Japanese

Japanese is one of the most distinctive and intellectually demanding languages in the world. Its writing system, which combines three different scripts including thousands of Chinese-derived characters, is itself a major undertaking, and the grammatical structure of the language differs profoundly from European languages in ways that challenge and reshape how you think. Japan is a country of extraordinary cultural richness, from its classical literary and artistic traditions to its contemporary influence in design, technology, cinema, and popular culture, and the language opens all of that up in a way that translation can only partially achieve.

At the University of Oxford, this four-year programme places language acquisition at the centre while situating it within a serious engagement with Japanese culture, history, literature, and society. You will work intensively on all aspects of the Japanese language, developing reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills to a high level while also engaging with Japan's remarkable intellectual and cultural traditions. The programme draws on Oxford's exceptional academic environment, including world-leading scholars and researchers in Japanese studies, and benefits from the tutorial system that characterises undergraduate education at Oxford, giving you close and rigorous academic attention.

You will study classical as well as modern Japanese, and you will engage with literary and non-literary texts, historical documents, and contemporary sources.

Graduates in Japanese from Oxford are exceptionally well prepared for careers in a wide range of fields. The combination of linguistic proficiency, cultural knowledge, and the rigorous analytical training that Oxford provides is valued in business, finance, the foreign service, journalism, translation and interpreting, academic research, law, and international organisations. Japan remains one of the world's major economies, and those who can engage with it fluently in its own language are in demand across many professional contexts.

Postgraduate study in Japanese studies, linguistics, or area studies is also a natural pathway.