Kenyatta University
ABE Yasuko

Until FY2018, the area under the jurisdiction of the Japanese-Language Specialist (hereinafter “Specialist”) dispatched to Kenya was East Africa, including Kenya. However, in response to the spread of Japanese-language education, the area under the jurisdiction of the newly dispatched Specialist has been expanded to encompass the entire Sub-Saharan African region from FY2019. In this report, I would like to share some of the latest developments in Japanese-language learning and education in this region.

1st Africa Conference on Japanese-Language Education Held in Ethiopia

The Kenya Conference on Japanese-Language Education first began in 2013, and that conference grew to become the East Africa Conference on Japanese-Language Education, being held on six occasions until 2018. Then in September 2019, the 1st Africa Conference on Japanese-Language Education was held in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, with the participation of 13 countries from across the African continent (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, South Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Egypt). Over the course of three days not only were there presentations and workshops relating to Japanese-language education, there were also cultural presentations from each country and a variety of exchanges among all the participants. Given that there are still very few Japanese-language learners and teachers in the region, even though it is just once a year, it is a tremendously encouraging experience for teachers, who may be struggling in isolation in their own countries, to gather together and share their experiences and challenges with African colleagues who are all working hard in similar situations. I will continue to nurture and develop these Japanese-language education connections that are spreading throughout Africa. The 2nd Africa Conference on Japanese-Language Education is planned to be held in Nairobi in Kenya.

1st Africa Conference on Japanese-Language Education

Japanese-Language Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

In addition to the countries that participated in the 1st Africa Conference on Japanese-Language Education, it is reported that Japanese-language education in Sub-Saharan Africa is also being provided in Senegal, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Although overall across the region Japanese-language education has yet to become firmly embedded and there are some countries where provision is still unstable, the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is now offered in seven countries and there is a Japanese-language teachers association in four countries. Ghana is one country where a teachers association was established in 2018, and even from before the establishment of the association, a Japanese speech contest was held annually, and from 2018, the JLPT has also been launched. I visited Ghana in October 2019, where I attended the 3rd Ghana Association of Japanese-Language Teachers Seminar as a lecturer. Since then, I have been holding regular online seminars via Zoom with the Ghana Association of Japanese-Language Teachers, once every two months. I hear that online exchange between Japanese and Ghanaian universities has begun recently, and the Ghanaian teachers are thinking up various ideas to motivate and encourage Japanese-language learners and they are also keen to learn as Japanese-language teachers.

With the exception of Kenya, implementation of JLPT in Sub-Saharan African countries has all begun in the years since 2010. This clearly demonstrates how in the space of just 10 years interest in Japanese-language learning has developed and Japanese-language education has become established. Kenya, where I am dispatched, has the longest history of Japanese-language education in the region and there are many Japanese-language teachers and educational institutions. While referring to Kenya’s experiences of Japanese-language learning and education development, I consider my main mission to be of course to continue to provide support by maintaining close contact with teachers in each country, and also to promote networks and in so doing further activate Japanese-language education across the entire Sub-Saharan region.

Scene from the Ghana Association of Japanese-Language Teachers Seminar