English in Japan: Indecisions, Inequalities, and Practices of Relocalization

Abstract

This chapter threads together the socio-historical and structural inequalities and contradictions inherent in the meanings, practices, realizations, and appropriations of English in Japan, a language (as will be seen) that the Japanese are not entirely comfortable with for historical and ideological reasons. I will argue that various realizations, enactments, vacillations, and indecisions concerning English and Englishes in Japan can be traced to Japanese conceptualizations of socio-cultural space in turn closely tied in to a political economy and cultural politics that can be traced back, at least, to the traumas of Japan’s post-war occupation by English-speaking Allied powers led by the forces of the United States. Put simply, the matter of unequal Englishes in Japan defies simple explanations and needs to be understood alongside intricacies to be found in both politics and history. In the course of my discussion, I will address the following issues and how they are linked to the matter of unequal Englishes: (1) the question of whether there is a variety of English which can be called ‘Japanese English’; (2) factors that influence the positioning of a Japanese English vis-a-vis essentialist views of American English as well as formalized and regulatory practices regarding English language education in the country. This chapter concludes that structural and ideological inequalities, inhibitions, prohibitions, and prejudices linked to the presence and treatment of English in Japan are not easily surmountable and are therefore unlikely to go away any time soon.