matters related to systems in place at Japanese companies, such as employment and human resources development, as well as those related to corporate cultures and climates. Furthermore, students learn skills that can be utilized on the business stage through visitor sessions, where students get a chance to hear directly from those on the forefront, and project-based learning. In project-based learning, for example, a student may draft a plan and give a presentation under the setting of product development.

I have spent many years providing job placement support and Japanese language guidance to foreign students. During that time, I have seen several foreign students with excellent specialized knowledge and character at a disadvantage in finding jobs at Japanese companies due to insufficient Japanese-language communication skills. In the case of a foreign student, filling out so-called "entry sheets," or written interview questions in Japanese, and speaking in Japanese at job interviews can both be major hurdles to overcome. Drafting reports and participating in discussions at meetings can be difficult even for newly-employed Japanese employees. They become even harder for foreign students for whom Japanese is not a native language. Students may also be placed in an unfavorable position if there are problems in daily communication skills at the office.

With such points in mind, I would like to advance this program with the objective of having students acquire practical and high-level communication skills in Japanese. We want to nurture foreign students who can play active roles at Japanese companies on a level that is on par with Japanese employees.