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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

An update on the policy pushed through back in 2010.

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."

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.