As English abilities are being progressively perceived as valuable human capital, an awareness of uneven access to the acquisition of this ‘profitable’ language has evolved. Although this reportedly uneven access, which can be referred to as the ‘English divide’, is an issue of concern to applied linguists, little inquiry has been conducted on the historical transformation (or conservation) of the English divide within a specific society. Therefore, this article explores a historical change in the English divide in Japan as a highly industrialised country via statistical analysis of a large, population-based sample. Results disclosed that, with Japan achieving various socioeconomic developments like reduced income gaps and improvements in educational conditions, some forms of the English divide stemming from material gaps have gradually declined. In contrast, other forms of the English divide that are led by cultural dissimilarities have not diminished at all. Based on these findings, the article debates the inevitable problems of addressing the English divide and presents some potential solutions for producing substantive, rather than formal, equality in English language education.