The first thing you probably want to do before you start is learn "Hiragana", the native Japanese alphabet, and "Katakana" which is used for writing foreign words. E.G Television= テレビ (Terebi). Notice how it sort of sounds like TV?
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You can easily find sites online with Hiragana and Katakana charts.
http://www.japanorama.com/images/hiragana.gif
http://www.japanorama.com/images/katakana.gif
Hope that helped, goodluck!