[HansTWN]

Japanese isn't that difficult, I also studied it for 6 months. The main problem is that Japanese people are too polite and that is reflected in the language and the way people express themselves. But they do have grammar to learn (tenses, etc), Japanese is not tonal and not related to other Asian languages and is structurally completely different.

@Daithi: "I'm lucky if I can pick out a few spoken words in a song" --- understanding songs in a foreign language is actually extremely difficult and you need a very high level of proficiency. Unusual words are being used and the natural rhythm of the language is adapted to fit the melody.