Japan needs to improve English education system

It is often pointed out that English education in Japan has not advanced much since the Meiji era (1868-1912).

As if to support this view, a newspaper here reported in September 1999, that the average TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Languaeg) score for Japanese examinees, at 498 out of 677 points, was the lowest among 25 Asian countries.

A year later, the average score for Japan had risen to 501, ranking 18th out of 21 Asian countries. Nevertheless, scores in China and South Korea were 543 and 535, respectively, still much higher than Japan's average score.