“暗黙の了解anmoku no ryokai” (“implicit understandings”/ “tacit approvals”) are commonly made in Japanese communication. It is not easy to relocate to Japan without speaking Japanese.
Tacit versus implicit
In contrast to the more direct form of communication in the West, Japanese people often make what are known as “implicit understandings” or “tacit approvals” when communicating with one another.
Of course, this exists in many different levels of social interactions in other countries too, but it is often seen as being particularly characteristic of Japanese culture and language.
Culture differences between Japan and the USA
For instance, in the United States, when you are at the check-out of a supermarket, café or drugstore, you should always make clear eye contact with the cashier, in order for them to not be unnecessarily wary of you. You have to glance at each other at the moment, at least in order to impress upon them that you belong to the same society. This seems to happen even if the cashier is a newly-settled immigrant.
However, the same doesn’t always happen in Japan. In fact, to look at the cashier when making your purchase would seem unnatural and feel like a nuisance. Instead the trust between both parties is implicitly understood.
This behavior could be the result of the country’s status as “Shima-guni島国” (an island nation), with a relatively homogenous population, since Japan doesn’t border with have land borders with any other countries.
Being a relatively densely populated island nation compared with the United States may also be the reason for the Japanese mindset in which being expressive or speaking one’s mind is avoided. The Japanese prefer not to distinguish themselves from others, fearing that it may result in useless confrontation.
This is very different from the United States, where people tend to be open minded and easily say “hello” to all the strangers, who are lost their way near their house. That said, this may also depend upon which region in Japan you visit. People in Osaka are generally described as being more laidback and open-minded to the foreigners, while those in Tokyo are somewhat more nervous and individualistic.
When I return home from overseas, one of the things that most grabs my attention is how extremely polite shop assistants are to their customers. Everything appears to be set up and designed for the pursuit of good living. So, for those relocating to Japan learning some of the language will help them to enjoy this level of courtesy, as the Japanese traditional proverb says, “customers are deemed to be like God”.
Japanese language classes
If you want to learn Japanese or any other language, I suggest you sign up with BiCortex Languages, which is specialized in providing language training to private and corporate students, either face-to-face, online and in groups. They not only teach Japanese, but also English, French, Spanish, German, Mandarin and more than 30 languages.
Written by: Sachiko Nagae
HH＆H Japan also holds Japanese language classes for foreigners in Japan. Online lessons are also available at our affiliated classroom, HH JapaNeeds.
signup@hh-japaneeds.com +81-52-710-7479 Address: 3-18-1, Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi, JAPAN