Is the widespread popularity of typing on computers and writing and reading cell phone novels (keitai shosetsu) making Japanese easier to learn?  Do you agree with Haruki Murakami's comments in the latest issue of the New York Times Book Review?

“My personal view on the Japanese language (or any language) is, If it wants to change, let it change. Any language is alive just like a human being, just like you or me. And if it’s alive, it will change. Nobody can stop it.” There is no such thing as simplification of language, he added. “It just changes for better or worse (and nobody can tell if it is better or worse).”

Has technology changed your language?

Photo by scion cho. Licensed by Creative Commons.

Nashville's First Annual Cherry Blossom Festival begins on Saturday, April 18th, at 2 p.m. in front of the Metro Courthouse.  Both Mayor Karl Dean and Consul-General Hiroshi Sato will attend the Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival).  The event celebrates the strong relationship between Nashville and Japan. The Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival Committee will plant 100 cherry trees each year for the next ten years.

For more information on the event, visit the Japan-America Society of Tennessee's website www.jastn.com/cherryblossomfestival/index.php.

Photo by Tiziano. Licensed under Creative Commons.

http://www.pandltranslations.com

Japan recently named Hiroshi Sato to head their consulate office in Nashville, the first country to open an office in Tennessee.  The office will promote economic partnerships, issue visas, and provide consular services to Japanese citizens residing in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.  80% of the Japanese living in the service area reside in Tennessee and Kentucky.  The consulate office was moved from New Orleans, where it was established in 1922, because of the growing presence and importance of Japanese companies in Tennessee.

• Japan ranks #5 among the state's trading partners with imports from Tennessee totaling $817 million in 2007.
• There are 160 Japanese entities registered to do business in Tennessee with over 40,000 employees in the state.
• Tennessee's three largest Japanese-owned employers are Bridgestone Americas, Denso Manufacturing Tennessee, and Nissan North America.
• These three companies employ 42% (17,000) of the Tennesseans who work for Japanese-owned companies.
• Direct suppliers of the three companies account for more than 50% of the 160 Japanese companies operating in Tennessee.

For more information, contact the Consulate-General: http://www.nashville.us.emb-japan.go.jp/

http://www.pandltranslations.com