“It didn’t matter if the sign said ‘flesh’ or ‘fresh’ or ‘meat,’” recalls Dougill, a professor at Ryukoku University, who has researched the use of English in Japan. “It was just there to catch people ...

In March 2010, I stood before several thousand mostly native Japanese speakers and addressed them in English. From now on, I told them, Rakuten would conduct all of its business, from official ...