Gruppenpodcast: Mr. Meier in Japan

- or: How to better not behave in Japan

Podcast script of Marion Grundmann, Fabian Seidel and Marius Metzl

 

Marius:                      

Hello and Welcome to our pod cast! We – that is Marion, Fabian and Marius – would like to teach you something about Japanese conduct. In order to do so, we’ll play situations in which something is not exactly the way it’s supposed to be…

Fabian:            

Me, Fabian, will take the role of Johannes Meier – a German business man being in Japan for a couple of months.           

Marion:           

I – Marion – am Ms. Hoaki. She’s Japanese and works for the Fujimoto Company, to which also Mr. Meier belongs to. Mr. Meier is going to experience a couple of embarrassing situations in my company. However, as I have worked with foreigners before, I know that the Japanese culture very often comes as a shock for them and I try to oversee small boo-boos.

Marius:                        

And I – Marius – am Andreas Berg – a German with more than 10 years working experience in Tokyo. Johannes is an old friend of mine, that’s why I offered him to stay with me for the time he’s in Japan.  I also try to explain Japanese thinking to him.

Marion:           

And now enjoy the show…

 

1) Mr. Meier and the troubles with the names

AT THE AIRPORT – BACKROUND NOISE – MR. MEIER ARRIVES – MS. HOAKI AWAITS HIM

Meier:            

Good Afternoon Ms. Tokomo!

Hoaki:            

Good Afternoon Meier-san. Nice to see you! Welcome to Tokyo. How was your trip?

Meier:            

Well… yeah… all right I guess.  Quite long though…thank a lot for reserving my flight and picking me up. That saved me a lot of stress…..

Hoaki:            

That’s all right – it’s great you’re here now.  By the way – my name is Hoaki.

Meier:            

Uh!

IN THE EVENING – ANDREAS BERG’S HOME – DOOR OPENS – MEIER COMES IN

Meier:            

Hello Andreas! Nice to see you after such a long time….

Berg:            

Johannes!   Yeah, you’re right; we haven’t seen each other for ages.  You in Tokyo! That’s so cool….

Meier:                        

Thanks for offering me accommodation in the next weeks.  I would not have a clue how to find a room for me in Tokyo.

Berg:                        

No problem! I’m really happy you’re here. Finally we got a chance to spend some time together again. Do you still remember the old times? You arrived today – didn’t you? And tomorrow is your first day at work?

Meier:                        

Yep, I just arrived 3 hours ago.  And… that was when the first strange thing happened to me…

Berg:                        

Is it?

Meier:            

Hum… I don’t know.. I was talking to Ms. Hoaki and I addressed her directly as Ms. Tomoko….

Berg:                        

Aha…Hoaki.. ..Tokomo… hang on….Do you happen to have her business card? May I have a look?

Meier:            

Yeah, I got her card – here you are!

Berg:                        

Let’s see…… …. Hoaki… Toko… ahhh, you said „Tokomo – Hello Ms. Tokomo, right?

Meier:            

Exactly, that’s what I did… Hello Ms. Tokomo.  And that’ what’s written on her card – look: Hoaki Tokomo!

Berg:                        

Well yes…. that’s different from Germany. In Japan you’ll first find the surname on the card, followed by the first name… That’s something You need to know. Not a big deal I guess.

Meier:            

Okay, all right… anyway – it was quite unpleasant to start like this…. But maybe it wasn’t THAT bad.  – She also made a mistake when addressing me…. she called me „Meiersan“. … She didn’t know my name, either.

Berg:                        

She said „Meiersan“ … well, that’s another thing I got to explain to you.

Berg:                        

This syllable „san“  is actually just attached to the name when addressing somebody. It’s a kind of a standard greeting – no matter whether talking to a man or a woman – you just attach „san“ to the name. It’s supposed to express respect, you know?

Meier:                       

Respect? No, I didn’t know that. Hmh, so it was not that good that I corrected her and said: My name is actually Meier, not Meier san…. Damn!

