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Been there and done that.
I used to be able to read the Asahi Shimbun. I tell everyone I learned Japanese by reading manga; but, my first wife was Japanese and I lived in Japan for a couple of years.
I found reading the newspaper to me more like watching a movie: the kanji images go straight to the brain with out the middle step of text conversion. It is really cool the first time it happpens.....goosebumps.
As far as formal education, I think a student should plan to study a language for 2,000 hours to gain some minimal level of fluency. When I was taking formal classes, I made sure to take "culture" classes as well in Japanese history, art, religion, geography, and business practices. The additional classes go a long way in giving context in which the language is used.
I acutally have a degree in International Business and an advanced degree in Asian Studies with Japanese as my language. I just don't get to use the skills often enough to retain fluency.
I still manage to get back to Japan for a couple of weeks every year or so. I hate to think about the days when I used to get 360 yen to the dollar. Life was good.
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