Maybe to fit in better with the surrounding neighborhood? There's a lot of English on signs in Tokyo; in part because foreign cultures are cool, and in part because it's friendlier to tourists. (They also have the Olympics coming up in 2020.)
Japan always had English signs since I remember visiting it. Even small towns have English street names and billboards. All subway and JR stations, busses and taxis have English information. Also, all post offices have at least one person that can speak English. It’s surprising given the fact that China (more so than Korea) have serious lack of English signs. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, just unfriendly for tourists and foreign visitors.
That is not true. Maybe except for the stations' names. Ten years ago you couldn hardly find any English on the streets. Tokyo 2020 changed a lot.