I have been reading about the program to bring 300,000 foreign students to Japan, and to increase the number of offerings in English. But I would have to question why anyone would want to study in an English program here.

I am 48, married to a Japanese national, have two kids and a mortgage. I have lived in Japan for 15 years and have created a large body of original teaching materials. I am a permanent resident and use Japanese as often as English with other teachers. At present, I teach English under direct contracts and agreements with schools, businesses and individuals.

I will finish an MBA program in Tokyo in October. I went to two big job fairs and have contacted headhunters (Japanese and Western), but was told everywhere that I need collegiate Japanese reading and writing skills to even be considered. The four years of intense study needed to reach the appropriate level has never seemed to have a payoff. The "commodity" view of agencies and Japanese schools toward foreign workers has only reinforced this sense of futility of effort (as does starting my job search at 52 years old).

I want to stay in Japan, but it is getting harder to be optimistic. In March, I will go to job fairs in the United States. My wife has a job that will provide a pension, so she must stay. This means that if I get a U.S. job, it will be a case of tanshinfunin (taking up a post without one's family). So, with all this education, creativity and experience supposedly going for me, I wonder why any 18-year-old would risk his or her future by studying in an English program here and then run into an immediate career dead end upon graduating?

name withheld