[RickOShay]

I do not think you need to hear success stories to encourage you. It may depend a lot on where you live, but if you are sociable and outgoing you should have no problem. I do think being able to speak Japanese well would help though.
One think I would take note of though is that men may face different social pressures from their families than women, which could make it hard for some to go outside of what is expected of them. Personally I feel this is a big reason for why it seems that so many more Japanese women than men seem to be interested in studying abroad and learning English (from what I have seen).