Voices of the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Recipients: Emil Malthe Andersen

Name	Emil Malthe Andersen
University and affiliated department	Center for Japanese Language and Culture, Osaka University
Study period in Japan	September 2017 – September 2018 (Currently a recipient of the MEXT scholarship from (Research Students Program) studying Japanese history at the Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University)
Your last education in Denmark	Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies (Japanese studies), University of Copenhagen

Q1 What made you interested in Japan and why did you want to study in Japan?


When I was young I got into manga and anime, and through that gained an interest in Japan.
Then, during one of my gap years between high school and university I took a 3 month trip to Japan and really liked it. I therefore entered the Japanese studies major at the University of Copenhagen. During my studies in Copenhagen I became interested in Japanese history, especially ancient history, and in order to study both this and Japanese language I applied for the MEXT scholarship Japanese Studies Program at Osaka University.


Q2 How was it like to study in Japan? What did you learn, What kind of research have you conducted?


Studying in Japan was mostly fun and interesting, but also at times confusing and daunting. This was mainly due to the language barrier but also sometimes a result of cultural differences.
As all classes in the Japanese Studies Program at Osaka University were in Japanese (with the Japanese level being adjusted to the foreigners taking the classes) my Japanese language skills became a lot better. I also got the chance to delve into studies of ancient Japan, and wrote a 15 page paper in Japanese as a culmination of my year in Osaka. The paper was about the overseas influences on embankment construction in the Osaka area from the 4^th to the 6^th centuries.
 
Q3 About Japanese language: How do you describe the level of your Japanese before and after studying in Japan? How much was it improved?


Reading: from only just being able to read academic papers and books with a dictionary in hand at all times, to being able to read at an acceptable speed with a lot less difficulties, though still with a dictionary in hand (getting fast at reading academic texts take a long time!).
Conversation: From being able to chat one-on-one with friends without too many difficulties, to being able to participate in group conversations close to how native speakers would. Conversations in academic Japanese and expressing myself in the same way a native speaker would is still difficult though.
Writing: From texting in Japanese with friends and generally getting my point across, to writing a long paper in academic Japanese (though with a lot of outside help).


Q4 Any advises or tips for those who would like to improve their Japanese skills during their stay in Japan?


1. Study – until you can start learning vocabulary and speaking/writing patterns from reading longer texts and understanding television without pausing, nothing can replace memorizing grammar and vocabulary.
2. Try to find a place where you can comfortably communicate in Japanese with native speakers on a regular basis. Circles or clubs at the university you study at are generally a good place to start, but many other places are also exist. Additionally, until you reach a certain level following group conversations will be quite difficult, so finding someone to speak to one-on-one is also very important in my experience.


Q5 What did you enjoy (are you enjoying) the most during your stay in Japan?

Cities like Osaka, Tokyo and Kyoto offer a lot of things to do like karaoke, eating out, events etc. that I had and continued to have a lot of fun with. Japan also has what feels like an endless amount of interesting tourist attraction both inside and outside the big cities which are nearly always interesting. For less visited destinations I can recommend the areas of Onomichi, Otsu, Takayama, and the southern part of Nara prefecture.
I also enjoyed studying especially ancient Japanese history – in Japan access to sources and classes on the subject are a lot better than in Copenhagen.
 

Q6 How would you like to use your experience of studying in Japan in the future?

As a gateway to attaining my dream of doing research on ancient Japan/East Asia as a job. As a first step towards this, I received the MEXT scholarship (Research Students Program) from 2020, and am currently studying ancient Japanese history at the Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University.
 
Q7 Messages and advises for those who wants to study in Japan in the future? Any tips and advices on living in Japan, homesickness cure, etc.?

1. Learn Japanese - while I do not think Japanese is as important for a shorter stay of for example 4 months, a certain level of Japanese will make a 1 year stay a lot less stressful. Many of my friends who did not speak Japanese that well found, felt unable to relax in everyday life due to not being able to communicate with most of the people around them. A good circle or club at the university can recommended both for getting Japanese friends and getting better at Japanese.

2. Start your research on scholarships, study programs early – As the deadlines for many of the relevant applications can be more than a year in advance, and the Japanese and Danish school calendars do not line up very well, getting a general idea of the options and making a plan early on will give you a lot more opportunities (just finding this interview probably means you are on the right path!).


Q8 Anything you would like to share with readers.

The Japan you see while travelling and in manga, anime, tv-series etc. can be quite different from the Japan you experience when living there for a long period of time. Signing documents at municipal office all in Japanese with only minimal to no explanation in English, calling a number where they only speak Japanese to sign a contract for your electricity, being unable to order stuff online because you have three names on your credit card and Japanese people only have two – are things you may be confronted with when actually living there. However, Japan can offer a fun daily life very different from Denmark!