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RI ranks No. 2 in learning Japanese language
Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Mon, July 15 2013, 9:58 AM
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More than 800,000 Indonesians are currently studying the Japanese language, mainly due to the popularity of Japanese pop culture, anime, manga and mouth-watering Japanese cuisine, according to the worldwide “Survey on Japanese Language Education Abroad” conducted recently by the Japan Foundation.

According to the survey, which is conducted every three years, the total number of people learning Japanese overseas surged to 3,984,538 in 2012, a 9.1 percent increase from the 3,651,232 in 2009. China topped the list with 1,046,490 learners, a 26.5 percent surge from 827,171 learners in 2009.

Indonesia ranked number two in the world with 872, 406 learners in 2012, an increase of 21.8 percent from the 716,353 learners in 2009. Indonesia also pushed Korea, whose learners of Japanese declined from 964,014 in 2009 to 840,187 in 2012, into third position.

“Indonesia […] continued to show a distinct rise, especially in the number of high school students. Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia have designated Japanese as an elective foreign language in secondary education,” the Japan Foundation said in a press release last week.

According to Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture, there are currently around 8 million senior high school students in the country. That means more than 10 percent of Indonesian senior high school students are learning Japanese in their schools.

Over the years, there has also been a major shift among Indonesians learning Japanese.

“In the 1980s, adults such as company employees or university students used to study the Japanese language. It used to be a big challenge to teach Japanese in those days. But now more and more young Indonesians are learning Japanese. It’s easy to teach Japanese as these people are really motivated to learn Japanese,” Fukuda Kentaro, a native Japanese-language teacher who teaches at the Ikuzo Language Center in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday by telephone.

Why are young Indonesians showing such an interest in the Japanese language?

“I’m learning Japanese because ever since I was a kid I really liked Japanese culture and artwork. Actually I started to learn Japanese because I wanted to watch anime and read original Japanese manga without any translations. But now I’m aiming to get a scholarship to study in Japan so I’m trying my best in studying Japanese,” Carine Steven Nagara, a Grade X student at Taman Rama School in Denpasar, told the Post in an email interview.

Carine spends roughly Rp 900,000 (US$90) on Japanese books and language lessons per month. She has also taken up Japanese as a subject at her school.

“I usually spend two hours each day to study or read something that is related to Japan,” Carine said.

Another student from Jakarta also expressed a similar view.

“I love Japan, and I want to learn more about their people and culture. By learning their language first I can easily communicate with Japanese people and understand,” Floren Anastasia, a 15-year-old student at Bina Bangsa School in Jakarta, said.

Like Carine, Floren spends some Rp 7 million on Japanese lessons, food, clothes and things related to Japanese culture per year. She also wants to study in Japan in the future.

RI ranks No. 2 in learning Japanese language | The Jakarta Post
 
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Indonesia’s World Police Concert


Jakarta residents have been enjoying car-free days every Sunday for several years now. The city government's policy has been well implemented at Jakarta's two main thoroughfares of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman and Jalan MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta. Today's car free day promises to be quite different. Jakarta is hosting the Police Marching Band Carnival with the participation of 5 countries, starting at the water fountain near the National Monument and moving towards the Hotel Indonesia roundabout. The official event titled 'World Police Concert Indonesia 2013' with 6 participants began at 8 am today with the performance of Tanjidor Betawi — traditional music and dance representing Jakarta's old culture. Five beautiful women dancers adorned with feathers on their heads, hypnotized many of the people in attendance along Jalan MH Thamrin.

After Tanjidor, it was IPDN Marching Band's turn to show off their talents as they formed a pyramid. The crowd got rowdy they saw five beautiful policewomen from Indonesia's police force marching with the banner for 'World Police Band Concert in Indonesia 2013'. More marching bands took their turn like the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Police, Vietnam's Police, New York's Police Department (NYPD) and Akademi Kepolisian (Akpol), or Indonesia's Police Academy. Dea from Tebet in South Jakarta comments, "I'm glad I am here, it is nice to bring my children here to watch such colorful costumes and nice music. It is also good to invite foreign citizens to our country so that we can mutually learn from our differences."

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