Persian

Persian native speakers (Iranian) living in Japan are a group of newcomers in the diversified Japanese society of recent years. The Iranian community in Japan can be classified into three groups according to their timeline of arrival: (1) pre-Iran (Islamic) Revolution (~1979), (2) mid-1980–1990s (Tokyo’s ‘Ueno Park Iranians’), and (3) post-2000 (students, researchers, and higher education in Iran). This chapter focuses on the life situation, Japanese language skills, and language acquisition methods of the Iranian community in Japan. Many long-term Iranians have naturally learned Japanese in their living environment. On the other hand, Iranian students, whose numbers have increased in recent years, tend to acquire Japanese from an academic perspective. As a result of this cultural exchange, educational institutions that teach Persian language in Japan and Japanese language in Iran have been introduced.