While the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) aims to increase communication skills and intercultural exchange through its English education policy, university-level outcomes often fall short due to longstanding systemic and sociocultural challenges. This study addresses potential issues with the revised university-level MEXT English education policy by exploring how university teachers and students interpret the MEXT policy reforms in classroom contexts. A qualitative methodology was adopted using semi-structured interviews with four English learners and teachers, followed by thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The interview data indicated that national identity, linguistic anxiety, and power hierarchy in the classroom environment present challenges to English education. Participants also described teacher training as insufficient to support policy implementation. These accounts suggest that policy implementation may require greater attention to the sociocultural and institutional conditions experienced by teachers and learners.