Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura is considering making Japanese ability a requirement for long-term gaijin. Of course the ministry haven't said what level of proficiency would be needed, who would be required to prove their language levels, or how and when any of this might be implemented.
With my still limited Japanese, this strikes a certain amount of terror in my heart.
But like all of Japan's rules and regulations, it will be approached with a certain amount of flexibility and "spirit of the law" that will be in the hands of each bureaucrat. So がんばりましょう！
Hmmm, I suspect that the possibility of reciprocal arrangements with other countries will make this a very short-lived and superficial proposal. I could be wrong, but it seems that these kinds of proposals are aimed more at garnering the attention and support of certain demographics or other politicians.
I mean, once you (the foreign minister) have all these long-term foreigners speaking the language (which they would never be able to do properly anyway, of course), isnt there a possibility that you might have to start listening to them ask for citizenship and the right to vote in a language you actually understood?
Or am i just getting cynical in my old age?