Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Umeda Kunio in an interview with Vietnam News Agency (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – A programme to improve the trainingof Japanese language teachers in Vietnam was launched in Hanoi on October 24.
The programme, part of activities to mark the45th founding anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations, wasorganised by the Japanese Embassy and the Japan Foundation Centre for CulturalExchange in Vietnam.
Addressing the launching ceremony, JapaneseAmbassador Umeda Kunio said at the International Conference on the Future ofAsia in June 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his wish to enhancethe training of Japanese language teachers in three Asian nations.
His embassy and the Japan Foundation highlightedthe necessity of this work in Vietnam in their proposal submitted to theJapanese government. As a result, Vietnam was chosen to be one of the threecountries in the programme, alongside India and Myanmar.
Emphasising the two countries’ strong relationsand the need to train Japanese language teachers, he noted there are about290,000 Vietnamese in Japan at present, up 6.5-fold in the last seven years.They include 130,000 apprentices and 80,000 students, whose demand for learningJapanese is high. Additionally, the number of people wanting to learn Japanesein public education establishments in Vietnam is also rising.
Therefore, improving the quality and quantity ofJapanese language teachers is an urgent need, Kunio said, adding that 75 highschools in Vietnam teach Japanese, and some primary schools have also pilotedthe language as a subject.
The ambassador attributed the rising demand forlearning Japanese partly to the increasing number of Japanese firms investingin Vietnam. Total Japanese investment in the country hit a record of 9.1billion USD in 2017 and 6.5 billion USD in the first half of this year.
He voiced his hope that the programme will bemeaningful for both countries and enhance bilateral friendship.
Introducing the programme, Director of the JapanFoundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam Ando Toshiki said itcomprises two courses, including one on training new teachers and the othergiving intensive training to existing teachers. The first will begin inDecember and last for about four or five months, while the second will becarried out from now to March 2019.-VNA
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Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Umeda Kunio in an interview with Vietnam News Agency (Photo: VNA) 
