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Japanese (日本語 Nihongo, [ɲihoŋɡo] (About this soundlisten) or Japanese pronunciation: [ɲihoŋŋo]) is an East Asian language spoken by about 128 million people, primarily in Japan, where it is the national language. It is a member of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) language family, and its relation to other languages, such as Korean, is debated. Japanese has been grouped with language families such as Ainu, Austroasiatic, and the now-discredited Altaic, but none of these proposals has gained widespread acceptance.