In Japan, is English more likely to be understood and spoken by young people than old people?
Upvote:3
I don't know about young people today, but my experience in Japan 25 years ago was that almost no one spoke English except those for whom it was an obvious job requirement, e.g., Palace tour guide. Hotel keepers spoke broken English, enough to explain necessities (breakfast, bath rules). The only exception was one boy about 16, who saw us staring bewildered at a cafe where it was necessary to order food by purchasing tickets from a monoglot vending machine. His English was fluent, but when we complimented him he insisted it was no better than his friends'. That was our second cultural lesson of the day.
TL;DR. Young people may speak English, but older ones outside established tourist venues, no.
Upvote:6
Having a friend who lives in Japan, I can assure you that the new generations have at least a basic knowledge of english. As you said, it is hardly unthinkable that older people may be able to speak english. In any case, the level is not that high due to the fact that they have to learn a brand new alphabet, write and speak in a totally different way to the one that they are used to.
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