Berg:           

Well, it’s your first day, so never mind! Just keep in mind: „san“expresses respect. So take care that you don’t introduce yourself with „Meier-san“, which would imply that you uplift yourself and demand respect. Also when introducing family members it’s not used this way…

Meier:                        

Pretty tough…. I hope I get things sorted out over time…

Meier:

As you might have noticed, I already learned an important lesson the very first day. But I’m optimistic and I’m looking forward tomorrow, because I’m invited for dinner. Let’s see whether I cannot do better than today…

 

2) Mr. Meier is invited for dinner and kindly asked to leave as night befalls

  

IN THE OFFICE – MR MEIER TELLS MS. HOAKI ABOUT THE DINNER THE  NIGHT BEFORE.

Meier:           

Good Morning, Ms. Hoaki!

Hoaki:           

Good Morning, Meier-san! Weren’t you invited for dinner at Mr. Uchida’s yesterday night? How did it go?

Meier:           

Yes, I was invited for dinner. It was excellent, I was glad about the invitation.  A great chance to eat Japanese; and to experience traditional Japanese family atmosphere. But there was one strange thing… I just finished eating when Mr. Uchida stood up, thanked me for coming and prompted me to leave. I found that a little abrupt and impolite… doesn’t he like me? What do you think? I mean – you also know him.

Hoaki:                       

No, no, never mind! Forget about it. That’s absolute coherent behavior in Japan. After dinner the highest-ranked person – in your case the host – gets up and slowly ends the evening. That’s just the way it is done in Japan.

Meier:           

Is it? That’s weird, in Germany we have to wait until our guests decide to leave. But I’ll keep that in mind… good to know.

Hoaki:           

Maybe the reason is that our flats are traditionally rather small; we also have to get up early to go to work because the way to work is so long.  This means evenings are just ended a little earlier…

Meier:           

I see… That makes sense! Thanks for explaining.

Meier:                       

Now I’m already a couple of weeks in Japan and I experienced a lot. However, I haven’t had much time yet to see the country, as I worked a lot. Therefore, I’m now planning to go on a trip over the weekend… But listen yourselves!

 

3) Mr. Meier expects a clear answer

 

Meier:           

Hello Ms. Hoaki.

Hoaki:           

Hello Meier-san. How are you?

Meier:           

Fine, thanks.  I was thinking… I’ve been working a lot in the last weeks and I would now like to go to Osaka over the weekend.

Hoaki:           

Great, Meier-san, that’s a good idea. Osaka is beautiful, especially in spring when the blossoms flourish. You should definitely do it!

Meier:           

Well, I was going to ask you whether you don’t want to join me. Also your husband and your children could come along…  What do you think?

Hoaki:           

Osaka n spring is beautiful. Best is to go by train. The Shinkansen operates on a 7 minute basis between Tokyo and Osaka. It’s incredibly fast and convenient.  If you need any help with booking the tickets, just let me know.

Meier:                       

Thank you very much! I think getting there is not a big deal.  But -  did I miss something? Do you want to come along?

Hoaki:           

(breathing in the air through the teeth sharply) I’ll think about it….

Meier:           

Okay, just let me know.

EVENING – ANDREAS HOME – JOHANNES AND ANDREAS TALKING ABOUT THE OSAKA TRIP

Meier:           

Andreas, look – this weekend I was going to Osaka. Don’t you want to join me? 

Berg:           

This weekend? Let me have a look in the calendar. Hum… yeah, it looks good. Why not? I’m in.

Meier:           

Great!  Ms. Hoaki will maybe also join in. But she couldn’t make up her mind yet.

Berg:           

You asked her at work today?

Meier:           

Yeah, she was undecided. I asked her and she didn’t answer in the first place.  I asked again and she said she’ll think about it… So we’ll see…

Berg:           

Okay..? Seems as though I better explain something to you here…. To me it sounds as though you demanded a clear answer, didn’t you?

