On the evening of Saturday, November 7, 2026, Forum2050 held an online exchange with young people in Myanmar who are learning Japanese. Earlier the same day, we had held an exchange with young people in Rwanda, so this was the first time Forum2050 hosted two exchanges back to back on a single day.
The session was planned and moderated by Hana MIYOSHI. About 20 participants joined from Myanmar, including high school students, university students and working professionals. From Japan, Hana was joined by Chihiro KAMIMURA, Yuki ASO, Maaya FUJIMOTO, Akari ITAYA and Ryosuke FURUYA.
Starting with friendship
Hana opened by explaining that the goal of the exchange is simply to become friends. When we become friends with someone, we naturally become interested in their country, their culture and what is happening around them. She said she hopes to keep building exchanges like this.
Introductions and why we learn Japanese
Everyone shared their name, where they live, their age and what they enjoy. Anime, music, movies, travel and food all came up. Some participants were fans of the Japanese bands Soutaiseiriron and Yorushika, and others watch Japanese TV dramas. It was clear that each of them enjoys Japanese culture in their own way through the language.
Participants from Myanmar shared how they started learning Japanese:
- Participant A: Her university also offers Korean, Thai and other languages, but she chose Japanese because she grew up watching Japanese anime on TV and copying the characters’ lines. The scenery in anime looked so beautiful that she dreamed of one day walking under the cherry blossoms. There are cherry trees in Shan State in Myanmar too, but she thinks they are a different kind from Japan’s.
- Participant B: She has watched Doraemon since she was a child and still loves it. She hopes to teach Japanese to children in the future.
- Participant C: After finishing high school, she wanted to study a language and tried Korean, French, Chinese and English. Japanese felt the easiest to speak. Anime was not her original reason; she came to love Japanese music and anime after she started learning.
- Participant D: A friend who loves anime invited her, and at first she was not very interested in Japanese. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, when she was stuck at home, she learned about jobs in tourism and realized how important languages are. Wanting to improve, she studied Japanese at Yangon University of Foreign Languages. She hopes to work for a Japanese travel company one day.
Chihiro asked whether they had watched anime on TV or on YouTube as children. In Myanmar, anime was shown on TV, and Doraemon was especially popular. DVDs and CDs were also available, and the first film Participant D ever watched was Kiki’s Delivery Service. The Japanese participants said how happy they were to hear that friends in Myanmar grew up with the same stories loved in Japan.
Learning Japanese and Burmese: shared struggles
Hana is studying Burmese in Osaka. She said its word order and grammar are similar to Japanese, which makes it easier to learn, but the pronunciation and tones are hard. Participant C said Korean also has things in common with Japanese, but the tongue movement and the way the voice is produced are different, and Japanese is easier for her to pronounce.
Participant A said it is difficult that the same kanji can be read in different ways. Hana replied that Japanese people keep learning new kanji until junior high school, and there are still many characters they don’t know. When Participant C mentioned that keigo (honorific language) is hard, Hana agreed. In elementary school she talked to teachers almost like friends, so suddenly having to use keigo in junior high and high school was hard for her too.
Everyone also laughed and agreed that when studying gets tiring, watching anime helps them recharge. Black Clover was named as one of the popular titles these days.
Looking ahead
By sharing the struggles of learning a language and talking about favorite anime and music, the participants moved closer as friends across borders. Forum2050 will keep connecting with young people around the world, using these personal friendships as a starting point for learning more about what is happening in each other’s countries and societies.
Overview
- Date: Evening of Saturday, November 7, 2026
- Format: Online
- Partner: Young people in Myanmar learning Japanese
- Participants: About 20 from Myanmar (high school students, university students and working professionals) and 6 from Japan
- Planning and moderation: Hana MIYOSHI
