Is it necessary to be able to write kanji?

Hi! well i dont know kanji but what i can guess is kanji is important too be able too read not write, mostly japanese people are not that good in writing becuase computer supports hiragana and katana and kanji so you dont really need to know how to write them.
i have almost already forgot how to write hiragana but i can read them and it is enough for me. So try too learn too read them and if you really want to be able to write you can do so too, but it is not needed really.
http://onepieceofbleach.com is a great site
またね

I am slowly learning to read kanji- writing it is difficult. I don't often use the correct stroke order as the book I am studying from doesn't have it and it is complicated.

I am kinda a little new to Japanese language and i am learning the language i finished all my audio courses in stage 1. And i only have free trial. I want to learn as much as i can before my trial is over plus i want to learn KANJI HIRAGANA AND KATAKANA. I am 12 years old and i am not allowed on the computer on weekdays. What should i do?!! is there any websites like rocket japanese that will last forever when i sign up and no limited time?

Minasan konnichiwa!

All three alphabets - Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji are important in the Japanese language. You need all of these three to read and write Japanese. However, as Robin has said - yes, it is true that now computers do it all for you. You type in the syllables - such as I-KI-MA-SU and vola! it gives you the Kanji automatically. The key thing is to know WHICH kanji is correct as the computer may give you a range of options to choose from.

So, being familiar with Kanji is important even with the computer's doing most of the writing job.

Sayaka

Thanks everyone for your help.

@Jessica, yep, I use Heisig's book already, and supplement it with other literature etc. (Natsume Soseki is fantastic), but thanks for the kanji site though. I was more concerned about whether actually learning the necessary stroke order would be necessary, but I figure I might as well get it done anyway.

Oh, and I found a really good importer: www.nippon-export.com . I used to get all my books from benippon, but they closed down after the earthquake.

Yesasia is great too though, I've got some stuff from them before, especially since they offer free shipping on orders over $50.

Thinking of doing the JLPT N3 so if anyone has any tips on how to learn the required kanji and their compounds, please share!

Thanks again.

To help me with reading Japanese, there is an app I downloaded from iTunes called JLPT Study. From what I can recall there is a free version for JLPT N5 (beginner), but it costs about $5 or so from memory for the full version. It has flashcard lists for both kanji general meanings (ie excluding particular readings), and also vocabulary lists with the option for testing vocabulary with and without kanji. I find it's good to practice with on the train / bus.

I hope that this helps!

Cheers,

John