As a result of globalisation, many higher education institutions in Japan have made changes to their curricula and administrative systems so as to attract international students. The Japanese government has also implemented a range of different education projects and plans over many years to support universities across the country in their internationalisation process, and one key element is the implementation of policies to promote English language. This has led to an increase in the number of courses and degrees taught using English-medium of instruction (EMI), which has been defined as the use of English for teaching academic content in non-English speaking countries (e.g., Dearden, 2014). However, while EMI has become a key component in the internationalisation of higher education, its implementation has generated problems among school administrators, teachers, and students. For example, in order to meet the requirements established by policy makers, specialised content teachers have become surrogate language teachers (e.g., Toh, 2014). Furthermore, the relation between language policy and content teachers’ teaching practices in EMI scenarios has not been sufficiently investigated (Ali & Hamid, 2017). The current study focused on the implementation of a Japanese government project relevant to the internationalisation of higher education, namely the Top Global University Project (TGUP) (2014-2023). The study investigated how the TGUP has been implemented from policy actors’ perspectives. Using Bernstein’s sociological theory of pedagogy, the pedagogic device, the study analysed school administrators, EMI lecturers, and students’ discourse concerning the TGUP and its effect on the English language policy at TGUP participating universities. Classroom discourse analysis was conducted to provide information on the actual role and use of English in EMI classes with multilingual students. Findings revealed a number of issues affecting TGUP implementation and the English language policy. The main issue concerned how relations of power and control are acted out among policy actors in the different fields of the pedagogic device, which affect the transmission of policy-related communication and consequently its effective implementation. As described by the participants in the study, this issue is related to a rigid top-down Japanese cultural management ideology that avoids the communication of administrative matters with staff and faculty members. Concerning the use of English, EMI lecturers also reported that there are no guidelines or information on how English is or should be used on campus or in class. An analysis of EMI lecturers’ classroom discourse and students’ attitudes towards English language policy revealed that in the TGUP field of reproduction the main challenge is language. This is due to the wide range of different levels of English proficiency and the lack of a specific policy over when and how to use English. The study concludes that a lack of attention to these issues will continue to negatively affect Japan’s higher education internationalisation plans.