Japan is known for its low proficiency in English, even though we study it in schools for several years.

As a Japanese person who grew up in Japan, I also found it challenging to communicate with English speakers when I started studying abroad in the US for college. 

In this blog, I’ll share 5 observations I’ve made based on my experience and research that might help explain why English is such a hard language for Japanese people.

Japan Ranked 92nd out of 116 Countries

EF Education First (EF), an international education company, reported on its 2024 edition of the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) that Japan ranked 92^nd out of 116 countries overall and 16^th among 23 Asian countries.

Out of EF’s 5 scales (from Very Low to Very High), Japan is categorized as “Low” proficiency. According to EF, people with low proficiency can accomplish tasks like navigating an English-speaking country as tourist, engaging in small talk with colleagues, or understanding simple emails from colleagues.

Interestingly, age trends show that younger people (18-25 years old) in Japan have lower proficiency than older generations (26+ years old).

For more information about EF and EF SET, visit their website.

5 Reasons Why We Struggle with English

1.    Linguistic Differences

There are significant structural and phonetic differences between the two languages.

Japanese follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) structure, whereas English uses a SVO. At the initial stage of learning English, Japanese learners often structure a sentence in Japanese and then restructure it in English. This mental translation process can make speaking English slow and difficult.

English contains sounds that don’t exist in Japanese.

For example, Japanese people often substitute the voiceless “th” (as in think) with the “s” sound, which is the closest equivalent in Japanese.

Also, “r” and “l” are distinct sounds in English, but Japanese only has one sound, which falls somewhere between the English “r” and “l” sounds. Since they don’t grow up hearing the distinction between “r” and “l” sounds in their native language, they don’t develop the ability to distinguish between the two sounds naturally.

When learning English as adults, this makes it challenging to perceive the difference between them, and as a result, to pronounce them accurately.

I found a helpful video on YouTube by a professor from Shizuoka University in Japan for anyone interested in learning more about this topic. His lecture covers what I mentioned but in a more comprehensive manner. I learned something new myself.

2.    Too Much Focus on Exams

The Japanese education system still prioritizes rote memorization and exam preparation over practical communication skills.

On most English tests, grammar rules like prepositions (to, for, in, etc.), relative pronouns (who, which, whom, etc.), subjunctive mood (if…, I wish…, etc.) will be a large portion of the tests because it is easy to mark for the teachers.

Since the purpose of learning English is not to communicate in real life situations but to pass exams for most Japanese students, they focus on accuracy and it fosters a “no mistakes” mindset, which often hampers practical skills, where you can only learn from making mistakes while speaking.

This couple tries a reading section from Japan’s standardized university entrance exam (aka National Center Test). You can take a stab at what kind of questions Japanese students are expected to answer.

In this video, she takes a look at the National Common Test, a new version of the standardized exam that replaced the National Center Test in 2021 as part of an educational reform to foster more critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

3.    Fear of Making Mistakes

Japanese culture often values perfection and conformity, which can create a fear of making mistakes, especially in public. This mindset stems from the following two cultural attributes:

Many Japanese people have a very high level of attention to detail, so high that they focus too much on getting every rule and structure right, whether it’s grammar or pronunciation. As a result, they overthink and avoid speaking altogether if they don’t think they can speak perfectly. Many Japanese learners are hesitant to speak up not only in English but also in their native language out of concern for being judged or embarrassing themselves.

Japanese people are taught to be unobtrusive to others within a group or society since they are kids. In a society like this, where maintaining harmony is crucial, standing out, even in a positive way, can cause discomfort. This mindset discourages individuals from practicing English openly.

4.    No Need of English in Daily Life

Japan is a very homogeneous society, where 97.5% of the population is Japanese according to CIA.

Almost everything, from business to entertainment, is available in Japanese. The average Japanese person can navigate life comfortably without English. This lack of necessity may reduce the motivation to invest the time and effort needed to achieve fluency in a language they rarely use outside of academic settings.

This interviewer speaks with young people in Japan in English. They mention that they think it would be cool if they could speak English. You might be questioning, “Then why don’t you study?” Well, the lack of necessity might be the main reason behind this.

This is another interview video. They share similar opinions about the challenges of learning English in Japan.

