Should we all learn Japanese? From today, the Tokyo Olympics will thrust the Land of the Rising Sun into the global spotlight. Some say Japan can teach us some profound life lessons.

Due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, many of the stadiums will be empty. Yet for one glorious month of athletic prowess, Japan will be front and centre of television screens everywhere.

There is far more to the Land of the Rising Sun than sport. From manga to origami, sumo to kabuki, Japan has a rich and recognisable culture.

Japanese artists have excelled in numerous fields. Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Genji, written in the 11th Century, is often considered the first modern novel. Ukiyo-e are among the most beautiful artworks ever created. And Japanese cinema is among the most acclaimed in the world.

Japan is also celebrated for the depth of its ideas. A 2019 Forbes article ranked it the world's cleverest nation. Here are five of Japan's wisest concepts.

Haiku. A three-line poem with a strict 5-7-5 syllable pattern. Haikus can teach us how to express ourselves clearly and concisely, in a way few European writers manage. A typical poem by Matsuo Basho contains 12 or 13 characters. John MiltonMilton, who is renowned for his epic poem Paradise Lost, was writing to justify the execution of King Charles I.'s Paradise Lost, often called the greatest poem English, runs to 11,000 lines.

Wabi-sabi. Japanese culture values the imperfect and the impermanent. A wabi-sabi worldview celebrates the beauty in things that have been worn over time: chipped pots, rusted metal, a path covered in moss. As novelist Juni'chiro Tanizaki wrote: "The quality that we call beauty... must always grow from the realities of life."

Omotenashi. A type of selfless hospitality. People are expected to look after friends and guests with complete openness and honesty. Japanese society promotes politeness: people rarely use iie ("no") in conversation, preferring to let others down gently.

Datsuzoku. Escaping from the ordinary. To follow datsuzoku is to enhance your life by breaking routine. Try to do something different, whether walking another route to school, rearranging your possessions or picking up a new hobby.

Eastern promise

Mottainai. A phrase often used by Japanese people to express regret over something wasteful - "What a waste!" - it has become an environmentalist motto. It expresses gratitude for things that already exist, and promotes the idea of recycling and reusing.

None of these ideas have a direct parallel in English. To understand them, some would say that we need to understand Japanese itself. 

"The limits of my language," wrote Ludwig WittgensteinAn Austrian-British philosopher and mathematician most famous for his work on language. Some consider him the greatest philosopher of the 20th Century., "means the limits of my world."

Others advise caution. All cultures contain wisdom. Japanese is just one of over 7,000 languages spoken in the world. And concepts from foreign languages often survive translation: millions have marvelled at the OdysseyA long, adventurous journey. The word is the title of an epic poem by Homer about how Odysseus spent 10 years trying to reach home after the Trojan War. and cried at Anna Karenina without knowing Ancient Greek and Russian.

Should we all learn Japanese?

Yes, say some. Japan has given the world some valuable concepts, and we can get some sense of them through translation. But language shapes people and their culture. If we want to truly understand Japanese ideas, we have to approach them through the words, phrases and structures that Japanese people use themselves. Otherwise, we are getting an incomplete, inaccurate picture.

No, respond others. We can discover a lot in other countries. But learning a language - especially one as difficult as Japanese - is an inefficient way to do so. We can learn more by reading Japanese books, watching Japanese films and consuming Japanese popular culture. For centuries, people have found joy, excitement and profundity in translated texts. It remains the same today.