Volume: 9  Number: 1  Page: 1–68  doi:10.2167/cilp116.0

Japan: Language Policy and Planning in Transition

Nanette Gottlieb Japan Program, School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia

This monograph discusses the language situation in Japan, with an em-phasis on language planning and policy. Japan has long considered itself to be a monoethnic and therefore monolingual society, despite the existence of substantial old-comer ethnic minorities, and this – with the instru-mental exception of English – has been reflected in its language planning and policy until quite recently. Increasing immigration (and hence emergent new-comer multilingualism), technological advances affecting the way people write and a perceived need to improve the teaching of English, however, mean that policies have begun to undergo a rethink. This mono-graph is divided into three main sections. Under the language profile of Japan I discuss in detail the national language and minority languages; the next section discusses language spread and maintenance through the educa-tion system and other means; and I conclude with some thoughts on how language planning and policy might develop in the future. My aim is to give readers a sense of how major language issues in Japan are evolving in such a manner that many of the policies developed during the 20th century may no longer be totally relevant.

Keywords: Japan, language policy, minority languages, language spread, language maintenance, future trends

© 2008 N. Gottlieb

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