[Viewpoint] Meiji Restoration and Role of Chinese Writing 10.12.2018

Such need for translation of English into Japanese, rather than adopting English as the lingua-franca of Japan, is evident in the following quote.
https://asianpolyglotview.com/2018/10/viewpoint-meiji-restoration-and-role-of.html

Japanese statesman Arinori Mori (1847-1889, born in the Satsuma domain), who later became the first Minister of Education, was the chief advocate during the Meiji era for making English the official language in Japan.
https://www.babel.edu/the-professional-translator/mission42/

Most citizens were limited in time and would find it difficult in practice to learn. As a result , the minority privileged class with time available for learning would monopolize culture, resulting in a large disparity and disconnect between the elite and general masses

Baba explained his intent for publishing the book, and criticized Mori's argument for making English Japan's official language. Baba asserted the four following points:

Baba argued that if Japan did not provide education to its citizens in its native language, Japan would become like India, which lacked a sense of unity among its people

Those who agreed with Baba's argument and line of thinking helped by contributing creative ideas, which led to creating a necessary vocabulary for modern Japanese.A different path had been chosen from that which Mori proposed

It can be argued that the fact that new culture and academic knowledge was not monopolized by one exclusive class was, for better or for worse, what brought about Japan's current prosperity” (Thoughts on the Meiji Era, Kodansha, 1977).