What Languages Are Spoken in Japan? Official Language, Dialects & More

Planning a trip to Japan? Starting to learn Japanese? Or just curious about Japan’s fascinating linguistic history?

One of the first questions people ask is: what language do they speak in Japan?

The answer is more interesting than you might expect — Japan’s language situation has some surprising twists that even many Japanese people don’t fully know about.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

What the official language of Japan is (the answer might surprise you!)
What languages are actually spoken in Japan
Whether English is widely spoken in Japan
How to start learning Japanese effectively

Let’s dive in!

Does Japan Have an Official Language?

Here’s the surprising answer: Japan does not have an official language.

Most people assume Japanese is Japan’s official language — but it has never been legally designated as such. Japanese dominates the country overwhelmingly, but there is no law that officially declares it the national language.

Why not? Because for most of Japan’s history, there was never a need to. Japanese was simply the language everyone spoke, so there was no reason to write it into law. As Japan becomes more international and multilingual, this may change in the future.

So What Language Do People Speak in Japan?

While Japanese has no official status, it is spoken by virtually the entire population of Japan — making it the de facto national language.

Japanese has been spoken in Japan for thousands of years. Words from other languages (Chinese, Portuguese, English, French) have been absorbed over the centuries, but Japanese has remained the dominant language throughout.

Standard Japanese vs. Dialects

Japanese is far from uniform across the country. It breaks down into two major groups:

Mainland dialects:

Eastern Japan (Kanto area — Tokyo, etc.)
Western Japan (Kansai area — Osaka, Kyoto, etc.)
Kyushu

Ryukyu languages (Okinawa — more on this below)

Standard Japanese is based on the Tokyo/Kanto dialect and is what you’ll hear on TV, in schools, and in most formal settings. NHK (Japan’s national broadcaster) is considered the gold standard for pronunciation.

Japanese by Region

Kanto (Tokyo and surrounding prefectures)

Standard Japanese is spoken here. If you learn Japanese and visit Tokyo, you’ll find communication relatively straightforward.

Large Cities Outside Kanto

Cities like Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Hiroshima use standard Japanese in formal settings, but locals often have distinct accents and some regional vocabulary.

The famous Kansai dialect (関西弁) from the Osaka/Kyoto area is so distinctive that it’s practically its own dialect — and known for being funnier and more expressive than standard Japanese!

Rural Areas

Outside large cities, dialects become much stronger. Vocabulary, grammar, accent, and intonation can differ so dramatically that even Japanese people from different regions sometimes struggle to understand each other!

Other Languages Spoken in Japan

Ainu Language (Hokkaido)

The Ainu people are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. Their language, Ainu, is completely unrelated to Japanese. Unfortunately, the Ainu language is critically endangered — only a handful of native speakers remain today.

Interestingly, the Japanese language has borrowed words from Ainu, including words for animals like “reindeer” (tonakai) and “sea otter” (rakko).

Ryukyuan Languages (Okinawa)

Okinawa Prefecture was once an independent kingdom — the Ryukyu Kingdom — with its own distinct language. The Ryukyuan languages are related to Japanese but are linguistically distinct enough to be considered separate languages.

Like Ainu, Ryukyuan languages are endangered, with the number of fluent speakers declining every year.

Is English Spoken in Japan?

English is taught in Japanese schools from elementary school, but Japan is not an English-speaking country.

Here’s the realistic picture:

Group	English ability
Young people (20s-30s)	Basic to intermediate — improving generation by generation
Tourist areas (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto)	Signs and menus often in English; some staff can help
Rural areas	Limited English — translation apps strongly recommended
Business professionals	Varies widely by industry

Tips for visiting Japan:

Learn a few basic Japanese phrases — locals genuinely appreciate the effort
Google Translate’s camera function works well for menus and signs
In major tourist cities, you’ll generally manage with English + gestures

Only One Country Has Japanese as an Official Language

You might be surprised to learn that there is exactly one country where Japanese is legally recognized as an official language: Palau.

Palau, a small island nation in the Pacific, was under Japanese control during World War II. Japanese language education left such a lasting impact that Japanese was designated as an official language of Palau’s Angaur Province. Today, however, Palauan and English are the dominant languages, and very few people in Palau speak Japanese fluently.

Interestingly, some Palauan words are derived from Japanese — a fascinating linguistic legacy!

How to Learn Japanese

So you want to learn Japanese? Here’s where to start:

For absolute beginners:

Learn hiragana and katakana first (the two phonetic alphabets)
Pick up basic phrases for everyday situations
Start speaking with native speakers as soon as possible

The most important tip: Don’t wait until your Japanese is “good enough” to start speaking. Real improvement happens through real conversations — mistakes included!

The standard Japanese spoken in Tokyo and other major cities is what most textbooks teach, and it’s the best starting point. Once you have a foundation, you’ll naturally pick up regional expressions and dialects.

Practice Japanese with Native Speakers — For Free!

One of the best ways to learn Japanese is to practice with real native speakers in a safe, welcoming environment.

At Ohanasi Kagawa, we connect Japanese learners from around the world with native Japanese speakers for free language exchange events every weekend:

Join a free online event from anywhere in the world
Get paired 1-on-1 with a native Japanese speaker
15 minutes in Japanese, 15 minutes in English
Beginner-friendly — mistakes are always welcome!
5,000+ members from 55+ countries

You don’t need to go to Japan to practice real Japanese. You can start right now, from wherever you are.

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Summary: Languages Spoken in Japan

Language	Status	Speakers
Japanese	De facto national language	~125 million
Ainu	Endangered indigenous language	Very few
Ryukyuan	Endangered regional language	Few
English	Widely taught, limited use	Varies

Key takeaways:

Japan has no official language — but Japanese is spoken by virtually everyone
Japanese varies significantly by region, with hundreds of dialects
Ainu and Ryukyuan are fascinating but endangered languages
English is taught in schools but not widely spoken outside tourist areas
The best way to learn Japanese? Practice with real native speakers!

👉 Join Ohanasi Kagawa for free and practice Japanese with native speakers →

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