JALT Business Communication

Language Strategy as Organizational Capability: Reframing the Corporate

Monolingual Paradox in Japan

Saeko Ozawa Ujiie
SBF Consulting LLC

JALT Business Communication Journal, 2025
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.BzCom3.1-9

Abstract

Despite decades of investment in English training and the widespread recognition of English as a global business necessity, many Japanese corporations remain functionally monolingual. This conceptual perspective argues that this paradox cannot be explained by individual language proficiency alone. Instead, it reflects deeper organizational, cultural, and societal dynamics that treat language as a peripheral skill rather than a strategic organizational capability. Drawing on prior empirical research and interdisciplinary scholarship in business communication and international management, the paper reframes corporate language use as an issue of governance, leadership communication, and inclusion. It introduces the concept of strategic language capability, emphasizing the interaction of linguistic diversity, leadership behavior, and AI-mediated communication practices. The paper concludes by outlining implications for business communication research, education, and corporate practice in Japan.

Keywords: business communication; language strategy; corporate monolingualism; Japan; leadership communication; AI-mediated communication

Saeko Ozawa Ujiie is an international business consultant at SBF Consulting in Tokyo. She previously worked as an investment specialist at Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Merrill Lynch in London, New York, Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, and Tokyo. She holds degrees from Northwestern University (MBA), the University of California, Berkeley (MA), and Waseda University (BA). She has over a decade of university teaching experience and currently serves as President of the JALT Business Communication SIG.