Education minister Yoshiaki Takaki is stressing the importance of teaching children foreign languages to promote their interest in other countries.
"Since we are living in a globalized society, I am keenly aware of the necessity of children acquiring the ability to communicate in foreign languages," Takaki, 64, said in an interview last week with news organizations.
"We have to educate children who in the future can speak at least a language spoken as a common language in many countries or that of neighboring countries," he said.