Should all Japanese directly address foreigners in Japanese ?

[Maciamo]

What's foreigner's proportion in Japan? And what's foreigner's proportion in western countries? Among those foreigners, how much is the proportion of people who can fluently speak the language of the coutry he stays?

There are about 2 million registered foreigners (i.e. residents) in Japan, most of whom are Japan-born Korean and Chinese and speak so well Japanese that the Japanese couldn't tell they are not Japanese (because they don't look foreign). There are only about 120,000 Western residents in Japan (0,1% of the population), but most of them can speak at least some Japanese. Those who can't are mostly tourists, and stay in touristical areas (you know around temples, Tokyo tower, shops in Ginza and Shibuya, etc.).

The Japanese think that Koreans and Chinese living in Japan also can't speak Japanese !

The other day I saw a TV programme about the Korean community in Japan. Those Koreans have lived all or most of their lives in Japan, and speak perfect Japanese. But when the Japanese TV interviewer came with the camera into the Korean shop in Tokyo, the first thing they said upon hearing "konnichiwa" from the Korean shopowner, was "oooh, nihongo jouzu desu ne !" (or you Japanese is so good). Not something one should say to a permanent resident who may have been born and raised in Japan. This certainly proves that the Japanese think that any foreigners (not just Westerners) are unable to learn their "unique and difficult" language. It's very offensive, and that's just daily occurence on Japanese TV.

Westerners coming to Japan usually learn Japanese

Keep in mind that most Westerners living in Japan or just visiting are people interested in Japan (the only exception being the expats sent there by their company, or business people on short visits and usually staying in expensive hotels and having little contact with the locals, or US soldiers, which I didn't count in the 120,000 Western residents). Japan is far from Western countries, it's an expensive place to travel, and the only worthwhile beaches are limited to Okinawa (not really Japan). What's more, most Japanese products can be purchased at similar price in Western countries, so shopping is not even a reason to come to Japan (except for some "otaku" maybe).

So Westerners usually come here for the culture (traditional or modern) or for the people (including boy/girlfriend), which both require them to learn the language. Therefore, no matter whether they are tourists or residents, most Westerners should at least speak some Japanese (depending on how long they have been there and their individual language skills).