Kyrgyz Republic-Japan Center for Human Development
SAKAMOTO Miharu

A Passion for Japanese Culture and Language Spread through Kyrgyz

A landlocked country located in Central Asia, Kyrgyz cannot be reached from Japan without changing flights in Moscow or other neighboring countries, a journey that normally takes about 15 hours at minimum, or even more than 20 hours if you wish for extra time or make a mistake in transit. Though the two countries are not that far apart when measured in a straight line, it cannot be said that Kyrgyz is particularly well known to the people of Japan. The Japanese media has featured the country more frequently in recent years, but the coverage tends to focus on the traditional nomadic culture, so few Japanese who have heard of the country name can likely imagine what it’s actually like in the capital of Bishkek, with large department stores being opened frequently and stylish cafes where you might be greeted in Japanese. When I ask the person where they studied in my surprise at the sudden Japanese language, they often answer that they learned through the internet or by watching Anime. However, there is no specific need for people here to learn the Japanese language because there are very few tourists who visit from Japan. I almost feel sorry as the Japanese-Language Specialist dispatched from Japan when I consider the gap in perception between that held in Japan and that of the Kyrgyz people who smile as they say they want to visit Japan or that they love Japanese culture.

To be sure, if you take one step outside the capital of Bishkek, you are immediately confronted with the same nomadic Kyrgyz that is shown on Japanese TV, with vast its nature, herds of sheep and horses blocking the roads, and cows casually strolling while waiting for your taxi. But even in rural villages, the Japanese language and culture is spreading thanks to the activities of volunteer groups such as Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) serving as teachers. The children who encounter the passion and personality of those volunteers in class develop an interest in Japan, and many of them ultimately travel to the capital of Bishkek to learn the Japanese language in earnest, a trend that is behind the rich segment of Japanese-language education in the country that includes a surprisingly high number of youths hoping to visit Japan.

Learners giving a presentation in Japanese

The Japanese Presentation Event for Exchange in the Japanese Language

In addition to the five month JF Japanese-language course, the Kyrgyz Republic-Japan Center for Human Development (hereinafter “Japan Center”) where I am dispatched as a Japanese-Language Specialist also carries out a variety of other programs to support Japanese-language education, including short courses that match the needs of learners and local communities. One of those events, Japanese Presentation, goes beyond the typical Japanese conversation event to have the learners of Japanese give presentations in the Japanese language to the other participants. The event is open to anyone, including not only learners at the Japan Center, but anyone learning Japanese in Kyrgyz. The participants range widely in age and background, from those learning the Japanese language on their own, to children who attended elementary school in Japan while accompanying their parents there for work, and even university students majoring in Japanese language, and I am reminded of the diversity of Japanese-language education in Kyrgyz as I watch them all actively communicate with each other at their respective levels of ability.

Each session is also attended by a Japanese guest who gives their own presentation, and at the end, the participants all gather around the guest for exchange while enjoying a cup of tea. Accordingly, the event serves as a rare opportunity for participants to interact with students from other educational institutions and as an even more rare opportunity to speak Japanese with a Japanese person to prove their learning achievements.

Working Hard in Online Classes!

In March 2020, Kyrgyz declared its own State of Emergency over the Covid-19 Pandemic, after which educational institutions were all temporarily closed. The sudden declaration forced the JF Japanese-language course to close as well, and the situation remained uncertain for some time after that. We were unable to immediately shift to online classes over concerns about the availability of Internet access to our learners, but we found via a survey several weeks later that almost 100% of the students wanted to take the classes online, so we decided to make the transition. However, while the Internet and smartphones have become relatively widespread, that connectivity does not necessarily meet the minimum standards for holding classes online, so not all students were able to make the transition with us. Some of our students are still waiting patiently for the day when they can return to classes held directly at the Japan Center. Still, many students participate in the weekly online classes, despite the global uncertainty, and work hard to learn about Japan through Japanese-language education with belief in a brighter future.

The online Marugoto course