Required Japanese

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura is considering making Japanese ability a requirement for long-term gaijin. Of course the ministry haven’t said what level of proficiency would be needed, who would be required to prove their language levels, or how and when any of this might be implemented.
With my still limited Japanese, this strikes a certain amount of terror in my heart.
But like all of Japan’s rules and regulations, it will be approached with a certain amount of flexibility and “spirit of the law” that will be in the hands of each bureaucrat. So がんばりましょう！