Should all Japanese directly address foreigners in Japanese ?

[lexico]

I think it's much more likely that they simply felt that they could get by without learning it. I mean, when you consider that most of them were living in military bases where they could get by speaking English all the time and had more contact with English speakers than Japanese speakers, and that most of them probably had no intention of remaining in Japan any longer than they had to, is it really that surprising that they wouldn't put forth the massive effort that would be required to achieve advanced proficiency in Japanese? I'm not saying that I agree with this line of thinking, but it certainly isn't completely bizarre to me -- especially if I try to put myself in the position of e.g. an American serviceman in Japan. I think saying that they necessarily felt "superior" to Japanese/Asians or found the language "unworthy of learning" is a bit too strong.

I'm sorry. I've been excercising a bit of anachronism and extreme characterization here.
Now for clarity's sake, let us limit ourselves to the occupation period and thenafter. Your saying is that in the minds of the US sevicemen during that time, Japanese wasn't necessary and wasn't worth the effort of learning.

[Pachipro]

I think Epigene meant that she didn't know where to meet foreigners who speak well Japanese like us, not the kind of Japanese I or you were referring to.

Epigene, if that is what you ment, I apologize for misinterpreting your statement. 20 lashes with a wet Udon noodle for me!

[Pachipro]

I think it's much more likely that they simply felt that they could get by without learning it. I mean, when you consider that most of them were living in military bases where they could get by speaking English all the time and had more contact with English speakers than Japanese speakers, and that most of them probably had no intention of remaining in Japan any longer than they had to, is it really that surprising that they wouldn't put forth the massive effort that would be required to achieve advanced proficiency in Japanese? I'm not saying that I agree with this line of thinking, but it certainly isn't completely bizarre to me -- especially if I try to put myself in the position of e.g. an American serviceman in Japan. I think saying that they necessarily felt "superior" to Japanese/Asians or found the language "unworthy of learning" is a bit too strong.

Your saying is that in the minds of the US sevicemen during that time, Japanese wasn't necessary and wasn't worth the effort of learning.

I can't speak for jt_, but I agree with what he is saying and what lexico is surmising as I can speak from experience. I was stationed with the US military for the first 4 years of my stay in Japan beginning in early 1973. I moved off base to a Japanese apartment within the first year and began learning Japanese and living like one except for the 8 hours or so per day that I would spend on the base. Not one of my friends, peers, or higher ranking personnel that I knew on that base took any time or effort to learn the language save for a few phrases that would get them by. In the end, I only knew of two people, both Navy personnel that did learn the language and eventually live and go to school in Japan like myself.

As jt_ said there was no need for them to learn. All business and shopping was conducted on the base in English and living on a base is no different than living in a small town in the US as everything is there. Shopping, bowling alleys and other sports, fast food restaurants, bars, etc. I knew of some people who were stationed in Japan and almost never ventured off the base save for one or two times a year. And even then it was with a group of other Americans. I knew some retired personnel with Japanese wives who worked as civilians for the military and have been in Japan more than 15 or 20 years and they hardly knew a lick of Japanese. What a shame and waste. When I questioned them about it they said there was no need to learn Japanese.

This is not only true for the US military. The same holds true for a lot of the kids of international businessmen and embassy people that I went to school with at Sophia University's International Division. Alot of them knew almost nothing of the Japanese culture or language and had no desire to learn. Even their parents were surprisingly ignorant when it came to Japanese and the Japanese culture. Most of them were wealthy, lived in huge, western-style houses in Tokyo, (some of their houses were so huge and western that I thought I was back in the states!); they shopped at the international food stores, ate mostly western food and hob nobbed with only other foreigners or those of their culture. These were not only Americans, but Canadian, Middle Eastern, English, Dutch, German, you name it.

Again, the same holds true for Japanese here in the states. Granted, most of the Japanese men do know a fair amount of English, but their wives do not, nor do they have the desire to learn about English and American culture. Even here, in dinky Nashville, most of the Japanese wives of the company I used to work for, and those of other Japanese companies, spoke almost no English. They would go shopping in a group with at least one wife who knew English fairly well. They would buy their food at Japanese food stores, subscribe to NHK satellite TV, socialize with other wives from the company, and all send their kids to Japanese schools on Saturdays. They would cook their husbands Japanese meals and the men would usually only socialize with other Japanese on their days off to play golf or play mahjong. The men almost NEVER socialized with Americans on their days off unless those Americans played golf.

Therefore, when one has access to anything and everything from their own culture in a foreign country and are only going to be there for a few short years, why should they, or would they want to, learn of another culture if they don't desire? I think the pendulum swings both ways in this case. It is not only limited to foreigners in Japan.