The Philippine Institute of Japanese Language & Culture

                       フィリピン日本語文化学院

In mid-1992, encouraged by its Chairman, the former Philippine Ambassador to Japan, JOSE S. LAUREL III, the Philippines-Japan Friendship Foundation, Inc. (PJFF) established the PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE & CULTURE FOUNDATION, INC. (PIJLC). Its purpose was clear and singular-to provide Filipinos with a full-time, intensive preparatory course on the Japanese language (Nihongo) designed to provide its students with the proficiency needed to qualify for admission into Japanese schools and universities. Himself a former ryugakusei (foreign student) to Japan Ambassador Laurel and fellow- former ryugakusei share a common experience: that Nihongo itself is a formidable barrier to learning and acquiring a Japanese education. At the core of this barrier is the usage of a system of Chinese characters (Kanji) numbering around 2,000 which all ryugakusei must master in order to pursue an academic objective in Japan.

As non-ethnic Chinese, Filipinos studying in Japan variably suffer a great disadvantage vis-a-vis counterparts from other Asian countries where Chinese is the mother or predominant tongue- such as China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The inability of even our brightest Filipino students to read and write Chinese characters translates into a unique, significant handicap for Filipino students in Japan.

The PIJLC was therefore established to provide effective and solid Nihongo training for future Filipino ryugakusei to Japan. It recognizes the fact that the increasing number of Japan graduates from our Southeast Asian neighbors has resulted in a comparative advantage over the Philippines in the fields of business, economic, cooperation, research and development, science, technology and cultural exchange. The PIJLC believes that there is a need to promote Japanese education among Filipinos, and that central to this need is a formidable language barrier.

The PIJLC basic course curriculum is therefore deliberately intensive and comprehensive. It attempts to stimulate Nihongo course offerings in Japan for non-Japanese where the students are subjected to Japan’s rigid discipline and study-work ethic within a ten-month program. The course involves significant memory work, endless practice drills, constant testing, reading and writing. The program is designed to meet the requirements for Level-2 proficiency according to the standards of the Japan Foundation.