Japanese-language classes begin at select schools in Egypt

Cairo – Japanese-language classes were introduced for some junior high and high school students in Egypt at the start of the new school year last month.

Japanese lessons began at select “Egypt-Japan Schools,” which were established across the country under a 2016 agreement between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The schools incorporate Japanese school practices such as classroom cleaning and student duty rotations.

Japanese is taught as a second foreign language, after English. One such class at a school in Suez, northern Egypt, was shown to the media on Monday.

In the lesson, 49 students in a grade equivalent to the first year of junior high school in Japan practiced introducing themselves and holding phone conversations in Japanese under the guidance of an Egyptian teacher who had received Japanese-language education training with support from the Japan Foundation.

One student, Farida Said, 12, who became fascinated with Tokyo after seeing photos of the city on social media, said that studying Japanese was difficult but enjoyable because she loved the language.

She said she wants to become an interpreter in the future and convey not only the language, but also what is good about Japanese people, such as how organized they are.

Suzan Youssef, the school’s principal, voiced surprise over the strong demand for Japanese-language education in regional cities. Youssef expressed hope that, in addition to learning Japanese, students would share with those around them positive aspects of Japanese culture, such as punctuality and the habit of picking up litter.

About 400 students at 10 Egypt-Japan Schools take Japanese-language classes.

“I hope they will play an active role on the global stage in the future,” Ayumi Hashimoto, head of the Japan Foundation’s Cairo office, said. “I think there will be times when Japanese people can be helped by them.”