From my knowledge, JETs aren't required to know any Japanese at all, but I can't help but think that not knowing Japanese in a country where the people are notoriously monolingual might present challenges, especially if you get placed in the inaka.
What happens in situations when you need to make a doctor's appointment, call a plumber, etc? I feel like most restaurants and shopping you can get by with charades, pointing, and hand gestures but making appointments over the phone seems like it'd be a different story
by Gaijin-Giraffe