Tag - manners

 
 

MANNERS

A new rule of having prison officers use honorifics when addressing inmates sparked apprehension when it was introduced in April. Three months later, a prison officer said the rule helps avoid situations where older inmates might not feel comfortable being called by their names without honorifics by officers fresh out of school.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 15, 2024
Prison officers and inmates warm up to rule on use of honorifics
Since April, a new rule requires prison officers to use the honorifics san and kun when addressing inmates by their last names.
As the world marks World No Tobacco Day on Friday, debate is growing over passive smoking in one crucial space that remains unregulated: private homes.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 30, 2024
In Japan, neighborly debates light up over secondhand smoke
Passive smoking has become a concern because many people live in multiunit apartment buildings or small houses with little space between them.
The Japanese word "hanami," literally means “flower viewing.” But, a hanami gathering is more than that: It can be a picnic, a drinking party or an occasion to read poetry.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 15, 2024
We invite you to get ready for this year’s cherry blossom parties
Asking people to a party is made easy in Japanese with a few basic sentence structures. Taking your leave from a party is just as simple.
The “dogeza” position is used for the sincerest of apologies and it was deployed by the man who mistakenly ruined an attempt at a Guinness world record on live television.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 9, 2024
The year so far has been marked by some good and bad apologies
A social norm seems to persist in Japan that one should apologize first and explain later. That goes for companies as well.
While harsh comments from older generations can sometimes be seen as rude, consider instead that they’re often trying to teach us something they hold on to.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 26, 2023
A survival guide for your first Japanese-style at-home New Year’s
Meeting your partner’s Japanese family for the New Year’s holidays? Here are some do’s and don’ts for an ‘oshōgatsu’ success story.
The typical priority seat section on a Japanese train will be well marked in numerous languages.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 8, 2023
The priority seats: Are they fair game on an empty train?
Japan is a society with many unspoken rules. Are you aware of the norms that govern your place of business?
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 2, 2023
Sorry to say, apologizing in Japanese isn't always such a big deal
From bumping into a stranger to making amends for a past wrong, it's important to know how to apologize in Japanese.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Mar 4, 2023
Roger Dahl on the art of bowing
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 5, 2023
The etiquette guru who broke up with a boyfriend over text
Shanghai etiquette teacher Sara Jane Ho offers practical advice for a new, global world on Netflix's 'Mind Your Manners.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 25, 2022
How to put your best foot forward when stepping into a Japanese tatami room
You get an invite to your landlord's place, which is great. However, now you have to navigate the etiquette rules of the tatami room they will entertain you in.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Sep 17, 2022
Roger Dahl on basic train manners
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2020
How COVID-19 is killing good manners
With social distancing now part of everyday life, simple actions like shaking hands may be consigned to history.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2020
'Coronavirus harassment' surge suggests growing panic in Japan
In the age of the COVID-19 outbreak, the sight of someone coughing in public has become a frequent cause for suspicious stares, altercations and even maltreatment at work, leading to the emergence of what has been dubbed by Japanese media as "corohara," or coronavirus harassment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2020
Japanese dad tackles train etiquette with a badge to show he's willing to give up his seat
Scenario: You are congratulating yourself on having snagged a seat on a crowded, early morning Tokyo train, when out of the corner of your eye you spot a woman standing nearby who appears to be pregnant.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Dec 7, 2019
The sound of silence
'That guy's eating a bowl of soba without making any sound whatsoever.'
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Nov 9, 2019
You shall not pass (without first needing to disturb me)
'And then there's those people who crowd around the barriers at the entrance to a park and scowl at you for asking them to let you pass as if you're disturbing them.'

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’