Nippon dotcom just reported that a "survey found that Japan currently ranks eighty-seventh out of 113 non-English-speaking countries and regions for English language abilities. This is a fall of seven places from last year and relatively low among Asian countries." In a discussion I saw, one Japanese noted that IT competitiveness is also declining. Another stated that the problem was actually that Japanese do not need English.
Some Japanese professors have agreed with me that Japanese do actually need English. Poor IT is also connected to this, because English is essential in IT. Our son is a key person in one of Japan’s top global companies because of his combination of systems engineering and ease with foreign languages.
Japan's economic future depends on tourism and increasing foreign residents. In my bilingualism and intercultural communication classes with English majors now, students understand the need.
