In Japan, having high English proficiency can be a strong advantage for students wishing to get into prestigious universities and companies and for businesspeople seeking a promotion.
As such, obtaining high scores in the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), an internationally standardized English test, has become a must-have for people to prove their language ability.
Some people even take a week or two off from work and fly to countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines to attend English courses specifically designed to raise their TOEIC score.