I said that the ultimate premise of Phase #3 is building a Japanese fluency foundation. A nice solid rock that you can easily build upon. You learn how to read and pronounce Japanese characters in Phase #2. Then, in Phase #3, you lay the groundwork for an accelerated progression towards high-level proficiency by equipping yourself with fundamental Japanese grammar and vocabulary, coupled with experience forming sentences of your own.

If you make it to the end of Phase #3 with Blue X's for every day on your calendar, which is a huge feat in itself, then it's probably safe to say that you are fluent in Japanese… depending on your definition of the word “fluent.”