This is Evan and here is his letter:
This is Evan, one of the original founders of GenkiJACS. I had stepped away from the Japanese schools for a little while, but since last year I’ve been lucky enough to be able to work behind the scenes to get ready for the newest addition to the Genki family, our Okinawa school. I’m so happy that we can finally reveal it to everyone, and I can’t wait to bring our awesome Japanese classes to you beautiful people in the gorgeous paradise of Okinawa.
20 Years!
It’s 20 years since Rie and I opened the doors of our first tiny Genki school in Fukuoka. At the time, all we knew was that existing Japanese language schools didn’t meet the needs of people like me – people who loved Japan, loved it’s culture and it’s people, and who wanted to learn Japanese to get closer to them. We always had the goal of introducing a new style of communication-first Japanese language education, and a new focus on the real needs of our students. But we never expected that GenkiJACS would be as popular as it became, or that it would be such a large part of the much-needed first wave of modernization of the industry as a whole. We started with just 3 small classrooms, but needed to rent extra space just 5 months after we opened, and had to move to a larger location in our second year. Those first years were both thrilling and scary, as we navigated how to grow quickly without sacrificing quality. Those years laid the groundwork for the GenkiJACS that still delights students from around the world today.
The Future
20 years later, it’s clear that the Japanese language school industry as a whole has grown and in many ways improved. Genki is of course still committed to maintaining its position as a leader in innovation. We will be the first short-term Japanese school in Okinawa, breaking new ground there. We’re currently experimenting with new methods of running classes, designed to give you more speaking time, and more time with the teacher. And we’re testing the latest AI tools, to see whether they can supercharge our students’ abilities. The past 20 years working with the wonderful staff and teachers at GenkiJACS, and meeting our amazing students, have been the best time of my life, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next 20! First Japanese school on the moon, anyone?
