The department’s vision is to have a full fledged Japanese language section where the students can continue up to Master of Arts in Japanese.

The Department offers Certificate and Diploma Courses in Japanese (part time) which also enables the learner to appear for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) ) that is conducted on the first Sunday of December, every year jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Japan Foundation, Japan.

Japanese has been introduced as one of the optional languages in Under Graduate Programs from the academic year 2007 along with Tamil, Hindi and French. Such a system is found nowhere in India and American takes pride in introducing the same in this special year of Indo-Japan Friendship year. Although well known, American College has proved again to be the pioneering institution in introducing Japanese as one of optional languages.

The Department has written to the Executive Director, Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council, New Delhi to include its name in the list of all identified Japanese Language Schools in India released by ESC/LRMAFI-J.

The Department has also requested the Dept. of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India to dispatch a Japanese volunteer under the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) Program to support the Japanese Language Programs offered by the Dept.

This is the ERA OF INDIA and globalization is the buzz-word. According to survey, more than the west, Japan, a friendly Asian country is planning many Indo-Japanese joint-venture companies in the future. Hence, there is a great demand for people knowing Japanese Language. This demand has not been adequately fulfilled, due to paucity of Japanese Language teaching centers.

With the increasing significant role Japan is likely to play in the development of India, it is imperative that a greater number of Indians acquire proficiency in Japanese Language in order to show our sincerity and seriousness in interacting with Japan and collaborating with them to learn from their experiences and adapt them to our own situations. At present, in our vast country, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University are the only two Institutions in India conducting degree courses. Other places such as Bangalore University, Central University of Hyderabad and Banaras Hindu University conduct part time courses. It is obvious that all students can not go to these places for this purpose.

Realizing the need for a new additional centre, the AMERICAN COLLEGE, Madurai, in its endeavour to provide opportunity to students and general public to learn Japanese has inducted a separate department of Japanese language and Culture. It needs to be mentioned that this is the first and the only college in India to have a separate department for Japanese language & Culture and with this the name of the College has been engraved in the global map of Japanese Language Institutions.

Japanese Language teaching began in American College in May 2006 with the introduction of a month long Intensive Summer Program which had greater response from people in and around Madurai. Although there were many applicants, only 20 were given admission and 15 students successfully completed the course.

The department was formally inaugurated on the 17th of October 2006 by Ms. Sakura Ozaki, Vice-Consul, Consulate General of Japan and felicitation was given by Mr.Yoo Fukazawa, Director, Japan Foundation, New Delhi. The inauguration of the Dept. of Japanese Language and Culture marked the association of two oldest cultures, Ms. Ozaki said and added that for professionals it would be a gateway to know how the Japanese people think and act besides comprehending their business customs and etiquette. Offering felicitation, Mr. Fukazawa said that the number of students pursuing Japanese language was on the rise and hoped that in another five year the enrollment for the programme in the country would reach 30,000. Mr. S. Shanmugaiah, Registrar in charge presided over the function.