Selecting English as its official language was not easy for Nissan Motor Co., but it helped facilitate a smooth tieup with Renault SA of France, Nissan Chairman Yoshikazu Hanawa said at a recent symposium in Tokyo.

Hanawa was speaking at "English and the Japanese Company" -- a symposium conducted in Japanese on Nov. 13 and organized by The Ogasawara Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Engineering and cosponsored by The Japan Times and Nifco Inc.

Nissan used to be a "completely domestic company" with only a limited number of employees capable of speaking English, he said.

The company found it difficult in the initial stage of its overseas operations, as it had to send staff with little English proficiency to supervise operations abroad, he said.

"Whenever I received reports from overseas saying, 'I have instructed our local staff to do this and that,' I thought I'd better take it to mean that he believes he instructed this and that," Hanawa said.

The move to adopt English -- a rare move by a Japanese company -- has not been easy, Hanawa said.

"The level of English used in our company is still not very high, and the English spoken by the French staff is also not perfect," he said.

"It was a correct decision to use English and to have our staff speak directly with each other, rather than always having interpreters in between. It created a sense of togetherness."

Having experienced first hand the importance of English-language ability in the business world, Hanawa called for including English conversation as a subject of university entrance examinations.

"Given the incredible amount of energy Japanese students spend on university entrance examinations, it will greatly improve (their English)," he said.

"And it would help (Japanese companies) a great deal as they can save substantial costs on the English education of employees."

In the opening remarks, Toshiaki Ogasawara, chairman and publisher of The Japan Times, also stressed the importance of improving the English proficiency of the Japanese people.

"I feel with strong remorse that Japan is the only country in the world that has first-rate technological skill and economic growth but where people's English ability remains so mediocre," he said. "The improvement of English skills is an issue that must be treated with emergency. Whether we like it or not, English is the lingua franca, or the world's official language. One step out of Narita airport, we are in an English speaking circle."

A keynote speech -- "This is How Discussion on English as an Official Language Was Born" -- was delivered by Yoichi Funabashi, the chief diplomatic correspondent at The Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

Funabashi, who advocates making English an official language in Japan, expressed regret over the government's diminishing amount of debate on the subject.

"We may as well rephrase the title of my speech to 'This is How Discussion on English as Official Language Died,' " he said.

He said emotional reactions from those fearful of an "invasion" by the language and of a crisis in national identity have silenced discussion among the nation's leaders.

Nevertheless, the public, especially younger people, are still eager to learn.

Funabashi said people must overcome their shyness and reluctance to open up their minds, noting that skill in the language is not all that counts.

Referring to how the late Akio Morita, former chairman of Sony Corp., is missed by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Funabashi said that even when one's language ability is broken, people listen when they find the content of talks interesting.

"Mr. Morita's English was not perfect, but he was someone people wanted to visit all the way from abroad and talk to," he said. "We need to have more people like that in Japan."

In a discussion following Funabashi's speech, four panelists exchanged views on the theme of "English Education in Companies and its Future Expectations."

Yoko Ishikura, professor at Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International Strategy, coordinated the talks.

Noriaki Tsuchiya, director of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s Overseas Training Group, said English has now become a crucial skill for its employees.

Previously, all English correspondence went through a small number of bilingual staff. But that system no longer meets current demands, he said.

"Today, we have branch offices in 45 countries and more than half of our workforce of 300,000 live abroad," he said. "English became extremely important for our employees and we now have a vast number of English-language training programs on all levels."

Despite their strong presence overseas, Japanese firms are making little progress in globalizing their human resources, said Akira Ito, president of the Institute for International Business Communication.

While the Test of English for International Communication is popular in Japan, the scores remain far from satisfactory, he said.

Gregory Clark, president emeritus of Tama University, attributes the poor English skill of the Japanese to English education that starts too early and lacks teachers who can speak it.

Japanese people should start learning English at 18 after entering a university.

"By then, they see its real importance for their future," he said.

Meanwhile, Kenichiro Ohara, president of Ohara Museum of Art, said corporate executives and employees should take the right approach in improving their English.

There are many ways, he said, because the kinds of English skill each person needs to acquire differ widely depending on his or her position and role in a company.

Some people may have many occasions in which they need to convey firm decisions, whereas those serving as assistants may want to improve their writing ability rather than becoming fluent in conversation, he said.

In another panel discussion on how English changed the business style of Japanese companies, Hideko Sone, director in charge of strategic planning and marketing at General Electric Capital, said, "The ability to communicate in English broadens possibility for both individuals and companies."

Companies should therefore reward those with high English proficiency, she said.

Shinji Fukukawa, chief executive officer of Dentsu Institute for Human Studies, said the English language makes Japanese people realize the need to think and speak logically to make themselves understood.

"Japanese people traditionally praise reservation as seen in sayings like 'The eyes speak as much as the mouth' and 'Silence is gold,' " he said.

But if businesses and the public want to be understood in the international community, "we should be a bit more explicit," he said. "The situation is quite alarming."

Yoshio Terasawa, chairman of Tokyo Star Bank, said proficiency in English can be crucial to climbing the ladder at foreign companies.

The banker referred as an example to the experience of a friend, who achieved a drastic increase in sales while working as president of the Japanese branch of an U.S. firm but was never selected as a board member.

"His English was excellent for Japanese standards," he said, "but not enough to perfectly conduct social conversations at high-level cocktail parties."

Samuel Shepherd, executive director of the Japan-United States Educational Commission, said Japanese people should study abroad to be truly communicative in international settings.

By studying abroad, they can gain cross-cultural communication skills and the ability to adapt to different cultural views, something that cannot be taught at schools in Japan.

"There are many people who became top managers in the corporate world by experiencing such programs," he said. "Universities should make studying abroad a compulsory activity."