The English language in Japanese culture?

[Aime]

I'm pretty into Japanese culture, and one thing that's started to annoy me is the severe overuse of English words and letters of the Latin alphabet that appear in Japanese culture. None of it really has any meaning to it, and from what I understand English speakers form a very small demographic in Japan. *I get gairaigo and loanwords, but the use of romaji on almost every sign or bilboard, the english translations on so many instruction manuals and guides, the use of English words in manga and anime, ect. I know English is the only language used, but it's by far the majority and it all makes no sense to me. Can the Japanese actually use English words and letters for reasons other than creativity? Is there an actual point behind it, as opposed to it just being a popular stylistic choice? Where did it come from and why is it so popular to use characters and words from a language you don't know how to read or speak?