COMMUNICATIONS

On 16 and 17 November, we hosted an international conference in Cairo. The theme was modernization. I think we succeeded in comparing the modernizations of the Arab world and Japan from multiple angles.

Students of the Japanese Studies Section at the University of Cairo welcomed us to the venue. They were all very good at Japanese, which they explained was a testament to their having watched Japanese anime. It seems that they make use of popular Japanese songs in their studies of the Japanese language. I was pleased to learn that Japanese popular culture found favor with them.

But there are not many career opportunities for them. I understand that more than half will end up employed in the tourism business. To put it bluntly, they will be guides for Japanese tourists.

A yearning for Japan alone does not explain their choice of Japanese Studies. Many Japanese come to Egypt. They descend on Cairo longing to see the pyramids and the sphinx. There are quite a few Egyptians who know this, and it motivates them to study Japanese. I realized that Japanese culture itself was not the object of their desires.