Japanese language

==Non-native study==
{{main| Japanese language education}}
Many major universities throughout the world provide Japanese language courses, and a number of secondary and even primary schools worldwide offer courses in the language. This is a significant increase from before [[World War II]]; in 1940, only 65 Americans not [[Japanese American|of Japanese descent]] were able to read, write and understand the language.<ref>[[Beate Sirota Gordon]] commencement address at [[Mills College]], 14 May 2011. [http://www.c-span.org/Events/Sotomayor-Denzel-Washington-GE-CEO-Speak-to-Graduates/10737421758-10/ "Sotomayor, Denzel Washington, GE CEO Speak to Graduates"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623220241/http://www.c-span.org/Events/Sotomayor-Denzel-Washington-GE-CEO-Speak-to-Graduates/10737421758-10/ |date=2011-06-23 }} C-SPAN (US). 30 May 2011; retrieved 2011-05-30</ref>

International interest in the Japanese language dates from the 19th century but has become more prevalent following Japan's economic bubble of the 1980s and the global popularity of [[Japanese popular culture]] (such as [[anime]] and [[video game]]s) since the 1990s. As of 2015, more than 3.6 million people studied the language worldwide, primarily in East and Southeast Asia.<ref name="Japanese as Foreign Language">{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Survey Report on Japanese-Language Education Abroad |url=https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/project/japanese/survey/result/dl/survey_2015/Report_all_e.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107021017/https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/project/japanese/survey/result/dl/survey_2015/Report_all_e.pdf |archive-date=7 January 2019 |access-date=6 January 2019 |publisher=Japan Foundation}}</ref> Nearly one million Chinese, 745,000 Indonesians, 556,000 South Koreans and 357,000 Australians studied Japanese in lower and higher educational institutions.<ref name="Japanese as Foreign Language" /> Between 2012 and 2015, considerable growth of learners originated in [[Australia]] (20.5%), [[Thailand]] (34.1%), [[Vietnam]] (38.7%) and the [[Philippines]] (54.4%).<ref name="Japanese as Foreign Language" />

The Japanese government provides standardized tests to measure spoken and written comprehension of Japanese for second language learners; the most prominent is the [[Japanese Language Proficiency Test]] (JLPT), which features five levels of exams. The JLPT is offered twice a year.