'Learning Japanese helps your career enormously'

'Japanese is a pictorial language, which if we learn systematically helps us develop our logic too.'

'Most of the characters are derived from logic based on nature around us, day-to-day activity we perform.'

Rediff.com reader Sachin Gadhe tells us the importance of learning Japanese and the values we should learn from them.

Have you learnt a foreign language? Share your experience with us! 

Since I was young, I used to listen to stories of Japanese people, their hard work, punctuality and dedication.

I had read that there is lifetime employment and absolutely no strike in Japanese companies.

There are many stories I have heard about the country's punctuality and dedication to work.

For example, even if there was a strike, say at a shoe manufacturing company, the workers over there will produce only one pair of shoes -- either for the right foot, or the left one, that is. What an innovative idea of observing a strike.

Anyway, such stories were heard from school teachers, parents and friends.

So when I got an opportunity to learn Japanese language, I was very much enthusiastic about learning the language with its delicate nuances. And yes it indeed helped a lot in understanding the nature of Japanese people, the thought process behind their methods, dedication towards work and quality.

Today, Japan is the third largest economy in the world; our software export to US is around 70-80 per cent but with Japan it is hardly 10 per cent.

Hurdles are: Japanese language, lack of knowledge about Japanese work culture and following Japanese methods of manufacturing.

Learning Japanese was full of life enriching experience.

You get to know the philosophy that goes behind making world class products.

You understand the country that combines technology with strong presence of culture embedded in it.

It helps enormously while dealing with clients, connecting with a new client and retaining existing clients.

Since Japanese is a pictorial language, which if we learn systematically helps us develop our logic too. Most of the characters are derived from logic based on nature around us, day-to-day activity we perform.

Besides this, learning Japanese also helps enormously in your career. You can work as project coordinator, programme manager, bilingual tester, business analyst understanding the client requirement, etc with good package.

Photograph: born1945/Wikimedia Commons

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