English

Today I met one of my friends and we talked about his English, Japanese people's English in general, learning English, etc. we often talk about this, because that is what my friend's job is about. I mean, I guess it's what my job is about to, but it's a bit different.

Anyway, I went into a bit of a rant because I had recently come across people who get all pissy because a Japanese person doesn't speak English. If this is at some place that specifically deals with foreigners - like immigration for example - then, yes I can see your complaint being valid. Japanese bank? Post office? Supermarket? No, you don't get to complain about them not speaking English.

I think from the Japanese side, it would be beneficial for the individual to know some English, for their own personal careers, experience, opportunities, etc. And it would definitely be good for businesses and organizations to have English speaking staff on hand. But for a foreigner to expect, or worse demand, that there be someone to aid them in English is awful imperious, don't you think? You're in Japan. The language of Japan is Japanese. Japanese people use Japanese. You should expect to hear Japanese from Japanese people who live and work in Japan. What right have you to come to Japan and demand that they speak a different language?

I, of course, am not good at Japanese. There're some things I don't think I could do in Japanese - like open a bank account or deal with contract stuff - without a friend's help. So I'm grateful to the English speakers who have helped me - both staff and friends. I realize they are under no obligation to me to speak English. So I appreciate that they do even more.

Okay, rant over.