Let’s promote Japanese language and cultural education together as AATJ members. Please share your ideas and stories with us so that we can support each other’s Japanese programs in the U.S.
How to share? Make a brief summary of your ideas/stories in 1-2 pages in English or Japanese and submit it through this Google Form.
AATJ Advocacy S.O.S
Japanese language teachers are working hard to make their classes exciting and rewarding for students, and interest in learning Japanese has never been higher.
But Japanese language programs are facing many challenges. School districts around the country are cutting budgets, eliminating programs, and declining to replace teachers who retire or move away.
So, on top of their efforts to be the best teachers they can be, Japanese language educators are often required to be advocates. Sometimes they have to be in “crisis mode,” fighting for their programs’ survival. But even when they are not directly endangered, teachers have to be champions for their programs.
AATJ’s officers and Advocacy directors have developed a guide manual for teachers who are advocating for their students and their programs.
Click here to read and download the “Advocacy S.O.S.” guide.
Why Learn Japanese?
Did you know that Japan has invested more money in America, and created more jobs for Americans than any other country? Did you know that Japan buys more American products than any European country? Those are just two reasons why Japan is so important to the United States. And did you know that Japan created the laptop computer, the LED screen that we see on our electronic devices, the digital SLR camera, the QR code, and so many other other things that we use everyday? And of course, there is sushi, and anime, and sudoku, and Hello Kitty.
The point is, Japan is an economic, cultural, and technological powerhouse around the world. And Japan is America’s most important ally and partner in Asia.
Feel free to download, print, and circulate.
