More people should give it a try! Learning Japanese—or any language—requires a lot of time and commitment, but being able to read literature in the original is one of the great rewards.
As I noted in another thread, I was a translator of Japanese for many years. I did it mainly to support myself and my family, so almost all of the work I did was business- or government-related, that is, work that paid decently. At that time, few J-to-E translators were able to support themselves translating literature, anime, manga, or other interesting or fun content. The work just didn’t pay well enough to justify the time required to do it.
Things might be different now with anime and manga because of their worldwide popularity, but I doubt if many translators can support themselves translating Japanese literature into English—the books just don’t sell well enough. Most prolific translators of Japanese literature seem to be academics or to have other sources of income.
As a result, only a tiny percentage of Japanese literature is translated into English, and the works that are translated tend to be chosen because a publisher hopes that their themes will appeal to people outside Japan. There’s a huge amount and variety of interesting, quirky, and enjoyable literature published regularly in Japan, and the only way to access it is to learn Japanese.
"Classic" literature often has a very high comprehension level and often relies on a shared history/culture for many things. Translation doesn't always really work.
In English, for example, let's take "Cry, the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton.
I don't know how to describe it, but that novel has a "rhythm". How on Earth would you translate that to Japanese and not lose that?
Part of the reason I wanted to learn Japanese is so that I can actually "read" people like Sōseki.