The origin of the Department of Japanese Language and Literature (or the Department of Japanese for short) goes back to the teaching and research section of basic Japanese set up in 1956 in Renmin University of Northeast (the predecessor of Jilin University). Established in 1963, the Japanese major has a history of nearly 60 years. In 1979, approved by the Ministry of Education, the Japanese began to run one of the first three authorized master degree programs and started to enroll MA students in the same year. In June, 1993, the Department of Japanese Language and Literature was founded on the basis of the teaching and research section of Japanese. In 2005, approved by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, the department started to run a PhD program and became one of the few Departments of Japanese Language and Literature across the country which offered education at all levels from the bachelor’s level to the doctoral level and provided a complete range of courses. In 2010, approved by the Ministry of Education, the department started to enroll MIT students, which further enriched and strengthened its discipline system. This discipline is a featured major and a key subject of Jilin Province. The basic major course Japanese Intensive Reading is awarded Course of Excellence both at provincial and national level.
The Department of Japanese is the president organization of the sixth and the ninth Council of China Japanese Education Association. Currently, there is one Honorary Chairman of China Japanese Education Association, one Chairman of China Japanese Education Association, and a member of the Japanese Branch of the Teaching Guidance Commission on Foreign Language and Literature in Colleges of Ministry of Education.
Equipped with a strong faculty team, a fine tradition, rigorous academic ethos as well as advanced teaching facilities and methods, the department offers an ideal place for students from across the country to pursue their study. Students of the Department of Japanese boast outstanding performance in various competitions and examinations at home and abroad. In the three Japanese Writing Contest of China that have been held so far, students of the Department of Japanese won the grand prizes and first prizes three years in a row. In addition, they clinch home top prizes every year in various Japanese speech contests at provincial, regional and national level. In the National Test for Japanese Majors Band 4 and Band 8, the department heads the list of hundreds of universities across the country with its rate of excellence above the national average.
The Department of Japanese has established partnerships with a number of universities and institutions in Japan. Every year, the department invites eminent Japanese scholars to give lectures on a regular basis and sends over undergraduate and graduate students to study in Japan. The educational achievement of the department not only exerts an extensive influence in China, but also wins wide acclaim in the Japanese education field in Japan. Leading newspapers in Japan such as the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported one after another and spoke highly of the high-level Japanese education in the Department of Japanese at Jilin University. While striving to meet international and domestic demands, the department continues to push for smaller class sizes in an effort to guarantee teaching effectiveness and quality and achieve the goal of cultivating high-level Japanese professionals.
At present, the department has 18 teachers (including 2 full-time foreign teachers), of whom four are professors (including two doctoral advisors), seven associate professors and seven instructors. Of the teaching faculty, there is one Outstanding Teacher of Jilin Province, one Exemplary Teacher of Jilin Province and two winners of the Baosteel Outstanding Teacher Prize. All of the faculty members have experiences of studying, lecturing and working in Japan. The faculty has outstanding achievements either in teaching or in research. According to incomplete statistics, the department has published over 200 articles in both domestic and foreign journals, compiled 9 lexicographical works and completed over 100 monographs, translations and textbooks，including textbooks projects approved by the 10th and 11th Five-Year Plan Period National Higher Education Textbook Plan, many of which have won the first prize of Excellent Textbooks in Jilin Higher Education Project, the first prize of the Provincial Award for Excellent Achievement in Education and the first prize of the Provincial Award for Excellent Achievement in Humanities and Social sciences. In the past 5 years, the Department has undertaken 6 projects of humanities and social science at national level and 8 projects of social science at provincial level.
The department owns modern teaching facilities and classrooms with equipment to receive Japanese TV programs. The reference room and library have a collection of over 50000 Japanese books and 54 kinds of Japanese journals.
With a strong commitment to cultivating high-level Japanese professionals, the Department of Japanese devotes itself to nurturing talents with high political quality, strong professional ability, good basic skills, a complete knowledge system and a good command of Japanese linguistics, literature and culture as well as excellence both in character and in learning. The department places a high value on the training of basic skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating. After two years’ strict training of basic skills, undergraduate students will start to learn major courses and enhance their proficiency. The education of graduate students emphasizes the cultivation of research competence and practical skills at a higher level.
Due to its traditional superiority in the field and its reputation both at home and abroad, the Department of Japanese at Jilin University has long been one of the most popular majors in the country. Its graduates have a wide range of wonderful career choices and are well received in the personnel market. The graduates of the department can be found in all trades and professions including diplomatic services, foreign affairs, the press and publishing industry, institutions of research and education and large foreign enterprises. A large number of ambassadors, experts and scholars, senior translators, journalists and government officials in our country graduated from the Department of Japanese at Jilin University.
Office: Room 326, Foreign Language Building, Central Campus of Jilin University
Tel: 0431-85166207
Chair: Liu Xiaodong
Associate Chair: Fang Yin
