Ringing in 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a dream: One nation that will actively re-engage with the global marketplace.
To realize this dream by 2020, it's commonly accepted that the Japanese need to improve their English. So, what's the problem? Unfortunately there are a few.
Though English has been a part of the official national syllabus since 1947 and many subsequent education policies have addressed curriculum reform — most recently the 2008 "Revisions of the Courses of Study for the Elementary and Secondary Schools" — there is widespread concern that few Japanese can actually speak fluent English.