5.    Full of Japanized English: Katakana and Wasei Eigo

Katakana, one of Japan’s writing systems, is used to represent foreign loanwords, and this often leads to “Japanized” English (wasei eigo). These words, in many cases, have different meanings from their original counterparts, which can easily cause misunderstandings and confusion for learners.

She shares more examples of Japanglish words commonly used in everyday life.

Conclusion

Japanese people face a mix of challenges when it comes to learning English, like big differences between the languages, how English is taught in schools, cultural habits, limited exposure in everyday life, and wasei eigo.

While more people are getting access to online resources and English media, learning the language is still tricky because it’s tied to deeper cultural and social norms.

My Personal Experiences

Here are some of my unique experiences when learning English.

I was born in the US (and lived there until the age of 4) but grew up in Japan. My parents told me that I spoke both English and Japanese while in the US, but guess what happened after my family moved back to Japan?

I completely forgot English.

At that time, English wasn’t taught in kindergarten and elementary school, and I think I lost 100% of my English during the six years of elementary school. You might think, “You were in the US for four years. You must have still had an ear for English.”

No. I did not.

As a kid, I had zero opportunities to use English in my daily life in Japan and no motivation to re-learn it. Simply put, I didn’t feel it was necessary. I was always playing baseball with my Japanese friends.

Language is just like building muscle or practicing an instrument.

If you don’t keep using it, you lose it.

I still remember that I got only 18 out of 50 in a listening test during high school and was still excited with the 18-points score since I had no idea what the speakers were saying and the points that I did get were pure luck.

A turning point came when I was deciding what path to take after graduating high school.

Throughout my life, I didn’t feel any need to study English. But there was one funny fact:

I was the only one in my family with US citizenship, and I was also the only one who couldn’t speak English.

Both of my parents were fluent, which is rare in Japan, and my older sister spoke English fluently as well. She was in the US between the ages of 2 and 6, a critical period for language development (I still can’t help wondering if my English level would have been so much better if I was in the US for just another year or two longer until I was 5 or 6…).

I did not like being the odd one out, so I finally decided to relearn English – not to pass exams but to actually use it in real life. Doesn’t that sound like a silly motivation to study English? I think so too, but I am very competitive, and I really wanted to change that fact about myself.

Believe it or not, there are a few US universities with campuses in Japan. I entered one of them. The first two years were in Japan, but all the classes were conducted in English, and there were quite a few international students from around the world. This gave me a great opportunity to practice both listening and speaking.

For the last two years, I studied on the university’s main campus in the US. The first semester on the main campus was probably one of the most stressful and meaningful times of my life. It was incredibly challenging because my English skills weren’t good enough to communicate with local students without constantly asking them to speak slowly so I could understand. I wanted to cry every time they looked annoyed.

I am a born competitor and perfectionist (very Japanese, I suppose…), so I was afraid of being judged or making mistakes in front of others. It was also very lonely. I spent most of my time in my room, studying for exams with minimum human interaction. Looking back, I think I was justifying isolating myself by telling myself I needed to pass exams to earn credits. But deep down, I knew that what I really wanted was not to study but make friends and good memories with them.

At this point, I hadn’t decided whether to stay in the US or return to Japan after graduation, but I didn’t want to waste the limited time I had by isolating myself. So I decided to take this chance to change my situation.

I started by applying for an on-campus job at a café. Luckily, my work experience at Starbucks in Japan helped and I got the job. On my first day, I had so many butterflies in my stomach and my heartbeat was so loud I could hear it in my throat. I still remember how anxious I was about whether my coworkers would be annoyed by my limited English. But my worries were unnecessary. Everyone was so kind, and we became friends instantly.

There were definitely times when they struggled to understand what I was trying to say. But as we got to know each other better, our relationship grew closer and closer, and my English became better and better. I loved working and chatting with them, having lunch together, and watching college games as a group. One day, I realized I was completely immersed in English! This significantly improved my English skills.

And now, I work as a data analyst at a U.S. company!

I’m very proud of myself for taking that one brave step to step out of my comfort zone and confront my fear of embarrassment and perfectionism.

I personally had a tough time learning English due to the factors I mentioned earlier, and I’m still working on improving. One thing I’ve learned is that learning a language is an endless journey. No matter how proficient you become, there’s always something new to discover. It’s important to enjoy the entire process of learning – embracing both successes and mistakes.

As someone who has experienced how learning English can open many doors, I really hope that many other Japanese people experience the same, and maybe learn how fun it is even if you make mistakes.