At first the idea of not having a specific future tense might seem confusing, but look at it this way: That’s one less conjugation for you to learn.
And it’s not like it’s really that strange of an idea. In English both “I’m going to the store” and “I’m going to next week’s concert” have the same verb but I bet you didn’t have any trouble at all telling which one is happening now and which one is happening in the future.
Transcript
言語ガールズ #35
The Future Is Now
Blue: Did you know that 日本語 doesn’t have a future tense?
Yellow: Really?
Blue: 私は行きます can mean both “I go” and “I will go”.
Yellow: Then how do I tell the difference between present and future verbs?
Blue: From context.
Blue: If you say 行きます while walking out the door, that would mean “I go”.
Blue: But if we were talking about a concert happening next week and you said 行きます that would mean “I will go”.
Yellow: A concert? Of course I’m going!
Blue: There is no concert. It was just an example.
Yellow: Awww…