Japanese
billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani decided two years ago that the employees at his
company, Rakuten Inc., should work almost entirely in English. The idea, he
said, was a daring and drastic attempt to counter Japan's
shrinking place in the world.
"Japanese
people think it's so difficult to speak English," Mikitani said.
"But we need to break the shell."
With
the move, which took effect at the beginning of last month, Mikitani turned
his e-commerce company - an Amazon competitor - into a test case for
corporate Japan's survival strategy.
As
Japan's population declines, all but guaranteeing ever-decreasing domestic
business, companies here are grappling
with how they should interact with the world and whether they can do it
successfully.
The
country has both a dread of English and an understandable attachment to its
own ornate business customs. Those
idiosyncrasies made Japan a
bewildering but envied powerhouse during its economic boom. They now make
Japan a poor match, experts say, for global business.
Mikitani
took a step few other companies here have dared because, he said, he thought
it would help his company expand and thrive.
He also wanted to prove a point - that the Japanese, counter to the stereotype, could embrace the risks
and embarrassment that come with learning a foreign language.
At the
time of the 2010 announcement, only about 10 percent of Rakuten's 6,000
Japanese employees could function in English, according to a case study by
the Harvard Business School.
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VOCABULARY
1.
Daring - involving a lot of risk or danger, or
brave enough to do risky things
2. Drastic - extreme and sudden
3.
Grappling - to try hard to deal
with or understand something difficult
4.
Ornate – covered with a lot of decoration
5. Idiosyncrasies - an unusual habit or way of behaving that someone has
6. Thrive - to become very successful
7.
Stereotype - a belief or idea of
what a particular type of person or thing is like.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Do
you agree with the statement "Japanese people think it's so difficult to
speak English"? Why? Why not?
2.
How
important is English in your country now?
3.
Name
other companies in Japan using English for communications.
4.
Discuss
about you English study habits.
5.
What
is your purpose in studying the language?
