As Tokyo gears up to host the 2020 Olympic Games, demands for action are growing to overcome Japan's notorious English-speaking phobia.
To achieve that, discussions are underway for the capital to establish "English villages" — language education facilities aimed at improving students' communication ability through the use of all-English environments.
In other parts of Japan, facilities of this type are run by municipalities or schools free of charge and use games and other recreational activities to teach the language. A growing number of municipalities are investing in such institutions, and Tokyo may soon jump on the bandwagon.