Many many many words that Japanese people use are English. It's one of the fastest changing language in the world. In a country of Toyota, Honda, Sony and Panasonic - saying 90% of people don't speak or understand English is just plain laughable - and here's the kicker, I lived there for 10 years, and you lose.
Yes, unfortunately Japan is a country with massive Americanisation but just try to communicate in English with those dudes.
I know that those kids study language but at what level?
A close friend of mine is an English teacher in Japan.
She admits that Japan is one of those countries of worst English speakers. She told me that more than 90% Japanese people don't understand even basics.
In elementary schools they're limited to learning just English alphabet.
She herself can't use English any better than for example I do so she too makes mistakes in grammar etc.
I trained Japanese martial arts for years, there were sessions with many Japanese martial artists who travel all around the world. This year 70 members of Japanese budokan visited Poland to train. I was there and found 1 girl speaking English from all of them and I spent few good hours training with them. On Japan week in Poland there were 1500 Japanese people, I found 3 speaking english and I asked really a lot of them.
My family's friends live in Tokyo - city with most English speakers - it's still barely possible to find a job if you don't speak Japanese because most people still don't understand even basic english.
Have you ever tried asking random people on the street do they speak english?
Or were you just hanging with those who did?
Even if people understand few basic words they won't understand things in an album booklet or conversate with you.
Their grammar is totally different, English grammar is hard to understand for them.
The fact is that English is really difficult for Japanese people to learn.
When I say 90% I mean all people - from smaller towns, older people etc. where literally nobody speaks english.
Of course with every year more and more youth in cities speaks english but my friend who's 21 studies it for her whole life and still she's not that good as european after few years of studying.
discussion on this subject:
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/popvox/102