こんにちは

Kon'nichiwa

About Us

Japanese Language

Club South Africa

Join Us

こんにちは

Kon'nichiwa

About Us

Japanese Language

Club South Africa

Join Us

友達

Our Friendly Team

Emma Ruiters

Economist by trade. During my time living in Hokkaido, Japan on the JET programme, I learned Japanese! I am studying for JLPT N1. I want to bridge Japan and South Africa.

Thabang Mafohla

Progressed from lowly anime geek to kanji enthusiast and lover of ramen. Hopes to one day reach the final form of Japanese by passing the Kanji Kentei 1 kyuu.

Talita Brits

Low-key Japanophile, language enthusiast and aspiring Polyglot, foodie extraordinaire and stubbornly curious about anything unusual. Here to connect people through common language interest and hopefully connect South Africa and Japan as well.

Tich Mbiri

Worked/studied/photography & videography in Tokyo Japan. YouTube Contributor on the JLC channel. Talk to me about Africa Japan entrepreneurship.

Katja Haslinger

I have lived in Cape Town for the past 15 years. My father (German) met my mom (Japanese) while he was working in Japan for 16 years. I was born in Osaka, Japan and grew up in Germany from the age of 5. I love the Japanese people, traditions and also their food. I'm very much interested in Japanese conversation and to increase my vocabulary.

Louis-François du Toit

Been studying Japanese since 2017. I went to Japan in 2019 and was the most amazing experience. I have been working towards moving to Japan. I am currently busy studying TEFL BA Degree.

Tixy Visser

I'm Tixy
Circus artist set on being based in Japan to travel the world from there. With believing that each language and culture brings new mindsets and ways of understanding, I also have a huge passion for languages and cultures.

Juanita Vermeulen

I'm Juanita. Business woman, wife to an awesome fellow Japanese fanatic and mother of a beautiful little girl. Love the rich culture that Japan has to offer. Would love to unite Japan and South Africa and create a stronger bond through business trade

Please speak to any one of us on our social media or at our events! While our members are from all over South Africa, we conduct our events in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town.

Our Story

We are South Africa’s first official Japanese Language Club, founded in 2020. The JLCSA currently has over 600 members, based in both Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

We aim to create a space for those who are learning Japanese to meet and socialise, to enable access to resources, to create new opportunities for learning Japanese and about Japanese culture.

We hope to provide South African and Japanese people with as many bridges as possible.

Our Goal

Within the next 5 years we want to:

Establish an accredited Japanese course that takes learners from beginner to N1 level in South Africa affiliated with South African universities and agencies.
Establish a high school level student exchange for South Africans and Japanese students.
Establish a platform that will allow South African and Japanese businesses to connect more easily in a shared language.