We've all witnessed it, and some of us are even guilty of it. The gaijin in
front of you in line at McDonalds approaches the counter and blurts out "Hi, how ya doin' today? I'll have one of those Big Macs and a cone. And could I get an apple pie as well?", all the while the 16 year cashier convulses in horror of the rapid fire onslaught of English. I know that that gaijin was probably a tourist and not a resident of Japan, but how hard is it to say "BIG MAC O KUDASAI"? That must be written somewhere in his guidebook.

''I'm only planning to be here for one year, so learning Japanese would be a waste of time.''

''English is the international language, so I don't have to learn Japanese.''

Really? Tell that to the horrified cashier who doesn't have a clue what you just said. While the English language may be very international, Japan isn't.

Foreign nationals make up only about 1% of the Japanese population, and most of those are Koreans and Chinese born and raised in Japan, who speak Japanese as a native language. I haven't conducted a scientific study, but from my experiences I'd estimate that less than 10% of Japanese people can engage in even simple conversation in English. Japan is slowly changing, but in the meantime it's up to us to adapt to Japan. Japan doesn't have to become international if it doesn't want to.

''Japanese is spoken in only one country.''

Well, not exactly. True, it's the official language and main language of only one country, but it is spoken in other places as well. In the earlier part of the Twentieth century Japan colonized various places in Asia, and tried to mold the locals into Japanese subjects by making Japanese the language of education and administration. Particularly in Korea and Taiwan, many members of the older generation can speak Japanese fluently. And these days, young people all over Asia study Japanese to gain an economic advantage. Almost everywhere I've gone in Asia, particularly in Indonesia, Thailand, and Taiwan, I've met locals who were much more comfortable speaking Japanese than English, so Japanese became our lingua franca. In addition to that, 18 million Japanese tourists travel abroad every year. I've encountered Japanese travelers in every country I've ever visited, most of whom had limited English skills. Of course outside of Japan I always speak to them in English as much as possible, but I've met many people who were happy to speak Japanese once communication broke down. So Japanese is useful to a certain extent outside of Japan.

''Japanese is hard!''

You're right! It's quite a difficult language to learn, at least for English speakers. But that doesn't mean you have to avoid it entirely. It's okay if you're not willing to put in the time and effort to learn a monstrous 2000+ kanji, but you can become quite conversant in Japanese without knowing many kanji. The spoken language requires some mind-bending for English speakers, but Japanese is systematic and there is little in the way of exceptions. Just get used to thinking backwards!

''My girlfriend likes to speak English.''

Well, would she dump you if you spoke Japanese? If so, get rid of her!
She's using you! Otherwise, don't worry about it. She'd probably enjoy helping you, because you've helped her with English. Every girl I've dated in Japan has been more than willing to speak Japanese with me or take turns speaking English and Japanese. I've had first dates with girls who refused to speak Japanese...but not second dates!

And even if your girlfriend likes to practice English with you, that doesn't mean she'll enjoy having to call the internet company for you or come with you to the ward office to translate for you for years to come. I've seen relationships go sour because the woman started to resent being a babysitter.

''I'm too lazy!''

Believe me, so am I! I can't study at home, because I end up turning on the tv, using the internet, or listening to music. So to combat my laziness I created a routine. After work I go to a coffee shop by myself with nothing but my textbooks, so I really have no choice but to study. It's now become such a regular part of my life that if I don't do it I'm really bored that evening.

And even if you're not feeling internally motivated, you can be externally motivated by setting some kind of goal for yourself. Perhaps the most common way of doing this is by taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, held every December. I've taken this test every year since arriving in Japan, starting with level 4 (the lowest), and recently taking level 1 (the highest...which I failed). Knowing that you have only once chance to nail the test, and that if you fail you have to wait another year to retake it, has been a great external motivator for me and helped me stick to a consistent study schedule.

Studying Japanese does require consistent effort and it may be hard to see the benefits if you have no long term plans in Japan. "I'll never become fluent, so what's the point?" is a common attitude. But learning Japanese isn't about being able to say you're fluent, or adding a new skill to your resume.
It's about enriching your experience in Japan for however long you may be here.
So stop making excuses, and allow yourself to experience Japan for all it's worth. You'll be amazed how quickly you get your Big Mac!