Vietnamese language proficiency test in Japan (Photo: VNA)

This year’s test attracted more than 700 Japanese candidates, double the figure of the first test in 2017. President of the 2019 Exam Council Yanagisawa Yoshio said this year’s test drew candidates from 36 Japanese localities. They were mostly students, lawyers, and police officers, aged 12 to 83. The test covers general knowledge about Vietnam and Vietnam-Japan relations. Mamoru Fujita, who works for the Itochu company, is interested in learning Vietnamese. He said: “I’m working for a Japanese company. I was asked to learn Vietnamese by my company. Last year, I lived in Hanoi for 6 months and learnt Vietnamese. I like Vietnamese language. I think Vietnamese is more difficult than Japanese but I prefer it. I love Vietnam and hope that Vietnamese and Japanese people will grow closer. I hope more and more Japanese people will learn Vietnamese and study Vietnamese culture”.

Rector of the Japan College of Foreign Languages Ise Yoji said relations between Vietnam and Japan have developed strongly in all fields in recent years, and a growing number of Japanese people want to learn Vietnamese. Mr. Ise said: “The Vietnamese language proficiency test has been attracting an increasing number of candidates. This is due to the development of Vietnam-Japan relations. Moreover, more and more Vietnamese people are coming to Japan. This contributes to the increasing number of candidates”.

Pham Quang Hung, first secretary in charge of education affairs at the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, said: “The number of Japanese students learning Vietnamese at universities is increasing. They are mainly students with a special attachment to Vietnam or who want to work someday in a field related to Vietnam. As the number of Vietnamese people living and working in Japan has grown, the demand for learning Vietnamese among Japanese officials and authorities has increased to support this expat community”.

To encourage Japanese to learn Vietnamese, the Vietnamese embassy in Japan has given its support to the test.

The fourth test will be given in June 2020.