“Something inside me said, ‘There must be something in the Japanese. If I could one day go to Japan, I would like to learn what their secret is’,” the 58-year-old recalled.

Years later, his dream came true when he was offered the chance to study in Japan under the Japanese Language Teaching Degree programme by the public services department (JPA) – the first Malaysian Indian, he noted, to be selected to attend.

It was a journey that would lead him, about three decades later, to receive the Japan Foreign Minister’s Commendation and the prestigious “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” awards for his role in promoting Japanese-language education in Malaysia, and strengthening ties between the two nations.

Recalling his maiden visit to Tokyo in 1992, he told FMT Lifestyle he quickly found himself intrigued by its people.

“One of the first things I saw was their love towards their nation and a spirit to fight for their country. You may be small or weak, but you can still fight those who are bigger than you. You can achieve what you want, but you have to work hard and go for it,” he said.

Another thing that impressed him was how they viewed other people. “They believe God is in every human being, and that is why you must respect others.”

Then there was their punctuality, well-known throughout the world. Even today, Kumaraguru remembers how shocked he was when he first laid eyes on a bus schedule!

“I saw times like 2.23 and 3.16 on it! And throughout my stay, the bus wasn’t late once. Even on busy streets and traffic lights, they could ensure the bus was punctual.”

‘Language, the mirror of a culture’

Kumaraguru returned to Malaysia in 1997 and started a Japanese-language programme at Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mohamad Jiwa in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

The following year, he joined Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur to teach Japanese before moving to its Johor campus in 1999, where he also designed a Japanese-language course.

Then, in 2002, the door opened for him to return to Japan when he received a scholarship from its government to pursue a postgraduate degree at the University of Tsukuba.

Today, Kumaraguru is an associate professor at UTM Johor, where he lectures on Japanese language and aims to make learning fun and impactful. “I see language as the mirror of a culture, as a language exists because we want to share our feelings, thoughts, routine and rituals,” he said.

Remembering the values of the Japanese, he makes it a point to instil them in his students. “If my lecture is scheduled for 5pm, I’m ready five minutes before and I start on time.”

He also hopes that being exposed to another culture will help his students reflect on and appreciate their own: he has, for instance, observed similarities between Tamil and Japanese cultures.

“In Tamil, when we leave the house, we say, ‘I’ll go and come back’. In the Japanese language, they say ‘ittekimasu’, which means the same thing,” he explained.

Thanks to his efforts, UTM Johor has been established as an international Japanese-language testing centre in southern Malaysia, catering to nearly 2,800 candidates to date.

“University of Tsukuba also sends their Japanese-language trainee teachers to me, and it is an honour for me as a Malaysian to be entrusted to train these students,” he added.

For his efforts, Kumaraguru received the Foreign Minister’s Commendation in 2021 and the “Order of the Rising Sun” last month. The latter is certainly an illustrious feather in his cap as the award, established in 1875, is believed to be Japan’s oldest.

“It is a great honour to be given this prestigious award from the Japanese government,” he said. “But it’s not just an honour for me – it’s also for my institution and, generally, for Malaysia.”