Tokyo’s Sunday language circle building bridges between China and Japan
Weekly chat group helps people from both countries better understand and learn more about each other
Every Sunday afternoon, rain or shine, a group of people gathers at a park in Tokyo’s bustling Ikebukuro district, where Japanese people studying Chinese and Chinese living in Japan can engage in lively conversation.
At the gathering, which is a Chinese-language circle called Hanyu Jiao, or “Chinese chat session”, the topics range from China’s politics, economy, popular television series and tourism spots to cultural differences between Japan and China.
The Sunday Chinese Corner was launched by Duan Yuezhong, chief editor of Duan Press Co, a publishing house in Japan that specialises in books on Sino-Japanese relations, many of which are written by Chinese authors and translated into Japanese.
Duan, 58, said his endeavour was an outcome of China and Japan building closer ties in various fields in recent years. More Japanese have started studying Chinese and want to know about what’s happening in the Chinese community, he said.
“When I was in China, there were many such platforms as English chat sessions and French chat sessions to assist language learners. Why not establish a Chinese chat session in Japan to help Japanese study Chinese?” said Duan, who came to Japan in 1991 to join his wife who was studying here.