The government's recent proposal to make English Japan's official second language has generally been met with approval. The proposal takes on quixotic overtones, however, when you consider the fact that almost no one in the government itself can actually speak English.
So far, the debate has centered on education: adding English courses to elementary school curricula, hiring more native speakers as teachers, stressing speaking/listening over reading/writing. These are bureaucratic changes that would modify the system that is already in place. The fact is, English is Japan's second language by default, even if few people can speak it.
Motivation is said to be the key. One of the more interesting examples of motivational language teaching I've seen of late is a man named Li Yang, who conducts huge stadium-sized seminars in China for what he calls "Crazy English." Noted director Zhang Yuan made a documentary of Li's activities that will have a theatrical release in June.