- Index Page >
- Why Intercultural Institute of Japan? >
- School Overview
Greetings from the president
We strive to create a society where people understand and respect each other by overcoming differences in nationality, culture and language.
Sanae Kato, Principal, Intercultural Institute of Japan
Intercultural Institute of Japan is a small world where students from more than 50 countries around the world gather together every year. Japanese is the only common language at school. Foreign students, who did not even know the basic Hiragana letters for “a, i, u, e, o” when they first came to Japan, make new friends and expand their range of activities through learning the Japanese language and culture, and finally then blaze a new path to the future.
Language brings people together, enriches their minds, expands the possibilities, and makes dreams come true.
Since its establishment 1977, this school has had 20,000 foreign students, and 2,000 students have studied at our Japanese teachers training center to become Japanese language teachers. Many now have leading roles on the international stage in various fields. Under the school philosophy, “CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS (CCC: Coexistence and cooperation in order to truly understand each other through overcoming all kinds of cultural differences, including the way of living and the sense of values),” we have continued to provide Japanese language education and assistance to all of those in need.
The school is committed to offering the following projects; “Japanese teaching projects” to develop human resources who can build bridges between Japan and other countries, and provide assistance in learning Japanese by foreign nationals living in Japan, “Japanese teacher training projects” to foster professionals in Japanese teaching who can enhance the genuine communication abilities of the students, and recently, Japanese language education for Japanese people who wish to have a good command of correct Japanese to improve their business skills or essential job hunting skills.
The philosophy of CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS is spread through various activities and projects, moving with the times and keeping a close eye on the changing times. We are determined to safeguard the philosophy by strengthening the traditions of Japanese language education.
School Overview
School Overview
| Company name | Intercultural Institute of Japan |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-20-9 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 110-0016 |
| Accreditations | Administrative Procedure Specialist approved by the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice Intercultural Institute of Japan is accredited by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education |
| Establishment and management | ■Background Under the philosophy “Cross Cultural Communication”, Yosei Yamauchi founded the Intercultural Institute of Japan in Toranomon, Minato-ku, in 1977. In the following year, 1978, he established the Japanese Teachers Training Center (currently, Japanese Teachers Training Institute). ■Administrative bodies
■Board members
|
| Origin of the name of the school/Past locations | ■School name “インターカルト” (intercult) in the Japanese school name is derived from the English name “Intercultural Institute of Japan.” When the school first opened its doors in 1977, it was called, along with the same school philosophy, “Cross-Cultural Communication”. In contrast with other Japanese language schools which were simply named after their locations in Japanese Kanji. This naming was definitely ahead of its time, ■Locations Since our establishment in 1977, our school facilities have been located in: |
| Intercultural Institute of Japan | ■Courses ・ Long-term course, General Preparatory Program ■Class Structure・method Classes will be conducted in the classroom which emphasizes on communication by using Japanese. ■Lecturers • Has passed the Japanese Language Teaching Competency Test ■Principals
|
| Intercult Japanese Teachers Training Center | ■Educational foundation The foundation of education provided in the Intercult Japanese Teachers Training Program was established under the leadership of Mr. Osamu Mizutani, former President of Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, former Director-General of the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, and former chairman of the Society for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language. Educational content consists of unique curricula and a teaching system focusing on “teaching a living language” based on communication. Early on, distinguished scholars in Japanese-language teaching, including Osamu Miyaji, Hideo Teramura, Keizo Saji, Fumio Tamamura and Minoru Watanabe, who taught Hisako Nakamura, Ikuko Sakairi and Akiko Yamada, followed the initial educational policy and cooperated as lecturers of special courses. ■Directors
|
| Activities in Japanese-language teaching | Councilor, Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education (2005 – ) Councilor, Society for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (2003 – 2009), Chairman (2011 – ) A member of the Subcommittee on Teaching Japanese as a Second Language, Subdivision of the National Language of the Council for Cultural Affairs, Agency for Cultural Affairs (2008 - ) Commissioner, Japanese Language Institute Co-operation approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2007 – ) |
| Research publication | Research performance |
| Publication | Publications |
School history including pictures
On-campus English living information magazine “Intercult News”, predecessor of “Tokyo Journal”, first published in 1978
Mejiro school building, formerly used as a Japanese inn (General course, 1980s)
Old Koenji school building (Preparatory course, 1980s)
Old office building in Taiwan (1980s)
Cross Culture Institute (CCI), Department of Japanese-language education for westerners living in Japan and companies (1988)
Waseda school building 1 (1989), used as the setting for the Japanese TV drama “Doku” (1996)
Intercult Language Center (ILC), Study tour of Samsung Group in Japan (1994)
25th anniversary celebration (2002)
Reunion of key players in the 1990s at Meiji Kinenkan (2004)
30th anniversary celebration (2007)
graduation ceremony at Ushigome Tansu Kumin Center, Shinjuku, Tokyo (2009)
