Japanese getting popular here ...<\/p>\n
By Primastuti Handayani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Some knowledge of Japanese is a major advantage
\nin today's fiercely competitive job market in Indonesia, although
\nEnglish and computer skills are more in demand.<\/p>\n
The difficulty of learning Japanese, given that it uses the
\nKanji characters rather than the Roman alphabet, is still not a
\nbarrier for the thousands of Indonesians now flocking to Japanese
\nlanguage courses and schools.<\/p>\n
If their parents or grandparents learned the language because
\nthey were taught it during Japan's military occupation from 1942-
\n1945, now they are doing so voluntarily or due to market
\npressures.<\/p>\n
Sheddy N. Tjandra, a Japanese language consultant at the Japan
\nFoundation, told The Jakarta Post that the growing interest in
\nlearning Japanese could not be separated from the stronger
\neconomic ties between Indonesia and Japan.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that as more and more Japanese industries
\nrelocate to Indonesia, there will be a growing demand for workers
\nas well as executives who can speak their language.<\/p>\n
\"Lately, the Japanese have been moving their factories to
\nCikarang or Bekasi. They bring their capital and technology, but
\nthe workers are Indonesians,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to the Japan Foundation, in 1993 there were a total
\nof 73,000 people learning Japanese at 460 institutions, including
\n350 senior high schools where Japanese is a foreign language
\noption.<\/p>\n
The foundation is active in providing financial and material
\nassistance to universities and schools that teach Japanese. It is
\nalso providing scholarships to Japanese language teachers.<\/p>\n
Japan is Indonesia's main trading partner, both as a major
\nexport market and a major supplier of goods, particularly capital
\ngoods. Japan tops the list of foreign private investment in the
\nnon-oil sector and it is also Indonesia's largest aid donor
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Tjandra said more senior high schools are introducing Japanese
\nas an optional foreign language along with German, French and
\nArabic.<\/p>\n
He listed more than 130 language schools in 16 provinces in
\nIndonesia, and 40 universities, both private and state-run, where
\nJapanese is being taught.<\/p>\n
Some of the bigger universities have established their own
\nJapanese departments, running five-year degree or three-year
\ndiploma programs in Japanese studies.<\/p>\n
Padjadjaran<\/p>\n
Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, heads the pack
\nwith two diploma programs and one degree program in the Japanese
\nlanguage. The University of Indonesia follows with one diploma
\nprogram and one degree program. Two private universities that
\noffer both diploma and degree programs are Darma Persada
\nUniversity in Jakarta and Yapari Foreign Language High Education
\nInstitution in Bandung.<\/p>\n
Other universities and colleges that have their own Japanese
\nprograms are North Sumatra University in Medan, IKIP Bandung,
\nGadjah Mada University, IKIP Surabaya, IKIP Manado, IKIP Ujung
\nPandang, Swadaya Foreign Language School in Medan, Harapan
\nForeign Language School in Medan, Bung Hatta University in
\nPadang, Nasional University in Jakarta, Borobudur University
\n(Jakarta), Maranatha University in Bandung, Puragabaya Tourism
\nAcademy in Bandung, Dr. Soetomo University in Surabaya, Satya
\nWidya Foreign Language School in Surabaya, Malang Foreign
\nLanguage School, Akpari Tourism Academy in Malang and August 17
\nLanguage Academy in Semarang.<\/p>\n
Other universities have also introduced Japanese as an
\noptional foreign language subject. They include Sriwijaya
\nUniversity in Palembang, the Bogor Agriculture Institute, Bandung
\nTechnology Institute, Diponegoro University in Semarang,
\nBrawijaya University in Malang, Udayana University in Denpasar
\nand Hasanuddin University in Ujungpandang.<\/p>\n
The prestigious University of Indonesia has seen a growing
\ninterest in Japanese language studies, especially for the short
\ndiploma program, which is shorter than the degree program with an
\nemphasis on the practical use of the language.<\/p>\n
In 1994, for example, the Japanese language diploma program
\nadmitted 74 new students. By comparison, during the same year,
\nthe English language diploma program admitted 82 students, the
\nFrench diploma program 45 students, German program 39 students
\nand Chinese Mandarin 55 students.<\/p>\n
Ermah Mandah, head of the Japanese Department at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, said because of the growing interest,
\nher department has increased the annual intake to 120 new
\nstudents for its diploma program this year. The size of the
\ndegree program remains limited to 30 students each year.<\/p>\n
Tjandra, who also teaches Japanese at the University of
\nIndonesia, said there were 1,600 applicants for the 120 seats for
\nJapanese language diploma programs this year.<\/p>\n
Alumni<\/p>\n
Darma Persada University, an institution established by the
\nassociation of Indonesian alumni of Japanese universities, has
\nalso been expanding its Japanese studies department.<\/p>\n
Irawati Agustine said Darma Persada admitted 120 students for
\ndegree programs and 75 for diploma programs each year. \"It is
\nobvious that there is a relationship between growing Indonesia-
\nJapan commercial relations and interest in the language here,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Darma Persada, which was founded by the Melati Sakura
\nFoundation, was originally a Japanese language school called
\nNippon Bunka Gakuin before it became a university in 1986.<\/p>\n
Nandang Rahmat, head of Japanese Language Studies at
\nPadjadjaran University, said his university accepts 40 new
\nstudents each year for its degree program and 120 students for
\nits diploma program. There is also a third program, which admits
\n60 students annually and emphasizes translation.<\/p>",
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