Japan’s New Business Language
Japan continues to work inside a linguistic bubble – not least because many firms in Japan are oriented to the domestic market and pay little heed to global trends. But this approach is becoming increasingly difficult to justify, and companies are finding that switching to English makes them more competitive.
TOKYO – Six years ago, I stood before several thousand mostly native Japanese speakers and addressed them in English. From now on, I told them, Rakuten – Japan’s largest online marketplace, of which I am CEO – would conduct all of its business, from official meetings to internal emails, in English. I still remember the shocked expressions on listeners’ faces.