Meier:           

Well, of course. I asked her whether she wants to come along or not.           

Berg:           

And didn’t she ignore you?  Did you maybe get the impression she’s not really answering to your question?

Meier:           

Yeah, you’re right! She answered evasively. She told me how well the train connection to Osaka is.

Berg:           

Oh, I think I need to explain this to you. The Japanese do not like to directly say no. So if there is something Ms. Hoaki does not like she will not want to say no to you – because this, in her eyes, would destroy the harmony between the two of you. She then tries to answer evasively and just says something else.

Meier:           

I see.

Berg:           

Talking about the train connections was probably her way to deal with the issue. Sometimes the Japanese do also breathe in the air through the teeth sharply instead of an answer. This shall make clear that there is something they don’t feel comfortable with and that they do not like.

Meier:           

Ah, right, this is exactly what Ms. Hoaki did. Well, this is a good explanation.  

Berg:           

In Japan a rejection from your side would distroy the harmony. For example in a traffic accident it does not play a role who is actually responsible for the accident. People rather try to find a compromise and split the costs of the accident equally between the parties involved. The person responsible for the accident doese not have to pay everything. This way, the harmony remains intact. Actually, in Germany this would be quite unthinkable, wouldn’t it?

Meier:           

Somehow the Japanese seem to be quite strange to me, I do not really understand their behaviour. So, do you think there is something I can do better in the future?

Berg:           

Well, what could you do in a such situation? When you ask questions to the people you should try to be a bit more sensitive to their answers and try to read between the lines. And also when you respond to questions – it is very important that you do not say “no, I don’t want to do that” either.  You can for example prepare some responses which you can use in the future such as “ I will try to do this” or “ this might be difficult” or “we need to think about that”. When you use these responses instead of just a “no” the Japanese will understand that your response is a negative one and you actually mean no. This might be a good idea.

Meier:           

Allright, I will try to to this in the future. Now, I will book our tickets to Osaka.

Berg:           

Yeah, that’s great.

Meier:

I have spent a very nice weekend in Osaka with Andreas. We have visited many shrines and Andreas explained many things to me that I didn’t know beforehand. Nontheless, it was too bad that Ms. Hoaki did not join us. However I have not asked her again because Andreas had advised me against. On the way back to my office I meet Ms. Hoaki who reminds me of the upcoming cherry blossom festival.

 

4) Mr Meier acts spontaneously

Hoaki:           

Hello Meier-san. Welcome back to Tokyo. Do you remember that we will be doing our Hanami this weekend? Hanami means that we will be watching the cherry blossoms. We will meet with some friends and watch the cherry blossoms together. We will also eat and drink together and just have picnic near the cherry blossoms. You will join us, right?

Meier:           

Yes, of course I remember. During the last few days it became quite cold outside. What do you think about watching the cherry blossoms first and then go and eat something inside instead of a picnic?

Hoaki:           

Hum, right this would be an option.  

IN THE EVENING AT ANDREAS BERG’S PLACE – MR MEIER ENTERS THE ROOM

Meier:           

Hi, I’m back again. Gosh, that was freezing. Nice, but really cold.  

Berg:           

Ah, you have been watching the cherry blossoms? Outside? But its only 5 degrees outside, at the utmost!

Meier:           

Yes, I don’t understand that either. I have proposed to Ms Hoaki to eat inside after having watched the cherry blossoms, instead of sitting outside all the time. But we have made the picnic as planned before.

Berg:           

Ah, right, you had planned the picnic before?

Meier:           

Yeah sure, she had said that we would be making a picnic much in advance, even before the trip to Osaka.

Berg:           

Then you should not be surprised. Spontaneousness is just very uncommon in Japan. In Germany spontaneousness can be seen as a virtue – think about lonely hearts ads where people write that they are spontaneous or that they look for someone spontaneous and so on – but that’s really different over here. In Japan spontaneousness is seen as something chaotic and a disturbance of the harmony which is not liked by the Japanese. Spontaneousness…, well, don’t be surprised that you made the picnic as planned before, regardless of the temperature.

