The purpose of this paper is to introduce a joint research project, which was carried out during 2012 (Spring and Autumn) in collaboration between four universities in China, South Korea and Sweden. This joint research project was established to investigate ways to raise the socio-cultural competence of students who learn Japanese at each university through interactions in their common language, Japanese. This paper also aims to discuss the further possibilities of Japanese language education which are not only limited to learning the language.