A recent education ministry survey evaluated Japanese "third-year middle school students" on their attitudes toward learning English. One editorial indicated that the results of the survey showed that students nationwide had an "ambivalent and contradictory attitude toward English." Wow, imagine 14-year-olds being ambivalent and contradictory!
The problem seems to be that while 85 percent of the students thought English was important, and 70 percent said knowing English would help them get a job, only 11 percent wanted a job requiring English. The editorial found this contrast between what students said was important and what they wanted for themselves "disappointing."
But I wonder, should we expect 14-year-olds to have clear ideas of what they want to do in their careers? I can think of lots of things that, like English, would be advantageous to a career, but that doesn't mean students should study them all.