JAPAN Forward’s “Ignite” column is a series where students in Japan share their voices in English. Misaki Anzai has new ideas to make learning to communicate in English more fun and less intimidating. To get there, she challenges the Japanese tradition of perfection in class studies in gentle and achievable ways.
This 50th essay in the Ignite series introduces the second of ten presentations by the finalists in the GEM Talks 2026 competition, a youth leadership training program for high school students. The program focuses on the “power of talks,” writes its founder, Kanako Date, working to hone students’ logical thinking, practice brainstorming ideas, and strengthen their self-awareness and communication skills.
Individually and collectively, students like Misaki Anzai, from Tokyo’s Gakushuin Women’s High School, are already at work on plans to bring their dreams to life. They are using the power of their voices and determination to shape our global future. Ms Anzai won the Excellence Award for her presentation in English in the 5th National High School English Presentation Camp final on the stage of the International Forum in Tokyo.
Can her ideas take root in Japanese education? Let’s listen.
Misaki Anzai beams with a smile after the tournament. (©Japan Forward/Mika Sugiura)
Fiftieth in the Series, ‘Ignite‘
Misaki Anzai
Winner of the Gem Talks 2026 Excellence Award
Watch Misaki Anzai deliver her presentation in English:
Beyond Perfection: Unlocking the Power of Language
by Misaki Anzai
[Unofficial Transcript]
If you had 1,000 hours, what would you do? What do you think you can achieve? Well, actually, Japanese students spend around 1,000 hours learning English during their school years. We study English almost every day with more tests and homework than any other subject.
After all those hours, many still struggle to communicate confidently in English. As a first-year high school student in Tokyo, I have only received traditional Japanese education since kindergarten. Like most students, at first I felt proud when people said my language ability was rare in Japan. But soon I began to question it. Why do we spend so many hours learning yet still cannot express ourselves?
According to the EF English proficiency ranking, Japan ranked 96th out of 123 countries, with a low proficiency rating. Despite government education reform, Japan’s score continues to decline while the global average improves.
My Journey
Born and raised in Japan, I don’t think I’ll ever truly speak like a native English speaker. For me, my journey in English didn’t start in a classroom, but it started here, at Disney.
As you can see, these are the only times I spoke with native English speakers. Nobody handed me a grammar textbook or vocabulary lists. It all started with pure curiosity. I wasn’t even worried about being correct ー I was simply curious.
When I was 10 years old, I found a tiny photo of a working group called Disney Imagineers in a Japanese magazine. There was almost no information in Japanese, so I looked it up in English.
Looking back, that may have been the most important Google search of my life. That search opened new doors I never knew existed. Knowing the creators’ true voices and their passion for bringing magic to real life was just astonishing.
Without English, that curiosity would have ended there. Instead, it became one of my dreams.
Still, life doesn’t work like Disney magic. Seeing my friends hesitate to speak for fear of making mistakes and reflecting on my own struggles with grammar and translation, I realized that this is not only a problem for English.
I remember a kanji test where one stroke in a slightly different spot meant a red cross and points were deducted. In Japan, when acting as a group, the process should be absolutely correct. And moving in unison is an unspoken understanding.
That same fear of being wrong followed us into English class. So instead of speaking, we stayed silent.
There has to be another way.
An English ‘Board’ and a New ‘App’
This made me realize that the problem is not how much we study, but how we learn. I thought of what is needed and came up with two ideas. Firstly, the English board. What if there were a board where students could write anything they want in English? A question, a joke, or even a simple sentence like, “I’m sleepy.”
Others can add, reply, or continue the conversation. No grades, no pressure, and no fear of making mistakes. Just like how native speakers do, like students doodling on the blackboard, it would be a casual opportunity to use English.
In addition, I created an app, Convo, on my own. I have built it on one clear idea: perfection is not needed in speaking.
Unlike other apps, you can start talking about anything you love. Because there is no fixed course, you can type in chat or even mix in Japanese if there is a word you are not sure of. What matters is not accuracy. But a little courage and learning while having fun. Your curiosity makes it all happen.
It may seem that a classroom board and an app have no connection, but they are based on the same ideas. Communication over perfection, curiosity over obligation, and confidence over memorization.
Don’t let the fear of being imperfect stop you from taking the first step. What I want to do with these will start with one friend, then another, and eventually reach the whole class. From my community, I want to expand these ideas to schools across Japan and ultimately connect students worldwide who share the same fear of being wrong.
Building Bridges and Passion, Without Perfection
Through English, I found a world I would never have discovered through Japanese alone. I want every other student to have the chance to follow their passion.
For our generation, language can no longer be just a school subject. It’s a bridge to people, ideas, dreams, and opportunities.
We all know the importance of perfection. But with Japan’s high-quality education system, we can show our knowledge and uniqueness worldwide, while also valuing different perspectives.
Today, this room is proof that those bridges can be built. We students are here to break barriers in our own ways, and people are here to listen.
What we are battling is not English itself. It’s the belief that we have to be perfect before we begin.
Imagine the possibilities of 1,000 hours ー not spending them to chase perfection, but to discover who we can become and explore new worlds. So perfection is not the start.
Let us break the barrier standing in our way. Thank you.
About the Author
Misaki Anzai was a first-year student at Gakushuin Girls Junior and Senior High School in Tokyo when she entered the Gem Talks 5th National High School English Presentation Camp. Focused on human-to-human communication, she was inspired by native English speakers at Disney to improve her ability to express herself and understand others, even if imperfect. In this age of AI, she told the judges that we still need to be able to talk to each other and understand without the possible biases of artificial translation. Will she share the learning app she designed beyond her classmates one day? We will have to wait to see, but we must be hopeful!
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Presentation by: Misaki Anzai
Student, Gakushuin Girls Junior and Senior High School
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