在中國學習日本語的人增加

Recently the FNN News on-line reported the following:

海外で日本語を学習する人、中国とインドネシアで急増

海外で日本語を学習する人が、中国とインドネシアで急増していることがわかった。
国際交流基金によると、海外での日本語教育は、136の国と地域で行われており、日本語を学習している人は、およそ398万人となっている。
学習者の数は、2009年に比べて9.1%増加しているが、これまでの調査結果に比べて、緩やかな増加となっている。
学習者の数がもっとも増えたのは中国で、2009年に比べて26.5%の増加となっており、学習者の数でも、調査が始まって以来、初めての1位となった。
日本語を学習する目的については、日本のアニメや漫画への興味や、将来の就職のためといった回答が多くなっている。
また、中国に次いで学習者が増えたインドネシアは、2009年に比べて21.8%の増加となり、学習者の数でも2位となった。
国際交流基金では、インドネシアで日本語の学習者が増えた理由について、語学科目となっている高校が増えたことなどが背景にあるとしている。
一方、調査開始以来、学習者の数でずっと1位だった韓国は、今回、12.8%の減少となり、学習者の数でも3位となった。
減少した理由について、基金では、高校の科目選択の制度が変わり、語学を必ずしも取る必要がなくなったためとみている。

(試譯文)

It was noted that those who learned Japanese overseas were increasing rapidly in China and Indonesia.

According to the Japan Foundation, the Japanese language overseas education was performed in 136 countries and areas, and the number of people who were learning Japanese was about 3,980,000.

Although the number of student had increased by 9.1% compared with 2009, it was showing a slow down in term of increase compared with the investigation results done previously.

It was in China that the number of student had increased most; it was a 26.5% increase compared with 2009 since the investigation started; also it ranked first by the number of student.

About the purpose of learning Japanese, the majority of the reply said that it was due to an interest in Japanese anime and comics, or for their future employment.

Moreover, after China, it was in Indonesia that student also had increased: it was a 21.8% increase compared with 2009, and it ranked 2nd by the number of student.

In the Japan Foundation, about the reason why Japanese student had increased in Indonesia etc. it was supposed that it served as a backdrop that the number of the high schools that used Japanese as a linguistic subject had increased.

On the other hand, since the investigation started, South Korea was in the 1st place all the time by the number of student, this time it had a 12.8% reduction and ranked 3rd by the number of student.

About the reason for having a decrease, according to the Fund, the system of subject selection in the high school had changed. It could be seen that because it was no longer compulsory to take the language study.

It is interesting to note that more people are learning Japanese in China.