You know, coming to know different customs and way of thinking are quite a fun and will be of use and help in the future.
I also agree with your point-out that Japanese have complex in English and are afraid of talking to and being talked to by foreigners. I think Japanese are more shy in comparison with foreign people as you said and this Japanese characteristic makes us more nervous in communicating with foreign people in English, I believe.
I use English at work, mainly in writing and reading and so I go to English conversation school to improve or at least keep my English ability. When I am at the school, I don't have so much trouble in understanding what teachers' are saying and expressing myself. But when I talk to customers over the phone in English at work, you know, I always have troubles. You know native speakers, I mean excluding teachers, speak very fast and speak many words together. So, I am always nervous to receive phone calls from foreign customers at work.
My teachers say only thing insufficient in my English ability is confidence, but that is something very difficult to have for us, non-native speakers, maybe especially for Japanese people. This kind of feeling could only be understood by someone who have experienced to learn a language other than their mother language, I think. So, I think when you (native speakers) talk to non-native speakers, you should be more patient and tolerant.
E-mail is very useful!! Easy,quick,not expensive! But I think almost Japanese businessman can't enjoy e-mail because of no time. As far as I know,they are using e-mai l to their business only.But the situaion will chang in the future. May be about 20 years later,many people will have their own computer at hou se, like a phone,like a air conditioning.Although that's very useful,we have to be carefulnot to be misled by false information.
When I bought a computer in the end of 1997, I finally came back to the earth. I GOT e-mail! I was able to connect to Japan with local phone charge. I was able to chat with Japanese through Yahoo and no need to worry about bills. My lonely Jamaican days turned to be the one full of Japanese language. When I woke up in the morning the first thing I did was turn on the computer and open my mail box. Just like you Cora, I also enjoyed checking mails and returning them. That was the revolution to me. The world was open to me though I had problems at the same time : 1) Server often went down in Jamaica. 2) The line was always busy in Jamaica. 3) The light often went out in Jamaica. 4) Nobody in Jamaica tried to solve these problems. STILL I thanked for this technology of e-mail because it made me one in the earth and allowed me to take part in the earth -standard so called.
I came back to Japan few months ago. Now I exchange mail with my Japanese friends living in Jamaica and USA. For ones in the US, I have to write in English because all of their computer doesn't accept Japanese at all. It's strange for both of us to talk in English, though our native language is Japanese. Maybe they in the US are OK to use English as it is daily basis. For me, living in Japan and don't speak English basically, it's not easy. Sometime my English is not good enough to discuss the serious matters they bring me such as ; I should take BBA course or MBA course at my transferred college? ; My boy friend met another girl. I should leave him or fight with him? etc etc. Though I try to write as simple and clear as possible, it seems that my English has caused them to feel stress or frustaration. They cry out " you do not understand what I mean! " or " I wish I could talk to you in Japanese" or " How long did you study English?" or " I'm sick and tired of your strange English ". Now their complains through e-mail makes me feel as if I were alien again. Everyday I'm praying for them to download Japanese software through MSN. ( I did suggest them to do that many times!)
In this Aug. an American senior high school boy stayed with us. He sent E-mails to his family everyday. And I found his father is a judge. My older son and his wife are judges, too. So I sent to his father E-mail, he sent back and wrote American judicial system. It was interesting.
I enjoy E-mails so much, and I send it to my two son's family and some of my friends. But they are busier than me. I can't get answere so often as I wish. So I feel my interest for E-mails seems to have cooled off a bit recently.
One of my best friends moved to Awaji island in this Aug. She and her husband are going to get P.C. soon, so I look forward to exchange E-mails with her in the near future.
Now many young women are doing P.C. Most of my young friends who are thirties do P.C., but my friends of the same generation don't. I'm 62 years old. It's lovely to talk with my young friends, but sometimes I wish to talk about different topics like about our old parents, our physical condition, grandchildren, etc. My friends of the same generation seem to think P.C. is too troublesome or difficult. I wish they study how to use it and enjoy.
You wrote about the fact that the Japanese are weak in English. Even I,who live in Japan since I was born, think that the Japanese are ashamed of communicating in English. And I myself had felt so for a long time. But, once I could communicate with people speaking in English, I never felt ashamed of communicating in English.
To be ahamed of other culture is the Japanese characteristics. We know that, but we should never give it up. We have to recognize the characteristics and create the way to get over the weakeness in English. By English education at school, children should learn English not as other culture, but as the means to communicate in the world. That's my opinion about the education.
I taught English at high school as a student teacher in June. While I was teaching, I felt that the student should have more opportunity to communicate in English(E-mail, speaking, etc.)
I've visited U. Washington last week to attend a symposium. Then, I found what you said in your essay in Sunday's Asahi and what I felt there have much in common.
First, Many of my Japanese colleagues were apt to get together and speak in Japanese there. Their English are not so good but I saw many Indians, Chinese, German, French whose English were worse but much more outgoing. I myself cannnot hear and speak as native speakers do, but I made many friends there and was often said "You seem different from typical Japanese."
Second, I liked the habit of saying hello to anyone who come across or just sit next to each other in the Seattle. Here, I can hardly find a Japanese who says hello to strangers.
I think the nature of Japanese people is not bad but many lack the ability to communicate with people of different background partly because Japan is monoracial nation.
I am a man of 31 yrs old working for Federal Express Corp in Tokyo. I am sure that internet communication in English could help me improving my English skill.