Japanese Copy Editing

I see this advertisement just as I get off the train in the middle of the Sotetsu platform in Yokohama. While the average male looking at this would be a bit surprised and feel even a bit challenged, and maybe even inclined to join the fitness club that is advertised, this lack of attention to what is actually written on the model's shirt really does hurt the corporate image.

Before doing a shoot, isn't there usually an art director or some kind of manager whose six years of English education actually means something? It's amazing to live in a country with such a strict mandatory English education system, but still have the most English illiterate society in Asia.... even worse than most poor countries in the region; the Phillipines, for example. However, I think much has improved over the past ten years and we are just starting to see the fruits of a couple of changes in the younger twenty-somethings out there. One such change was the realization that Japanese nationals teaching English in public and private schools is probably not an effective solution - duh! This was the craziest thing I heard some years ago. The Ministry of Education in Japan gets away with some stupid policies and still runs unaccountable for its actions. This advertisement and corporate and social Japan's globalization are the biggest indication of this unaccountability.