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日本語 
Many of our students ask for recommendations about which textbooks are best for Business Japanese.
As time and resources change – we want to give you an updated list of some suggested textbooks you can use to learn business Japanese.
We hope that this list helps you – and if you have a recommendation for a textbook that we could add to our list – we would appreciate you emailing us or leaving a comment on our facebook!
Beginner Japanese Business Textbooks
- わかるビジネス日本語 BJTビジネス日本語能力テスト入門
- Nihongo Express 1 and 2
- にほんごで働く!ビジネス日本語30時間 Work in Japan – Business Japanese in 30 Hours
Intermediate and Advanced Japanese Business Textbooks
- シャドーイング 日本語を話そう 就職・アルバイト・進学面接編 (Shadowing – Let’s Speak Japanese – Employment / Part-time Job)
- ビジネスコミュニケーションのためのケース学習:職場のダイバーシティで学び合う【教材編】(Case Learning for Business Communication: Learn from each other through workplace diversity)
- 改訂新版 ビジネス日本語用例辞典 [Revised Edition] Bijinesu Nihongo Youreijiten
Business Japanese Textbooks for Beginners
わかるビジネス日本語 BJTビジネス日本語能力テスト入門
Buy it on Amazon
This book – わかるビジネス日本語 (Understand Business Japanese) is an easy entry level textbook that learners with a basic understanding of Japanese Grammar can use and appreciate. It includes English explanations and headings – so its a great first foray into learning business Japanese.
We recommend this textbook for Japanese learners with around N4 level – who can discuss basic daily situations on a wide range of topics. In other words, this may be too simple for someone who can comfortably pass the JLPT N3 – but it will give you a good basic understanding of common phrases used in Japanese business settings.
NIHONGO EXPRESS Practical Conversation in Japanese Basic 1 & 2
Learn practical business expressions and grammar through practical exercises in this beginner focused business textbook. If you are just starting with Japanese, for instance – this is a better option for a complete beginner. With english explanations – this book covers very basic expressions and grammar that you would encounter in a Japanese office.
にほんごで働く!ビジネス日本語30時間 Work in Japan – Business Japanese in 30 Hours
This popular beginner Japanese Textbook is also good for new Japanese learners who are interested in learning practical Japanese for the workplace. Additionally – we currently use this textbook in our Coto Courses.
Business Japanese Textbooks for Intermediate or Advanced Japanese Learners
シャドーイング 日本語を話そう 就職・アルバイト・進学面接編
(Shadowing – Let’s Speak Japanese – Employment / Part-time Job)
This is a great first step towards working in Japan and will be very useful for students that have studied some Japanese – but would like to learn polite Japanese that they can use with customers. This book also teaches you valuable phrases you can use with your coworkers.
ビジネスコミュニケーションのためのケース学習:職場のダイバーシティで学び合う【教材編】(Case Learning for Business Communication: Learn from each other through workplace diversity)
This book is unique because it covers practical case studies of cross cultural communication in a business setting. This may be a more interesting way to learn Japanese for management professionals as it will give more insight into the mind of Japanese business people from an insider perspective.
改訂新版 ビジネス日本語用例辞典
[Revised Edition] Bijinesu Nihongo Youreijiten
Buy it on Amazon
This one is not really a textbook – but we wanted to include it because it’s quite useful. It includes over 3,000 words commonly used in a Japanese business setting along with several example sentences in Japanese. Futher, it’s good to use as a learning device because it also includes furigana – so this book can be used for beginner learners as well as advanced learners.
What do you think?
Do you have a suggestion for a good Japanese textbook? If so, please do let us know.
