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A customer of mine who had traveled to Japan asked me why the Japanese don’t speak English.
He probably thinks the Japanese are a superior people with a high-quality education.
I am very flattered by this misunderstanding. But unfortunately his perception and the reality are different.
It is estimated that only around 10% of Japanese people speak English.
In larger cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, the proportion is much higher, but in rural areas, English-speaking Japanese are very rare.
While some people can communicate with a translation app, others refuse to do so.
Japanese learn English in junior and senior high school.
Some children go to an English tutoring school when they are in elementary school.
However, many Japanese do not speak English.
So my client asked me why the Japanese don’t speak English.
Japanese people only speak Japanese on a daily basis and therefore do not feel obliged .
There is no situation where a foreign language has to be spoken.
I think that’s the reason why the Japanese don’t speak English.
If there were books that could only be read in English and movies that could only be watched in English, the Japanese would speak English better.
But conveniently, various things of interest to Japanese people have been translated into Japanese.
This may be inconvenient for foreign travelers.
Even in hospitals, English is often not spoken.
Doctors read medical articles in English. They understand English, but many cannot communicate well in English.
It is therefore advisable to check whether interpreting services are included in the travel insurance.
It is advisable to learn basic Japanese before entering Japan.
In particular, it is useful to learn the Japanese words you will need in an emergency.
Japan is a country prone to natural disasters. Initial information will naturally be provided in Japanese.
Obtaining information in English takes more time.
Many Japanese do not speak English, so it depends on luck whether someone can translate for you.
My small travel agency can also offer simple Japanese courses before the trip via ZOOM or Skype.
In addition, the concierge service provides advice in emergencies.
To make studying kanji more fun, we’ve uploaded kanji videos to YouTube.
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