The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has decided that in 2020 English will be introduced as a compulsory part of the curriculum from third grade of primary school onwards. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism has requested that local governments change romaji signs to English and has already accordingly converted signs around the National Diet. These policies reflect the fact that, due to globalization and the increase of foreign visitors to Japan, English has become more important. Katakana words which express English terms directly in Japanese are already used all over the place – as product names, company names, in advertisements, on billboards… and even bureaucrats and intellectuals like to use them. Accepting this trend, media reports use katakana words – words like “compliance” and “governance” – that the average Japanese would not understand. Some point out that the reason intellectuals use katakana words is elitist; to demonstrate that they are forward thinking by embracing foreign culture. Some are concerned that if this trend continues, Japan’s linguistic culture will be lost. Last year a listener brought a suit against NHK public broadcasting claiming that the overuse of katakana words during broadcasts had caused him emotional upset. Other countries are also anxious about the globalization of English. France’s constitution clearly specifies that “The language of the Republic is French,” and recommends the use of French for products and advertisements. Conversely, in line with the widespread acceptance of Japanese pop culture, such as manga and anime, abroad, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aiming to promote the Japanese language overseas. On the other hand, though the multi-racial nation of Singapore has multiple official languages, English is generally used for administration and this has had a huge effect on attracting global businesses. For many Japanese it’s natural to adopt English, the language of the USA which has had a huge influence on modern Japan, just as Japanese adopted kanji from China, which was then the most advanced country. In any case language is a living thing, and this is apparent when you examine the history of language. Unused words have disappeared; people no longer say “denshi keisanki” but instead say “computer.” (From April issue, 2014 / 2014年4月号より）