Image 6/72 for "Summary of 2009"

Thanks to the regular Japanese news items, I've not only managed to grow my Japanese audience to 15%, I've also connected up with many Japanese comrade bloggers and social media users.
Again, if you are learning Japanese then you really need to write it regularly - even though its just a few lines a day.
Being able to speak Japanese will open so many more doors of opportunity for you. Just a few facts for you:-
Most of the gaijin I know who are in Japan that don't speak much Japanese are English teachers.
Most of the gaijin I know who are in Japan and speak fluent Japanese are in senior management positions - most of my colleagues at Amazon Japan on the management team were foreigners.
The General Manager was Chinese Canadian, The Director of Entertainment was American, The Finance Director was Canadian and the IT Director was Chinese - all spoke fluent Japanese.

Takeaway 2 - if you really want a career working with or in Japan, learn Japanese and learn it well. Don't start tomorrow - start now.