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Originally Posted by Sauvecards
Yeah ive seen MMM all over the place, seems cool.
I had all intentions of earning something like my JLPT 4n or 5n but for the most part your Japanese doesn't relate too much your job.
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I'm really curious what lvl 5 is going to be like, whenever they start using it.
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I figure you should know enough to not get punched in the face at the grocery store. 
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lol
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It annoys me when I meet people that live in the US and don't speak a faint word of English so I feel Im obligated to be able to partially communicate if I was living there.
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I blame the US mostly for that.
Technically the US doesn't have a "national language". It's understood to be English, but it's not official. And it seems that the US doesn't encourage those who come here to use it since the US caters to some of those foreigners (notice in some parts, we have loads of places with both English and Spanish signs?). With all this stuff to cater to the foreigners from Spanish speaking countries, there's really no need to learn it. Then, of course, there are those who might not feel confident with their English and don't feel comfortable speaking it or either a situation where they're still in the process of learning it.
As for the JET thing, it's not necessary to know Japanese, if you're an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher),
but it is encouraged that you learn it while there on the program. If I'm not mistaken, they give you booklets and such to improve your Japanese or to learn at least the basics. I also think they encourage the participants to, eventually, try the JLPT.
If you go for the CIR position, it's a must to have a high Japanese language proficiency. In JLPT terms, the minimum of lvl 2.