>>1
Trust me, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for a native English speaker to learn especially Kanji and what >>2 said is absolutely truth. I'm not saying that you shouldn't try but at least prepare for a tough and long time challange if you do. Let me give you one example:
The Kanji of head(lead/initiate): 頭 in Chinese is pronounced "tau" under any circumstances such as 頭髮"tau fat"(hair), 頭痛"tau tong"(headache).
But in Japanese:
頭痛(headache) is pronounced "ZU tsuu"
頭髮(hair) is pronounced "TOU hatsu"
音頭(a kind of traditional music) is pronounced "on DO"
頭文字(initial) is pronounced "KASHIRA moji"
頭金(down payment) is pronounced "ATAMA kin"
And this is not a single case. All the Japanese Kanji have multiple pronunciations(from 2 to 5). I think you've got the picture now.