Japanese People and Apologizing

It's important to say you're sorry in most countries, but in Japan apologizing is a cultural must that is non-negotiable for Japanese.

The interesting aspect of Japan's "apology first" culture is that it doesn't necessarily mean you have some interior sense of sorrow when you apologize - quite often it is simply a way of smoothing over social situations in Japan.

Even if a person didn't do anything wrong, saying "I'm sorry," is a way to maintain harmony and avoid needless embarrassment or awkwardness at work or in some other Japanese social situation.

The apology culture of Japan is also on display in a unique way in corporate leadership. If, for example, two factory workers die on the job because of company negligence , the c.e.o. is expected to go to the home of deceased family and apologize profusely by bowing and appearing very contrite; and the event will be covered on TV and done in a very public way.

This aspect of Japanese culture exploded on the shores of America a few years back when a U.S. Navy ship mistakenly rammed into a Japanese ship with several school children on board. It was a tragic situation and several people died.

Justice ran its course during a court martial in Hawaii, but for the Japanese a court decision wasn't enough. There was a clamor for the American Navy Captain to fly to Japan and personally apologize to the family of the people he accidentaly killed.

Yet the irony of this is that in much of Asia (mostly among the political class), there is still anger toward Japan and the Japanese government for not apologizing for Japan's Word War II aggression.

There are a few lessons from this that foreigners, and ESL teachers in Japan can take from this apology culture. Toshiya Enomoto writes about the Japanese language and apologizing:

"Japan's 'apology first' culture makes it possible for gaijins (foreigners) to get out of most jams with sumimasen. Sumimasen...is equivalent to 'excuse me.' It is, however, just as useful for apologies and some Japanese prefer to say sumimasen as they think it is a more refined apology 'for grown ups' than gomen 'nasai. Saying sumimasen is also a clever way for gaijins to hide their limited vocabulary."

Nabe! Japanese Culture Readies for Winter

Winter is almost here! And in Japan where space heaters are more common than central heating - it gets cold in the house! That's why the Japanese love eating hot nabe, which is one way Japanese culture readies itself for winter.

Nabe, which means "one pot" in the Japanese language, is a broad term that applies to a variety of "soups" where all kinds of vegetables, meat and fish are thrown into a pot of boiling water, fished out with chopsticks and then dunked in sauce to be eaten with joy. Winter, it seems brings out some of the best Japanese food.

What makes nabe different from beef stew or chicken noodle soup, however, is the manner in which it is cooked and ultimately eaten, which draws nicely upon Japanese traditional food culture.

Nabe is cooked in a special nabe pot that helps distribute the heat evenly and it is often cooked in the middle of the table on a portable gas range (don't forget to open a window for safety!),

Preparation for cooking means cutting up Nappa cabbage, green onions, Japanese-style mushrooms and tofu. Raw slices of pork or beef - no thicker than an apple peal - are then placed by nabe pot along with the vegetables. All of this is strictly according to "the book" of traditional Japanese food.

A portion of the vegetables and meat are dumped into the pot while everyone sits around the table drinking beer and socializing. When the food is ready, the lid comes off the nabe pot and everyone is free to dig in. And when you're talking about the Japanese and food - get ready for long night of drinking.

Nabe wouldn't be complete without an array of dipping sauces for the goods you scoop from the pot: ponzu sauce and sesame sauce are nabe favorites.

And once the nabe pot gets low, you simply dump in more raw vegetables and meat, put the lid back on, crank up the heat and get ready for the next round of eating not-so fast Japanese food. .

In Japan, when it comes to good friends, a cold night and smooth Japanese beer, there's no telling how many rounds of nabe you may conquer. Enjoy