English stirs fear of job loss for Japan (Specific Languages) Language Learning Forum

English stirs fear of job loss for Japan
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Fazla
Hexaglot
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Italy
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Message 1 of 12

21 December 2010 at 6:32pm | IP Logged

I had to change the title, I hope you won't mind.

Quote:

Sun, Nov 21, 2010
AFP




TOKYO, JAPAN - In the cafeteria at the headquarters of Japan's top online retailer Rakuten, employees with furrowed brows can often be seen trying to comprehend the company's strictly English language menus.

The online giant is swapping Japanese for English as its official language company-wide in preparation for an overseas expansion, a move "crucial for us to survive in this competitive industry," said spokesman Hirotoshi Kato.

It is not the only Japanese firm to eschew its native tongue as it searches for overseas growth beyond a moribund, shrinking domestic market.

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As the population shrinks and a stronger yen boosts companies' power for overseas acquisitions, the need for better international communication is growing in Japan as firms pin their survival on emerging markets.

Fast Retailing, which operates the cheap-chic Uniqlo brand, also plans to evolve into a more global company, looking to increase its overseas sales ratio to more than 50 per cent in five years from about 10 per cent now.

"The Japanese market is shrinking while overseas markets are expanding," said Hideki Yoshihara, professor of business management at Nanzan University.

The increasing use of English as a communication tool is "a natural consequence" as the number of non-Japanese coworkers grows, he said.

But at home such moves have ignited a backlash amid fears for Japanese jobs and criticism that a drive to relegate the native language will be more of a disadvantage than advantage against overseas rivals more at home with English.

"You have to have a clear goal of why you need to speak English" said Chikako Tsuruta, professor of interpretation studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

"Speaking in your mother tongue is essential to convey information correctly and swiftly, and that's crucial for doing business," said Tsuruta.

Debate was rekindled after a report last month that electronics maker Sharp will adopt English as its official language in its research and development division in Japan.

Meanwhile, electronics giant Panasonic says about 80 per cent of its global new recruits for white-collar positions will be foreigners in the financial year starting next April.

A recent survey by the Mainichi Shimbun daily said 57 per cent of Japanese are against the use of English as an official language in companies, compared with 43 per cent who support the idea.

"There is no more absurd thing than speaking English in business in Japan," Honda Motor president Takanobu Ito said recently.

But with the strong yen already prompting many firms to shift production into countries with relatively weaker currencies, there are fears Japanese companies may even move their headquarters abroad.

Such moves would exacerbate an already stagnant employment picture. The ratio of new college graduates who immediately found a job hit a record low of 57.6 per cent this year, the labour ministry said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has stressed that his government will work to secure jobs at home to stave off moves by companies to relocate their production bases and offices abroad that would threaten Japan's growth.

"White-collar jobs for Japanese companies used to be only for the Japanese... but not anymore," said Kazuo Ichijo, professor of management at Hitotsubashi University.

"It's more efficient to hire local human resources than to educate Japanese employees to meet local needs," he said.

Kentaro Kakihana, leader of Panasonic's global recruiting team, said the company was seeing "demand for more foreign colleagues to help develop products that suit various local needs".

He cites the example of washing machines being used in parts of western China to wash potatoes instead of clothes.

Japan has lagged behind its Asian rival China in promoting its language abroad.

It is in the process of completing a three-year project to increase the number of Japanese-language schools from 10 in 2007 to 100 this fiscal year across the world, including Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Hungary, Russia and Egypt.

China has rapidly increased state-backed Chinese-language schools from about 180 in 2007 to more than 550 as of November last year.

However, some of Japan's bigger firms are not planning such drastic moves to shun their native language, including the world's largest automaker Toyota Motor, said vice president Atsushi Niimi.

Electronics giant Sony, which is headed by Welsh journalist-turned-CEO Howard Stringer, says it has aggressively recruited engineers in emerging countries such as China and India in recent years.

