Why you SHOULD Learn Japanese

By JZ Staff

There are just so many reasons to study Japanese. The most important is if you live in Japan already. Not convinced? Here are a few more:

You can be independent
No more will you need to rely on people to do everything for you: pay your bills, negotiate with the landlord, or your boss, or the clerk at the department store when you’re trying to return that stereo you blew up (because you couldn’t read the directions).

You can be in control
Don’t have to worry about getting lost. You can tell if it’s the men’s or women’s toilet. You can explain to the cops why they really have no right to search your pockets, under Section 2 of the Police Execution of Duties Law. You can order the pizza with extra tomato sauce, even if your partner hates it, and your partner can’t cheat you out of your savings or divorce you on the sly.

You can save money
Just think about how many 50 percent-off sales, limited time offers, and freebies you’ve walked by because you couldn’t read the signs advertising them. Ditto with the flyers in the supermarket

You know what’s going on
And aren’t you sick of getting onigiri filled with natto when you’re forced to play rice ball roulette at Family Mart? You can understand what people are saying about you, what that recycling truck is picking up, and why you shouldn’t swim in that polluted river.

You can get the right tattoo
Heard the story of Britney Spears, who wanted ‘mysterious’ but ended up with ‘strange’? How about the guy who asked the tattooist for ‘Wind God’ (fuujin) and got ‘wife’ (fujin) instead? Don’t make the same mistake!

You can make friends
 A bit of Japanese means more people to talk to, and more things to talk about. And if that’s not enough, isn’t sex a good motivation? Think how much larger your dating pool would be if you weren’t limited to English-school students?

You can broaden your horizons
How many times have you settled for fast food because you didn’t want to struggle with the menu anywhere else? Or, all the interesting festivals and concerts you missed because you couldn’t read the flyers?

You can get a better job
Sick of being the eikaiwa monkey? See yourself scaling the heights of finance? Try and imagine a similar situation back home, where someone is given an important, high paying job with only limited language ability. As if!

You like it here more
Independence, control, money and sex. Why are you procrastinating?

Reasons NOT to Learn Japanese
Is Learning Japanese Really That Difficult?Stuff They Don't Teach You In Japanese School

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