I know people say TikTok is a cesspool of stupidity, but for fuck’s sake…
It’s part of the education system. An elementary school graduate would be expected to know 1,026, and a middle school graduate would be expected to know 2,136. You’re considered illiterate (or at least severely lacking in literacy) otherwise.
Also, if it weren’t all that important, people wouldn’t ask how to learn kanji literally every single day on this sub.
Only if you want to be able to, you know, read.
Maps, train schedules, vending machines, kiosks, ATMs, menus, posted rules and procedures, public emergency information, product instructions…
Those things can either be very empowering or things that you constantly need help from friends and family to deal with. A couple weeks of vacation is fine, but if you want to to integrate even a little bit more than that you’ll find that Japan is a highly literate society and getting left behind hurts.
Being able to fill out paperwork is a hurdle too, and it’s harder because you don’t have the benefit of a decade plus of schoolwork to make writing effortless for you. It’s easy to practice reading because graded readers, manga, and literature are fun. Writing practice, especially hand-writing practice, doesn’t offer the same amount of dopamine.
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I know people say TikTok is a cesspool of stupidity, but for fuck’s sake…
It’s part of the education system. An elementary school graduate would be expected to know 1,026, and a middle school graduate would be expected to know 2,136. You’re considered illiterate (or at least severely lacking in literacy) otherwise.
Also, [any snapshot of Japanese cityscapes](https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+city&client=ms-android-lge-rvo3&hl=ja&tbm=isch&prmd=imvn&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicx83v9c38AhWhJzQIHWAXCLUQ_AUIFigB&biw=320&bih=635&dpr=3.38) should show you that’s just not true.
Also, if it weren’t all that important, people wouldn’t ask how to learn kanji literally every single day on this sub.
Only if you want to be able to, you know, read.
Maps, train schedules, vending machines, kiosks, ATMs, menus, posted rules and procedures, public emergency information, product instructions…
Those things can either be very empowering or things that you constantly need help from friends and family to deal with. A couple weeks of vacation is fine, but if you want to to integrate even a little bit more than that you’ll find that Japan is a highly literate society and getting left behind hurts.
Being able to fill out paperwork is a hurdle too, and it’s harder because you don’t have the benefit of a decade plus of schoolwork to make writing effortless for you. It’s easy to practice reading because graded readers, manga, and literature are fun. Writing practice, especially hand-writing practice, doesn’t offer the same amount of dopamine.
lol good one