Japanese is becoming an increasingly popular language to study by both business people and holidaymakers. "Breakthrough Japanese" is a self-study course for beginners who want to communicate in Japanese in everyday situations. It uses the Roman alphabet to facilitate learning and focuses largely on listening and speaking skills. Grammar is included but not emphasized. Audio cassettes are available separately and provide over three hours of material. They contain authentic recordings made on location in Tokyo backed up by carefully paced studio recordings. The course is suitable for home study or class-based courses.