Department News

• NEW! Japanese Language Program’s Placement Testing Guidelines for Spring 2025 are available!  (December 2024)
• NEW! Full attendance awards for Fall 2024! (December 2024)
• We are thrilled to extend a new opportunity for students to become a member of the Japanese National Honor Society! (March 2024)

Events

• Penn Japanese Language Table on 11/19 (Tue) at 5:15-6:15pm in Williams Hall, Room 1
• Study abroad in Japan Information Session at 6:00-7:00 pa via Zoom
• Onigiri workshop! on Wednesday, October 23, from 5:15 to 6:15 PM at Williams Hall 623 (*Full Capacity Reached)
•  Penn Japanese Language Table on 10/21 (M) at 5:15-6:15pm in Williams Hall, Room 723

•  The Fall 2024 Pikachu Bon Dance (Bon Odori) event from 3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Friday, October 18, at Café 58, IR124 (3401 Spruce Street)
• Penn Japanese Language Table on 9/25 (W) at 5:15-6:15pm in Williams Hall, Room 723
•  We are excited to host the first Taiko Workshop and Performance on Sunday, April 28, from 2:30 p.m. @Amado Recital Hall! (April 2024) 
•  Eight Japanese language classes showcased their passion for Japanese culture through singing karaoke! (March 2024) 
• We hosted the second annual Japanese dance event (Pikachu Bon Dancing) at Penn’s campus!(September 2023)
• We are hosting both in-person and virtual language table events this fall! (September 2023)
• We are hosting the Fall 2023 Japanese dance event (Pikachu Bon Dancing) at Penn’s campus! (September 2023)
• Eight Japanese language classes showcased their passion for Japanese culture through singing karaoke at our 3rd annual Spring Karaoke event! (April 2023) 
• We are thrilled to host our Spring Japanese Karaoke event on Friday, April 14! (April 2023) 
• We hosted our in-person Japanese Conversation Table three times in the spring semester! (April 2023) 
• We are hosting the Study Abroad in Japan Information Session (online) on Friday, November 4 @3:30 p.m.  In this live session, students can learn about the program options/the application process and the one-of-a-kind experiences from the former study abroad students! (10.26.2022)
• We are hosting the first Japanese dance event (Bon Odori) at UPenn’s campus, featuring “PIKACHU Bon Dance,” on Thursday, October 20 @5:15 p.m.! (10.3.2022)
• We are hosting three in-person Japanese Language Table at UPenn and also co-hosting an Inter-College Japanese Language Table via Zoom this fall to give our students an opportunity to speak Japanese outside of the classrooms and engage with the Japanese language communities! (9.15.2022)

Course Highlights

• With the sponsorship by the Center for East Asian Studies, High Intermediate Japanese class visited Shofuso Japanese House and Garden to deepen their understanding of the Japanese perspective on nature (April 2023) 
• Mr. Koichi Ai, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in the USA, spoke to our advanced Japanese students (February 2023) 

Department News Archives

• UPenn Japanese Language Program welcomes Dr. Izumi Walker, a Visiting Scholar, from the National University of Singapore, in Spring 2022.(3.15.2022)
• Tomoko Takami, director of the Modern Japanese Language Program, has been elected as the next President-Elect of American Association of Teachers of Japanese (12.18.2020)
• Congrats to Willow Wilkes, a freshman in a dual program with Arts & Sciences and Wharton, who received the Silver Award in George Washington University’s J.LIVE 2020, a national-level Japanese language/presentation competition! (12.18.2020) 
• Congratulations to Willow Wilkes, a Penn student who has been named for the finalists for a national-level speaking competition for Japanese language learners! (10.20.2020) 
• Two Penn students selected as semifinalists from university-level competitors from across the country for a Japanese-language speaking competition! (10.13.2020)
• The Penn Libraries’ recent project, “Building a Japanese Manga Collection for Non-Traditional Patrons in an Academic Library,” has been published (9.30.2020)
• Tomoko Takami, Director of Penn’s Modern Japanese Language Program, received major development grant
• Diversity in the Stacks: East Asian Comics Collection at Penn
• Check more updated job opportunities on our Japanese Language Program Facebook Page!

Other News/Events Archives

• Our extensive reading (Tadoku) activity is featured in the Penn Libraries News
• More than 30 students expressed their passion for Japanese pop culture through singing Karaoke! (5.5.2021) 
• We are co-hosting a weekly Inter-College Japanese Language Table via Zoom in Spring 2021 to give our students an opportunity to speak Japanese outside the classroom with students from other U.S. colleges (3.15.2021) 
• Penn Today featured a story on our recent events – a film screening and a panel discussion – co-sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies and the Japanese Language Program to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the March 11 Fukushima disaster (3.13.2021) 
• Tomoko Takami’s contribution to the College Board’s AP Japanese students has been featured in Penn Today (12.18.2020)
• We are offering a new Japanese Language Table via Zoom, thanks to the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (8.25.2020) 
• Japanese Language Program’s Online Placement Test Guidelines for Fall 2020 are available (8.14.2020)