I know this is a pretty stupid question, but I've never seen him speak in english, in interviews and conferences he is translated.... so does he actually speaks english?

I think he stated he can understand English with some difficulty but doesn't feel confident enough to speak.

WIth the years he must have some knowledge, but not enough to be a fluent speaker.

ya I heard the same

He understands English but he isn't comfortable with it.  He could probably stumble his way through a basic conversation but it's just much easier on everyone to have a transaltor.

He speaks Engrish.

He is not fluent in speaking English, but he does know how to get by with some basic conversation.

And how. IIRC, when he spoke English during E3 2007, you could tell it wasn't his native language.

Oh well, he doesn't have to be a fluent multilinguist to make good games.

yeah i remember that

i think if you can't speak a language fluently enough you should get somone to translate for you, sounds much better than trying to speak the language yourself

He's not fluent but he can get by with the basics and just about manage prepared speeches.