Learn to Speak Japanese for Business

Japan has the world’s third largest economy and is a major player in global business and finance. It is an important link in the supply chain in global manufacturing networks. While English is the usual language of global business and finance, the ability to speak Japanese is an advantage in business settings that increasingly involve Japanese companies and business people. Thus, companies constantly recruit Japanese-speaking employees or train key personnel to learn to speak Japanese as part of business strategy.

Some advantages when you learn to speak Japanese

Increase business opportunities: Japan’s robust economy makes it imperative for any business to expand into the Japanese market in order to experience tremendous growth. The Japanese market primarily consists of Japanese-speaking consumers with their distinctive culture. When you learn to speak Japanese, you can easily immerse in the Japanese culture and understand what the Japanese consumer needs and what motivates them to buy. As a result, doors to business opportunities appear for the company that invested in learning the language.

Foster relationships: Many Japanese businessmen know how to speak in English, much less communicate well in English. Speaking their language can bridge the communication gap and promote better relationships with them.

Anyone can learn to speak Japanese because the language follows a logical structure which is easier to learn than European languages such as French, Spanish and Italian.

Simple phonetic system: The Japanese writing system uses a phonetic alphabet which makes it easy for beginners to pronounce Japanese words. Letters are pronounced according to the sounds of the English alphabet, eliminating any ambiguity in pronunciation.

Simple grammar: Japanese grammar is not as complex as English grammar. In Japanese language, verbs only have present and past tense and nouns do not have genders or plural forms. Nouns are not accompanied by articles “a” and “an”, so there are less grammatical rules to learn and remember.

No special intonations: Many Asian languages are difficult to learn due to special intonations which can give words or sentences various meanings, but not in Japanese! Without special intonations to master, you can learn to speak Japanese faster than any other Asian language.

Mount Fuji, Japan

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The key for anyone to learn to speak Japanese is repetition. After learning the basics of Japanese grammar and building your vocabulary, you’ll also need to use the language by speaking and writing it as often as you can. Online you can find courses that teach how to speak Japanese and students often find that they are able to speak Japanese only after a few sessions.

If you are ready to start learning Japanese, get access to the Rocket Japanese Premium course here.