Minna no Nihongo Chukyu (Japanese for Everyone - Intermediate) has been planned and edited to form a comprehensive set of Japanese-language learning materials following on from Minna no Nihongo Shokyu I and II (Japanese for Everyone - Introductory I & II), which were first published in 1998. The Minna no Nihongo Shokyu materials were originally developed to enable general adult beginners to acquire an introductory level of Japanese-language ability rapidly, but they are also widely used as introductory textbooks both in Japan and abroad by non-Japanese students either already studying at Japanese universities and colleges or preparing to do so. Meanwhile, the number of non-Japanese intending to work in Japan or already living here continues to increase as the Japanese birthrate falls and international interchange gains pace, and the Minna no Nihongo books are also popular among such people because of the way the materials help them to learn Japanese easily. As the range of people using the Minna no Nihongo books widened and demand for them increased, we began to receive requests from many different quarters for a set of intermediate materials that would follow on from Minna no Nihongo Shokyu I and II. After extensive writing, testing and editing, we are now finally able to present everyone with what they have been asking for - Minna no Nihongo Chukyu. At the introductory level, people who need to communicate in Japanese are required to be able to say what they want to say and...