ENGLISH IN A HURRY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 154, 1 July 1936, Page 17

ENGLISH IN A HURRY.

THOROUGH JAPANESE. • alarmist reports deprecated. A splendid example of national thoroughness and self-discipline is the speed and efficiency with which Mr. T. Imai, a young' Japanese, tauglit himself conversational English. Mr. Imai, who is l visiting Cliristchurch, is the son of a merchant trader: of Kobe, Japan. At his father's suggestion, he applied himself to the study of English. He could read and write a little, but was not a£ home' in the spoken word. He went to Australia. Eor eight months he cut himself off from Japan and things Japanese. He did not even read Japanese newspapers. He read Australian newspapers and surrounded himself with young Australians. The success of this effort is to be seen in Mr. Imai's fluency and the extent of his English vocabulary. Having accomplished the most important part of his mission, Mr. Imai decided on a brief inspection of New Zealaiid. He will return to Australia within a few days, and after some weeks in Sydney return to his home with the satisfaction of work well done. Mr. Imai has read with some surprise reports in the Australian and New Zealand newspapers of the "Menace of Japan" and the dangers of Japanese aggression in the Pacific. These reports, he considers,' are greatly exaggerted. The Japanese, he said to-day, are occupied solely with questions of trade and the need for extending markets. Had Japan been Westernised 50 years ago, at the time of the scramble for territory, she might have taken a part in colonisation, but the day was now past. Border Incidents. The border incidents, in which there had been exchanges between Japanese and Russian troops, were not taken very seriously in Japan. The explanation of this friction was that there was no clearly defined frontier. Manchuria was a flat country, subject to floods. The liver, which was the boundary, might change its course to-morrow. An attempt was being made to create some permanent frontier satisfactory to both nations. The Japanese were not anxious for war. The Great War had shown that war was disastrous to both the victors and the vanquished. It swallowed up capital. It might temporarily solve the unemployment problem, but the position was worse afterwards. War, said Mr. Imai, was like over-indulgence in alcohol. It was fine at first, but the aftermath was most unpleasant. Mr. Imai did not regret tliat he was visiting New Zealand in winter. He was quite enjoying the temperate weather, for the winter here was not nearly as severe as in Japan. His visit was 50 per cent business and 50 per cent holiday—"perhaps 80 per cent holiday," he added with a smile.