Extensive reading in Japanese and Chinese?

Been hearing a lot about extensive reading and comprehensible input lately, and how this is supposed to be the best way to reach fluency in a language.

I think it makes sense that the best way to learn a language is to actually be using it to get your brain processing the meaning of what is being stated whether it be written or verbals communication.

The problem is the two languages I'm trying to learn are both pretty difficult to read. There is an extra mountain to climb with Chinese characters which making reading the language much easier said than done.

I guess the upshot is that if I was studying a language like Spanish, for example, where the characters being used were instantly recognisable, I'd be able to get to the point where extensive reading was a viable option a lot sooner than for a language like Japanese where I still feel after six years of study that reading a short article is a pretty big task.