📚 Despite Japan's shrinking population, the number of people learning Japanese abroad has grown 31.5-fold since surveying began. Today, more than 4 million people across 143 countries and territories are studying the language. For many, the spark is the same: "I want to read manga in the original," or "I want to hear anime lines with my own ears." Passion for what you love can push you over even a famously difficult language barrier.

4,000,750 Learners, a First in the Survey's History

According to the Japan Foundation's 2024 Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad, Japanese is now taught in 143 countries and territories worldwide, and the number of learners reached 4,000,750, up 5.4% from the previous survey in 2021 and past 4 million for the first time in the survey's history. Institutions came to 19,344 (up 5.9%) and teachers to 80,898 (up 8.5%), both records. The count of 143 countries and territories also beat the previous high of 142 set in 2018. The valid response rate was 84.8%.

The survey's first edition, in fiscal 1974, counted 127,167 learners. The figure has since multiplied 31.5 times. Over the same span, institutions grew 16.9-fold from 1,145 and teachers 19.7-fold from 4,097. In a country whose population is falling, the number of people learning its language keeps climbing.

One caveat: these counts cover learners enrolled at institutions. People studying through online lessons or on their own are not included, so the real total is higher.

Regionally, about 80% of learners are in Asia. The top three countries by learner count are China, Indonesia, and South Korea, unchanged from the previous survey. The composition underneath has shifted, though: China, still first, lost 38,121 learners, while South Korea, third, gained 85,062. By number of institutions, Indonesia ranks first. South Asia is also rising sharply, especially Sri Lanka and India, reflecting more people aiming to work or study in Japan.

The Center of Gravity Has Moved Away From Practicality

Behind the 4 million figure, motivations are shifting. According to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, learners increasingly cite interest in pop culture such as anime and manga, and in Japanese culture generally, alongside practical goals like jobs and study.

Industry insiders point to "Weekly Shonen Jump" as a driving force. Serialized titles like "One Piece," "Jujutsu Kaisen," "Chainsaw Man," and "Haikyu!!" have been adapted into globally successful anime, and their theme songs climb global charts.

The symbol of this is "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Infinity Castle, Chapter One: Akaza Returns," which opened in Japan on July 18, 2025. Over the 266 days to April 9, 2026, when it closed at all but a handful of theaters, it drew 98,520,310 admissions worldwide and grossed 117,917,539,329 yen, per distributor Aniplex. That is the highest worldwide gross for any Japanese film, and seventh among all 2025 releases.

The split is the interesting part. Japan accounted for 40.2 billion yen and 27,455,968 admissions. The 157 other countries and territories accounted for 77.7 billion yen (519.66 million dollars) and 71,064,342 admissions. Overseas earnings ran about 1.9 times domestic ones, and in North America the film became the highest-grossing foreign-language release ever. A "Japanese anime film" had moved onto the "global entertainment" side of the ledger.

Shueisha's official overseas manga app, "MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA," distributes titles in several languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Indonesian. Being able to read the latest chapters almost simultaneously with Japan feeds a strong fan motivation: "I don't want to wait for translations; I want to enjoy the original myself."

Taking On a "Complex Writing System"

Japanese is considered among the hardest major languages to master, largely because of its writing system. It combines three scripts: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Hiragana and katakana are phonetic and learned early, but the "regular-use" kanji alone number 2,136, each with on'yomi (Chinese-derived) and kun'yomi (native Japanese) readings.

The U.S. State Department's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) estimates it takes an English speaker about 2,200 hours to master Japanese, placing it in the most difficult category.

Yet learners who start through manga and anime often shrug off that difficulty. Applications for the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) hit a record 1.72 million worldwide in 2024, about 1.07 million of them from outside Japan, with more learners aiming for N1 (the highest level) and N2. The desire to grasp emotionally charged lines and each character's distinct way of speaking drives the acquisition of "living Japanese" that textbooks alone can't provide.

The Ground Under the Teachers Is Not Solid

First, a teacher shortage. About half of Japan's domestic Japanese teachers are said to be volunteers, and many at language schools are part-time; even earning the national qualification (registered Japanese-language teacher) rarely improves conditions. Without stable employment and pay, young talent is hard to retain.

Geographic disparities are also serious. Resources are concentrated in big-city areas like Tokyo, leaving foreign residents in rural regions with limited access. The existence of "blank zones" without any Japanese classes has long been noted.

The picture is similar abroad. While 80% of learners are in Asia, emerging regions such as Africa and Latin America have far fewer institutions. Online education offers a way to narrow the gap, but differences in internet infrastructure create a new hurdle.

What AI and Online Teaching Can Cover

Technology is opening new possibilities too. AI-powered language apps are advancing fast, with pronunciation checks via speech recognition and auto-generated, level-matched curricula becoming common.

The Japan Foundation is expanding online Japanese education, and the digitalization accelerated by the pandemic has taken root. Its "Nihongo Partners" program sends Japanese people to local schools, mainly in Southeast Asia, to support classroom learning. A cumulative 3,158 had been dispatched through fiscal 2023, and the program is set to expand over the ten years from fiscal 2024.

Some of the learners who come in through the manga-and-anime gateway will end up working and living in Japan. There is the power to draw people in, and there is the capacity to teach them once they arrive. Only the first one is growing.

In your country, is the number of Japanese learners growing? Do you know people who started because of manga or anime? Please tell us what learning Japanese looks like where you are.

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