Manga Linked With Increased Interest in Japanese

Indonesian students have an increased interest in studying Japanese because of Japanese cultural products.

Whilst this may not come as a surprise to many, Dwi Astuti, head academic at the Japanese Language Teaching department of the Jakarta State University, has told The Jakarta Post that her students mostly cited manga, anime and dorama as their reasons for choosing Japanese.

At a lecture by the Japanese ambassador to Indonesia, Kojiro Shiojiri, 20 year old student Fitriyani said that she found "dorama very fascinating because through them I can learn about Japanese culture and how people live in Japan. I find Japanese culture very interesting; they are hard workers, punctual and disciplined."

And it seems as though Fitriyani isn't alone. Shiojiri said that 500,000 Indonesians were learning Japanese in either formal education institutions or informal short courses.

The large number raises questions about the availability of jobs for the graduates of such a specific field of study though Miss Astuti states that graduates could always teach at high schools or courses.

Japan has had special ties with Indonesia due to a shared history. Japan colonized Indonesia in 1942 until Indonesia declared its independence in 1945 and as a result, the two countries have forged bilateral ties, especially in trade. Indonesia has become the largest market for Japanese products in Southeast Asia.


Pop Japan Travel have announced plans for the Mind Over Manga 2009 tour. On the tour, taking place November 11-19, PJT will take you to the quarterly comic market, Comitia 90. As with Comiket, Comitia is where amateur and professional manga artists sell their books inside massive halls. But, PJT will be organising their own stand where people from the tour can try their hand at selling doujinshi that they've made! PJT will take care of the table space and booth costs for attendees.

In addition to Comitia, tourists will get the chance to check out hot springs, go shopping as well as visit the Toei Animation gallery. And tourists don't have to stay in Tokyo -- for an additional fee, the tour extension includes a stopover in Kyoto to see the Osamu Tezuka Museum.

The tour signup deadline is October 9th, so head over to the Pop Japan Travel website if you don't want to miss out.

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