There are numerous great reasons to learn Japanese.

Japan undoubtedly has one of the most affluent economies on the planet, but unlike many of it's western counterparts, English is rarely used or spoken. For visitors and people who work in Japan, not knowing the native tongue can be an extremely difficult and frustrating situation to be in.

As well as having great career opportunities, Japan is a country with outstanding natural beauty, culture and architecture; a holiday in Japan can be a life changing experience.

Some people learn Japanese for personal enjoyment. Japanese cartoons and video games are becoming increasingly popular in contemporary society, and many people enjoy watching and playing these cartoons and games in their intended language to add a sense of authenticity. If you understand the language you can even follow Japanese trends before they make it to the western market. Many popular Japanese animations and games never make it to the Western market, so some people learn the language to obtain these exclusive titles. Japan is known to create trends, and knowing Japanese can keep you one step ahead of your friends. Can you imagine enjoying something as influential as Pokemon (known as Pocket Monsters in Japan) before anyone in America had even heard of it?

Knowing a second language can also greatly increase your career prospects at home. Being fluent in Japanese will look extremely impressive on your Curriculum Vitae, and employers will be attracted to you for potential international work.

A key reason to learn Japanese is to impress your friends! So many people speak Spanish and French as a second language, but how many speak Japanese?

Japanese isn't as hard to learn as you may think. There are many memory techniques successfully used to learn Japanese vocabulary, and it can be learned in classes, or in the comfort of your own home. Japanese is simpler than English in a number of ways, so don't be scared in to thinking that it is any harder to learn than other languages.