English Acquisition as Human Capital For Sustainable Management: The Japanese Challenge

Abstract

In the competitive global marketplace, corporations are adjusting to sustainable management in line with UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a diversity of innovative ways. One such innovation is the adoption of English as the universal business language. Effective English communication is an asset for workers which ensures international mobility, wider job search and faster rise in career ladders. For firms, the payoff is higher productivity and better job performance. In the post-Pandemic period, the Japanese corporations are adopting English as part of sustainable management. However, the conventional teaching of English as Foreign Language (EFL), emphasizing grammar and syntax, is far from facilitating sustainable management. This paper highlights the serious institutional and cultural challenges facing Japan in the transition to sustainable management.