I respect people who possess a high-level of Japanese proficiency the same way I respect people who are well-built. I don't respect the results of the effort so much as the discipline required to attain it. I can't deny that focus and perseverance are character traits I lack and thus envy in others because I've never maintained a focus on anything out of a desire to better myself — only out of fear of failure, a desire to escape or because I was coerced into it.