Despite years spent studying the language at school, many Japanese feel inept at English. Perhaps that's why Japan's English conversation business rakes in hundreds of billions of yen each year. This time on Japanology Plus, we begin a two-part series focusing on English in Japan, and part one looks at English conversation classes. Our expert guest is Ruth Marie Jarman, a regular on an NHK English language education program. And in Plus One, a linguistic experiment on the streets of Tokyo!

Japan is a country of 10 million runners and some 2,000 open-entry running events, the most popular of which attract large crowds and live nationwide TV coverage. Japan loves not just the action but also the drama of an event such as ekiden, a unique form of long-distance relay with a century of tradition. This time our theme is running. Our expert guest, sports journalist Akemi Masuda, is herself a former Olympic marathon runner. And in Plus One, we experience the fun of a local running event.