Thank you, Hashi and kanjiman8, I hope you are right. 25 years ago I had to learn Portuguese because I was marrying a Brazilian. My family has got to stop marrying people from non-English-speaking countries !
Yes, the 6-months fluency target is reaching way too far!
My daughter-in-law is a pediatrician, originally from Sapporo (where her family still resides), based in Tokyo, and currently on assignment in Berlin, Germany. Thanks for expressing interest.