A language is a tool for communication. It is also the medium of a nation's culture, even identity.
Language can be a barrier, or a bridge, between different peoples.
A panel set up recently by Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo recommended that Japan consider adopting English as a second official language sometime in the future. That means mastery of information technology and of English as the international lingua franca. But opponents argue that the average Japanese has no need to understand much English, so making it an official language would be a wasteful burden. They say such a move would accelerate declining standards in the Japanese language or even damage the national identity, opening the door to linguistic imperialism. The notion of Japanese abandoning their own language in favor of English is far-fetched, to say the least.