An annual survey released this month by the Consulate General of Japan found that about 1,300 students statewide are engaged in Japanese language programs at the K-12 level, and another roughly 2,100 are enrolled at the college level.

HANOI – Younger students in Vietnam are learning Japanese after language classes were introduced at five elementary schools in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City this month. The schools are now offering Japanese lessons from the third grade, and classes are expected to be rolled out at elementary schools elsewhere, too. The Vietnamese education system has five grades in elementary school, four grades in junior high school and three years in high school. Japanese language classes are already offered in junior high and high school. "I became interested in Japanese language after reading the'Inazuma Eleven' manga series," said one student at Chu Van An Elementary School in Hanoi, which kicked off its Japanese language class on Thursday.