This is a comparative study of English language education in Japan and Singapore and the role English plays in both countries. English language education in Japan has not been very effective. Although the communicative approach to teaching English was introduced in the 1980s, schools still use the grammar-translation method and most Japanese do not possess the communicative skills necessary for interacting with foreigners. Government rhetoric has also been hesitant in encouraging the learning of English due to concerns about English becoming a threat to the Japanese language and Japanese identity. This paper uses the case study of the Singaporean Chinese to point out that unlike in the Singaporean case, the chances of the Japanese shifting towards the English language and the values associated with it are relatively low.