But for Osamu Kishimoto, the general manager at Sony's human resources development department, nationality is not an issue. "We are just looking for excellent talent."

http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/Office/Story/A1Story201 01121-248352.html
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canada38
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Canada
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Message 2 of 12

22 December 2010 at 2:28pm | IP Logged

On one hand I suppose it is an unfortunate situation. On the other hand, if some business
executives feel switching over to English might boost their profits (or even keep them in
business), one can't really blame them, after all, their job is to make money.
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Lucky Charms
Diglot
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Japan
lapacifica.net
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Message 3 of 12

23 December 2010 at 3:00am | IP Logged

I think it's ridiculous that Japanese companies are doing that lately. My understanding is that first thing they do is let go of all employees at the management level and above who don't speak English (even if their job doesn't take them overseas at all). Also, they require all communication between employees within the company (interpersonal emails, etc.) to be in English (even if it's only Japanese people involved).

I can't help but think that this level goes beyond what's needed as a global company - it probably also has to do with promoting an 'international' image in Japan as well. Like many countries, I guess, Japanese people equate 'English' with 'international' and 'cool'. Businesses and products have faux-English names, UNIQLO's clothes designs and descriptions are all in katakana English and advertised mostly by white models (from their website: STYLE-UP JEANS. CENTER-PRESSでをLINEきれいに！), and Panasonic ends every commercial with an English speaker reading the slogan, 'Ideas for Life'. The average Japanese person has no idea what any of this stuff means, but it makes them somehow take the company more seriously.

This trend recently has sparked a small panic, and lately our English school is getting applications from people who are worried about not being able to find a job or being let go from their current job if they don't speak English.

Edited by Lucky Charms on 23 December 2010 at 3:02am
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Nguyen
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Vietnam
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Message 4 of 12

23 December 2010 at 9:25am | IP Logged

There is a similiar trend here, but, it seems to limited to departments or positions that rquire English speakers. banking and real estate are two big ones that have a big demand for English speakers. Of course the Language Schools love this. The sad thing is they do a pretty bad job of teaching English.
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vientito
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Canada
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Message 5 of 12

24 December 2010 at 6:00pm | IP Logged

Don't they have enough job loss already? The management must have been searching for an alibi for more upcoming job cut. Austerity everywhere. Out should go the bankers first and foremost!
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leosmith
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Message 6 of 12

24 December 2010 at 8:55pm | IP Logged

Lucky Charms wrote:

first thing they do is let go of all employees at the management level and above who don't
speak English

I don't believe this is true. Could you please site it?
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Lucky Charms
Diglot
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Message 7 of 12

25 December 2010 at 3:53am | IP Logged

leosmith wrote:

Lucky Charms wrote:

first thing they do is let go of all employees at the management level and above who don't
speak English

I don't believe this is true. Could you please site it?

http://www.toyokeizai.net/business/interview/detail/AC/810ee 47297d49033c2a4b43a0a5216e0/

According to this interview with the president of Rakuten, employees will be fired after two years if they can't achieve a certain TOEIC score (700 or 800 depending on the position in the company). (I couldn't find information on the grace period for Uniqlo, Panasonic, etc., although it's reasonable to assume they'd have similar policies.) So it's not right away, as I had understood it. This is a less shocking and slightly more reasonable policy, to the companies' credit, although I think that realistically it's out of reach for the majority of Japanese.

The first article I read on the subject, in the English-language Yomiuri Daily in November, worded it a little more vaguely: something along the lines of, 'employees who are unable to achieve a certain TOEIC score will be dismissed', without mentioning the time frame. It could be that they intentially left out that information in order to be sensationalistic. Some Japanese people I've discussed the topic with (who presumably didn't read the same English article I did) also seemed to have interpreted it this way.

Edited by Lucky Charms on 25 December 2010 at 3:58am
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leosmith
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Message 8 of 12

25 December 2010 at 9:27am | IP Logged

Lucky Charms wrote:

leosmith wrote:

Lucky Charms wrote:

first thing they do is let go of all employees at the management level and above who don't
speak English

I don't believe this is true. Could you please site it?

I didn't read the article, because it would take me some time. Does it or does it not state that the "first thing they do is let go of all employees at the management
level and above who don't speak English"?

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