Communication
Here are some interesting facts about Japan:

• Capital and largest city: Tokyo
• Area: 377,835 km²/ 145,870 mi² (13% arable)
• Elevations: highest-Mount Fuji 3,776m (12,388ft) lowest-sea level
• Population: 126,182,077 (July 1999 est.)
• Density: More than 330 persons/km²
• People: Japanese (including indigenous Ainu), Korean
• Languages: Japanese, English
• Literacy: virtually 100% of adult population
• Major religions: Shintoist, Buddhist, Christianity
• Government: Constitutional Monarchy
• Net Migration from Japan: nearly 0
• Currency: Japanese Yen (¥).
• Emperor's Birthday: 23 December
• Visas: US passport holders and most EU residents do not require a visa if staying in Japan less than 90 days.
• Visitors from Australia and South Africa are amongst those who are required to get a visa.
• Health Risks: None
• Time Zone: GMT/UTC plus nine hours
• Weights & measures: Metric
• National Airport: Narita (NRT), Tokyo

Cultural Knowledge

• Learning Japanese opens up a unique window into one of the world's ancient civilizations. As soon as you begin studying the Japanese language, you begin learning about Japanese history, cultural values, philosophical and religious beliefs, and aesthetic traditions. And the more proficient you become, the more you will be able to appreciate and understand Japan's past and present.
• Japanese is the language of Mishima, Kawabata, Enji, Endo, Kurosawa, Ozu, Kenzaburo, Oe, Soseki Natsume, and Oogai Mori.

Career Opportunities

• Japan is ranked as the third economic power of the world, even though the country is smaller than the state of California.
• With a large population and the fast growing economy, Japan has a great potential as a market for U.S. goods.
• Japan is widely expected to become a major geopolitical force in the new Millennium.
• Graduates with proficiency in Japanese will be well-positioned for jobs in government, international relations, finance, tourism, translation, teaching and much, much more.
• As the World's third richest country (behind Switzerland and Luxembourg), Japan is an economic giant. Just over a decade ago, in 1990, for instance, the US exported $49 billion of products and services to Japan, but imported $90 billion worth of Japanese goods. This produced a trade imbalance of $41 billion, which constitutes almost a quarter of the entire US trade deficit.
• There are many marketing and other business exchange opportunities in Japan and other Asian countries. Many businesses are eager to engage in import/export with the U.S.
• How about:
  Jobs in Japan

Other Reasons

• Japanese civilization is one of the oldest and richest in the world.
• Japanese is one of the few languages which remain pictographic. Japanese calligraphy is a form of art.
• Are you interested in writing the language of the people who have developed such superb arts as Kabuki, wood block prints, and the tea ceremony, and. . . . .
• . . . . . . are you interested in speaking the language of the people who make Toyota, Honda, and Mazda?

Learning Japanese is not as hard as you think!

• Beginning students of Japanese easily learn both the phonetic alphabet and the basic Japanese characters in one month!!!
• Click here for a link to all sorts of Japanese language learning sites
• Want to try a little Japanese for Beginners? Check out this web site for a pronunciation & writing guide! It is not only very practical, it is fun!
• Links to Kanji - one of the Japanese scripts
• Or how about "some basic conversation skills" with Easy Web Japanese
• Below is a sample of the Japanese mini-lesson:

Greetings

good morning ...... ohayo gozaimasu

good day/afternoon ......konnichiwa

good evening ..........kombanwa

good night ...... oyasuminasai

goodbye .......sayonara

Americans and Japanese have many cultural ties!

• Culturally, politically, and geographically, Japan serves as a link to other East Asian nations.
• Just over a decade ago, in 1992, only 1,225 young Americans were studying in Japan while 42,840 Japanese students came to the USA., indicating that trade surplus and close acquaintance with the other culture indeed do correlate: how can we communicate -- and compete -- with our business and research partners when we don't understand their language and cultural background?
• The USA. today is actively promoting a healthy relationship with Japan, both politically and academically.
• In turn, Japan sees the U.S. as a very important political partner. For that reason, it too promotes a strong transpacific communication by sponsoring study exchanges and research visits for Americans each year in many cities.

The University Core Curriculum and Foreign Language:

• Two semesters of a foreign language are a required part of the humanities and liberal arts core curriculum at John Carroll University. Why not choose Japanese? (For further information on the core, please see the most current Undergraduate Bulletin.)
• Taking Japanese not only satisfies a language requirement in the JCU Core Curriculum, but it could eventually be the greatest asset to anyone's career background.

Japanese and your career

• Are you planning to major in Arts and Sciences (the Humanities)? Japanese is important for art history, diplomacy, East Asian studies, history, law, philosophy, political science, religious studies, sociology.
• A knowledge of Japanese is can be extremely useful for future scientists and engineers, especially for students intending to pursue a graduate degree in one of the natural sciences.
• For those intenting to pursue a career involving technology (including computer science), a knowledge of Japanese is again an excellent pursuit.
• Are you considering majoring in Business? Japanese is an excellent choice for those considering a career in marketing or advertising, or for any Business majors wishing to tap into the markets of many Asian countries.
  

EXAMPLES OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES FOR STUDENTS OF JAPANESE:

Double Major (2 languages , or 1 language + 1 other discipline)
East Asian Studies
Educational Certification
Humanities Program
International Business
International Studies, a Program jointly sponsored by the Departments of Classical and Modern Languages and Cultures, -- and Economics, History, Political Science, Art History and Humanities, Communications, English, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Sociology
Modern European Studies
Modern Languages & Cultures & International Economics - JAPANESE
World Literature