Meier:           

Right. Then I have to live with that, I guess.    

Meier:

I have survived the undercooling successfully. As my time in Japan will come to an end soon I have decided to invite my best friends for a drink or two. Thus I meet Andreas and Ms Hoaki in a beer garden.

 

5) Mr Meier and the rubbish bins and vending machines

 

Meier:           

We drink to my time in Japan! Cheers!

Hoaki:           

In Japan „Kanpei“!

Meier:           

Ok, Kanpei then!

Berg:           

Cheers! I really enjoyed having you here, Johannes, it’s been a great time. And you’ve made many experiences over here.

Meier:           

That’s right, I’ve had a great time and learned about many new things. I would love to stay a bit longer but unfortunately I need to go back to Germany. However, there’s one thing that seems still strange to me, something that I have noticed some time ago but still did not find an explanation to that. Don’t you have any rubbish bins here in Japan? Often I do not know where to dispose of my rubbish and walk around with it as a consequence. Don’t you have any rubbish in Japan?

Berg:           

Ah, … rubbish bins, … yes, they are not very common over here, that’s right. You often search for public rubbish bins in vain, that’s right. Hmm… why could that be? You have probably heart of that poison gas attack in the Tokyo subway system in 1995?

Meier:            

Oh yes, I remember that. What a tragedy.

Berg:           

Right, at that time the poison gas was hidden in the rubbish bins. After this incident the Japanese Government or rather the Tokyo City Council decided to remove public rubbish bins in order to diminish the risk of bomb attacks.

Meier:            

I wonder if this is a good solution…

Hoaki:           

This might not be the only explanation. The Government tries to provoke a rethinking considering rubbish habits. Waste sites are very scarce in Japan and of course the government tries to set incentives to reduce waste production. Waste bins are thus not placed officially but sometimes we set up rubbish bins in our neighborhood by ourselves and also empty them ourselves. Thus you will find rubbish bins in some quarters.

Meier:            

I see … but this is strange, there are no rubbish bins but many vending machines – can you explain this to me again?

Berg:            

Vending machines on every corner, you are right.

Hoaki:           

Yeah, that’s right. You just have to take the rubbish with you and throw it away at home. That’s the way we do it.

Berg:           

Well… you can virtually buy everything from these vending machines. That’s what you have experienced as well Johannes, haven’t you?

Meier:           

Yes, I have bought instant meals and also flowers the other day…

Berg:           

Yes, fresh flowers from the vending machine. When the husband misses the last subway in the evening he can buy flowers from the vending machine and give them to his wife the next morning in excuse… and those instant meals, they are made with hot steam… is that right Ms Hoaki?

Hoaki:           

Yes…

Berg:           

They are heated with hot steam in the vending machine and then they come out ready to eat.

Hoaki:            

Or hot tea in the winter … soup…

Meier:           

That does not sound very delicious to me, I have not eaten this often. I am not sure whether I could get accustomed to that.  

Hoaki:            

Yes, but this is not all you can buy from the vending machines… you can do your daily shopping there as well. For example they sell milk or eggs … and also many funny things such as horoscopes.  

Berg:            

yes … well, I have heard about something that I haven’t seen myself yet which is sold on the Internet in Germany … for example underwear of schoolgirls … I heard that you can really buy that from the vending machine, and you even get a foto of the girl. Have you ever seen something like that?

HOAKI BREATHES AIR SHARPLY TROUGH HER TEETH

Meier:            

Well, Japan is really impressive, but some things…. well…

AT THE AIRPORT – BACKGROUND NOISE

Meier:

I am at the airport now and will get on board of the airplane back to Germany in a few minutes. I hope that I can return to Japan soon as I have enjoyed my stay very much and coping with the Japanese culture became easier from day to day.

I hope that you have learned a lot from my experiences and enjoyed listening. Thank you very much for your attention and good bye.