In general, self-education expenses are deductible under Section 12(1)(e)
of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) ("IRO"). Notwithstanding this,
one should note that the course on which the self-deduction expenses are
claimed must be:-
(i) a prescribed course of education, and
(ii) to gain or maintain qualifications for use in any employment.
It is the first criteria that is more onerous as for the second criteria,
it is merely a matter of argument. In the main, a prescribed course of
education is one which is launched by a university, university college,
technical college or those institutions set forth in Schedule 13 of the
IRO. You may wish to follow the linkage below to check if your Japanese
course is organized by a specified institution:-
http://www.legislation.gov.hk/eng/home.htm (Go to Cap. 112 Sch. 13)