Educators in Japan fear decline in interest in Russian language

College educators in Japan are involved a few attainable decline in new college students studying the Russian language and literature on account of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

However a home group says the warfare makes studying Russian much more necessary, citing the necessity for dialogue with individuals who communicate the language.

The Japan Affiliation for the Examine of Russian Language and Literature stated in a press release that “some could also be apprehensive and regretful of studying the language and tradition of a rustic that does such a factor.”

Learning Russia “doesn’t imply approval of the Russian authorities’s army aggression,” the affiliation stated.

Hibi Watanabe, who teaches Russian and is a professor of cultural anthropology on the College of Tokyo, harassed the importance of studying the language in an article aimed toward new college students.

The article emphasised {that a} language and a state will not be the identical, and that the Russian language is necessary because it permits folks to hearken to the voices of individuals in warfare zones and refugees.

“The quantity of people that change into curious about Japan-Russia relations and wish to construct bridges could improve, however the quantity of people that select to check Russian for financial and pragmatic causes will probably lower,” Watanabe stated.

College students at the moment learning Russian could lose their curiosity within the language, he stated, stating the necessity to help such college students.

A 19-year-old from Oita Prefecture who plans to enter the College of Tokyo and research Russian as a second overseas language this spring, stated that the Ukraine warfare has elevated his curiosity in Russian.

“I grew to become curious about Communist bloc languages as a result of I needed to study what the opponents (to Japan and america) are pondering,” he stated. “My motivation to check Russian elevated due to this warfare.”

“Russians in all probability have their very own mind-set,” he stated. “I might be able to achieve correct details about the Ukraine scenario by understanding the language even just a little bit.”