Japanese getting popular here ...

Japanese getting popular here ...

By Primastuti Handayani

JAKARTA (JP): Some knowledge of Japanese is a major advantage
in today's fiercely competitive job market in Indonesia, although
English and computer skills are more in demand.

The difficulty of learning Japanese, given that it uses the
Kanji characters rather than the Roman alphabet, is still not a
barrier for the thousands of Indonesians now flocking to Japanese
language courses and schools.

If their parents or grandparents learned the language because
they were taught it during Japan's military occupation from 1942-
1945, now they are doing so voluntarily or due to market
pressures.

Sheddy N. Tjandra, a Japanese language consultant at the Japan
Foundation, told The Jakarta Post that the growing interest in
learning Japanese could not be separated from the stronger
economic ties between Indonesia and Japan.

He pointed out that as more and more Japanese industries
relocate to Indonesia, there will be a growing demand for workers
as well as executives who can speak their language.

"Lately, the Japanese have been moving their factories to
Cikarang or Bekasi. They bring their capital and technology, but
the workers are Indonesians," he said.

According to the Japan Foundation, in 1993 there were a total
of 73,000 people learning Japanese at 460 institutions, including
350 senior high schools where Japanese is a foreign language
option.

The foundation is active in providing financial and material
assistance to universities and schools that teach Japanese. It is
also providing scholarships to Japanese language teachers.

Japan is Indonesia's main trading partner, both as a major
export market and a major supplier of goods, particularly capital
goods. Japan tops the list of foreign private investment in the
non-oil sector and it is also Indonesia's largest aid donor
country.

Tjandra said more senior high schools are introducing Japanese
as an optional foreign language along with German, French and
Arabic.

He listed more than 130 language schools in 16 provinces in
Indonesia, and 40 universities, both private and state-run, where
Japanese is being taught.

Some of the bigger universities have established their own
Japanese departments, running five-year degree or three-year
diploma programs in Japanese studies.

Padjadjaran

Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, heads the pack
with two diploma programs and one degree program in the Japanese
language. The University of Indonesia follows with one diploma
program and one degree program. Two private universities that
offer both diploma and degree programs are Darma Persada
University in Jakarta and Yapari Foreign Language High Education
Institution in Bandung.

Other universities and colleges that have their own Japanese
programs are North Sumatra University in Medan, IKIP Bandung,
Gadjah Mada University, IKIP Surabaya, IKIP Manado, IKIP Ujung
Pandang, Swadaya Foreign Language School in Medan, Harapan
Foreign Language School in Medan, Bung Hatta University in
Padang, Nasional University in Jakarta, Borobudur University
(Jakarta), Maranatha University in Bandung, Puragabaya Tourism
Academy in Bandung, Dr. Soetomo University in Surabaya, Satya
Widya Foreign Language School in Surabaya, Malang Foreign
Language School, Akpari Tourism Academy in Malang and August 17
Language Academy in Semarang.

Other universities have also introduced Japanese as an
optional foreign language subject. They include Sriwijaya
University in Palembang, the Bogor Agriculture Institute, Bandung
Technology Institute, Diponegoro University in Semarang,
Brawijaya University in Malang, Udayana University in Denpasar
and Hasanuddin University in Ujungpandang.

The prestigious University of Indonesia has seen a growing
interest in Japanese language studies, especially for the short
diploma program, which is shorter than the degree program with an
emphasis on the practical use of the language.

In 1994, for example, the Japanese language diploma program
admitted 74 new students. By comparison, during the same year,
the English language diploma program admitted 82 students, the
French diploma program 45 students, German program 39 students
and Chinese Mandarin 55 students.

Ermah Mandah, head of the Japanese Department at the
University of Indonesia, said because of the growing interest,
her department has increased the annual intake to 120 new
students for its diploma program this year. The size of the
degree program remains limited to 30 students each year.

Tjandra, who also teaches Japanese at the University of
Indonesia, said there were 1,600 applicants for the 120 seats for
Japanese language diploma programs this year.

Alumni

Darma Persada University, an institution established by the
association of Indonesian alumni of Japanese universities, has
also been expanding its Japanese studies department.

Irawati Agustine said Darma Persada admitted 120 students for
degree programs and 75 for diploma programs each year. "It is
obvious that there is a relationship between growing Indonesia-
Japan commercial relations and interest in the language here,"
she said.

Darma Persada, which was founded by the Melati Sakura
Foundation, was originally a Japanese language school called
Nippon Bunka Gakuin before it became a university in 1986.

Nandang Rahmat, head of Japanese Language Studies at
Padjadjaran University, said his university accepts 40 new
students each year for its degree program and 120 students for
its diploma program. There is also a third program, which admits
60 students annually and emphasizes translation.