Enhancing employee English-language skills has become a high-priority management challenge for Japanese corporations, regardless of their size and industry.

This is especially true for companies whose survival hinges on developing new customers or clients in foreign markets. They are focusing in particular on fast-growing Asian economies, where English is becoming the common means of communication.

"We can no longer depend solely on domestic demand, which continues to shrink, reflecting the eroding competitiveness of the Japanese manufacturing sector," said Keiji Nosaka, a senior executive of Nosaka Denki Co., a small metal plating factory in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "To stay afloat, we are looking for new customers in Southeast Asia."