Exec: Non-English speakers cannot do business in 10 years

English is an indispensable business tool for Japanese, who must compete globally as the domestic markets shrink. This especially applies to young people.

So says Tadashi Yanai, president of Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain.

"Just think about Japan in 10 years' time. People who can do their jobs only in Japan will not be able to survive," Yanai, 62, speaking in Japanese, told The Asahi Shimbun in an interview. "Japanese students must think that they are competing with students from other Asian countries."

Fast Retailing will make English its official language for business from 2012.

Yanai spoke about what he expects from students entering the job market and why he believes English is essential for their future.

Excerpts from the interview follow:

Q: What is your definition of "global personnel"?

A: My definition is simple. It's people who can do the jobs they do in Japan anywhere in the world. Japan is losing its allure as a market due to a shrinking population, and companies must compete in the world to grow. What is needed is the ability to understand the culture and thinking in a different country and communicate heart to heart with its people.

Q: Is that why English will be the official language at your company?

A: If people cannot speak English in business in the future, it will be tantamount to not having a driver's license even though they have to drive. English is the language for business not only in the United States and Europe but also in Asia. I think (English is indispensable in business) even though I am running a company in the retail sector, which is most focused on the domestic market. That thinking must be taken for granted in the manufacturing sector, and also applies to the service sectors other than retailing.

Q: But was it necessary to go so far as to designate English as the official language?

A: Without officialdom, employees will not work hard. We can talk in Japanese if we have only Japanese employees. But we will employ non-Japanese people in half of the positions in the head office within three to five years. Without English, we will not be able to even hold meetings.

But I want to emphasize that English is merely a tool for business. Japanese will remain the standard language for our thinking and culture. We have no intention of assimilating our thinking to those of overseas enterprises.

Q: What if students who excel in all subjects except for English want to work for your company?

A: We don't need such students.

Q: You don't mince your words, do you?

A: Life is not a box of chocolates. Just think about Japan in 10 years' time. People who can do their jobs only in Japan will not be able to survive. Some Chinese students learn everyday Japanese conversation in half a year. Japanese students must think that they are competing with students from other Asian countries.

Q: Without working so hard, you could lead a reasonably affluent life in Japan, couldn't you?

A: If the nation becomes poor, you cannot maintain that "reasonably affluent" life. Believing in honorable poverty is dangerous.

Having said that, I can understand how you feel. When I was a student, I thought about how to make a living without working. I joined a company using someone's connections, quit the company in less than a year and crashed in a friend's apartment as a sponger. While the friend went to work, I stayed at his apartment. I lived like that for about half a year.

Q: Did you have something to gain?

A: I was wondering all the way through whether I should live a life like that. I did nothing productive. I was thinking about going abroad to study commerce, but I felt it was like a mere excuse. In the end, my father, who was operating a clothing store in my hometown, called me back, and I took over his business. Contrary to my expectations, I found I was cut out for it.

Q: In your younger days, you were not the hard worker that you are now, were you?

A: Because of my experience during that time, I want to tell young people to devote their energies to work. When you're a student, it's a time to be free and comfortable. But it is also something like a rootless wanderer. Work, on the other hand, has the power to change the world. It takes 10 years to go on your own in business. You can think about your life in many ways after that period.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201111250021