http://youtu.be/q9csyNK3mGM

Or for the same video with E-J transcript : http://ja.englishcentral.com/video/11596...-or-retire

Article from Japan Today on the subject (2010): http://goo.gl/XNTsc

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I saw one of my Lang-8 friends write about this topic and it caught my attention

If you were working for a company and the CEO suddenly implemented the same scenario of changing its company's official language (Ex. Japanese ^_^) , would you be able to comply with the 2 year limit to learn? Or find yourself another job?

It's almost at the 2 year mark (the video was Aug 2010) and I'm curious about the results of this 2 year English agenda.

Rakuten employees only have to pass TOEIC 600 and they get three years to do it. Not the hardest thing in the world.

Later down the line they will be implementing a tiered system where you have to pass 650 to get to the next level in seniority, 700 into management, and 750 into senior management. This of course happens over the course of a decade so employees have plenty of time to learn English and only a small minority will ever be selected for senior management no matter how good their English is.

Takeda Pharmaceutical is much more strict. They won't even look at an application unless the applicant's TOEIC score is above 730.

Interesting enough is that both of these companies only hire foreigners with native level Japanese skills for jobs in Japan. With very few exceptions (mostly IT and CS ).

Probably struggling. I talked to an employee there last year and asked him about how that was going and he said that most people still speak Japanese in the office. I think he mentioned that internal emails, memos, and forms were in English though. His English was considerably better than most Japanese though, so they must hire people with high TOEFL scores.

RawrPk Wrote:If you were working for a company and the CEO suddenly implemented the same scenario of changing its company's official language (Ex. Japanese ^_^) , would you be able to comply with the 2 year limit to learn? Or find yourself another job?

Wouldn't be fair. Japanese learning English != English speaker learning Japanese.

turvy Wrote:Wouldn't be fair. Japanese learning English != English speaker learning Japanese.

So are you saying that it makes sense/is fair for a Japanese speaker to learn English? I mean it makes a bit of sense in the context of the international world speaking English mostly, but still the majority of Rakuten's dealings will be with people in Japanese.

I suppose the counter example would be if you worked for a company in the US that suddenly had a huge market in Japan. The CEO then says that everyone in the company must learn to speak Japanese and perform official duties in Japanese.

A lot of people are misunderstanding the amount of English being used/required in these companies.

It's basically a myth that all meetings and emails are switching over to English. It's really only a small percentage. The rule is this, the further you are up in the seniority ladder and/or the more likely you are to deal with anything related to international operations, the more you will be required to use English.

Everyone else is still operating in Japanese and the TOEIC scores required for promotions is far from operational fluency in English.

not to mention, TOEIC scores are just another hoop they can use to cull applicants.

Companies always have their wish list of things they say they want, but who they will often actually accept is completely different (market forces apply). I'm sure they wouldn't turn down superior applicants for positions that don't require english just because of a lousy TOEIC score. At least they shouldn't if they want to stay in business.

@vix86 Nope, I'm saying that the opposite scenario would be unfairer.

I came to Japan under the impression that everything in the workplace would be conducted in English and that getting to learn Japanese would be a bonus they`d provide to make living here easier. That is how my company sold it. That is not what I got.

All employees here have to pass a TOEIC if they want to advance. Even the native English speakers working in the England and US branches. All non-native-English speaking employees in Japan have to pass a TOEIC on some level as well. No one speaks English in the work place. Those who are the best at it are in no way at a level of fluency bar a few in management positions.

It`s just a myth to convince themselves they`re being international when they really have no idea how to do that.

callmedodge, are you saying you work at Rakuten?

Nope, not at all but my company (SMK) has made similar claims with regards English in the workplace. Pretty sure it says it on the website. Being fluent in English is a definite requirement for senior management and most if not all have lived in either America or England for an extended period of time. Lower end staff however have little to no English ability despite claims that English is the official language of the company.

Technically, I suppose you could say it is as, to my knowledge, all international (internal) communication is done in English. Saying that, both the president and vice president of the America/Europe side of things can speak Japanese so who knows really.

callmedodge Wrote:Being fluent in English is a definite requirement for senior management and most if not all have lived in either America or England for an extended period of time. Lower end staff however have little to no English ability despite claims that English is the official language of the company.

Amusingly enough, when I was trying to dig around on how knowing English affected salary pay, I happened to run across some surveying research company in Japan that had surveyed a number of people. One of the interesting data bits was that people making more than 8+ million yen a year said that English was extremely important in their line of work. I think only 10-20% said it wasn't. The obvious correlation here being that knowing English will land you higher paying jobs or your higher paying job will need you to know English. Still can't convince most kids/people that English can help them though, but then those I interact with can't think past 3 years in their life so its no surprise.

Awesome awesome timing on this.
Rakuten's English Policy: Just Speak It

An update on the policy pushed through back in 2010.

Quote:As of April, Rakuten said 79% of documents, meetings and internal communications are conducted in English, an increase from 65% a year earlier.

The company is now taking the next step. Starting in July, Rakuten employees will be required to use English in all internal presentations, documents and memos. In addition, all internal meetings, training sessions, and internal company emails will use English.
....
After implementing the policy, Mr. Mikitani said the company hadn’t offered much support, hoping that people would learn on their own. But sensing that this change was causing a great deal of stress and anxiety for the staff, Rakuten decided to provide free English classes, offered time to study, and made clear that learning English was a part of their job.

To me this reads a lot like its more than just "Senior staff."

I definitely think Rakuten are the black sheep here. It`s a great idea, I think, in order to try to become more effective globally because, like it or not, English is practically the official world language, if we are to have any. I doubt there are very few, if any, other companies implementing similar procedures. I know my role is pretty much the exact opposite - become proficient in Japanese and subsequently move to a western branch to help conduct business between the two. It`s an interesting case study that will hopefully succeed (because I see no reason to wish them ill will) and if it does will hopefully be thought in Japanese business schools.

Japan has to stop thinking the English world are trying to take over and start realising that it already has, decades ago, and if they don`t gear up they will definitely fall off the map. I fear this is inevitable and they will naturally blame the west for "oppressing" them as opposed to embracing the opportunities.

The biggest problem is that Japanese are treating "gaining English proficiency" as some sort of magic seed that's going to turn their country back into what it was in the 80's and that's simply not the case. I don't think English is holding any company back from doing more. If they need to use English for something they'll find a way to deal with it.

The problem is many companies just lack other stuff to make themselves successful....like innovation. The biggest answer to Japan's issues or the US's or any countries really; is to develop the next biggest thing.

Japanese culture just isn't built on fast moving change, I think this is a good reason why many people look at Fast Retailing CO. and Rakuten; and gasp in shock at "OMG They're doing something DIFFERENT!!" And people look around all scared because they wonder if everyone else is going to follow their example.