At the Andrić Institute in Andrićgrad in the period from 25th to 28th August was held the The 29th International Conference on Japanese Studies titled “Teaching the Japanese language in the world,” which gathered 40 participants, professors of Japanese language from around the world. Organizers of the event were the Andrić Institute and Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade.

Participation in the conference were professors from Tokyo University of Foreign Languages, Kyoto University of Foreign Languages, Shizuoka, Osaka, Toyama, Soka and Waseda, as well as teachers of the Japanese language from the most respected universities in Germany, France, Austria, Hungary, Canada and Serbia

According to the Head of the Department of Oriental Studies at the Andrić Institute, prof. Dr. Ljiljana Marković, this is the largest international conference of orientalists so far: “Our nation this year celebrates 40 years of studying the Japanese language and culture in Serbia and we are celebrating this anniversary in the most beautiful city.”

Professor of Japanese language at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, Divna Tričković said that this scientific conference was dedicated to the teaching of Japanese language in different parts of the world, adding that the interest in learning the language is increasing and that it becomes optional. Some of the topics were related to the teaching philosophy, philosophy of language, grammar, the impact of the information revolution on learning the Japanese language.

A participant of this conference, Murakami Yoshifumi, a representative from the Japan Foundation in Budapest, said that this conference is being held every year in a different European city, adding that this tradition should be cultivated because this is an ideal opportunity for teachers to share their opinions and experiences about teaching the Japanese language, which will enable them to improve their work. At the conference Yoshifumi talked on the benefits of using online communication system for teachers and their impact on the quality of teaching.