History Main / JapanesePoliteness

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': Zig-zagged with the Draconis Combine, which is based on Imperial Japan. In civilian life, politeness is very heavily emphasized as the Combine operates under a caste system based on the Bushido code. In military life, there's less emphasis though it's still present. For example, at one point the dropship that Takashi Kurita, the then ruler of the Combine, was being transported on was sabotages while it attempted to land on a planet. While he was being evacuated from the dropship, the officer apologized to him by saying that they didn't have time to reprogram the Battlemech they were escaping in so that Takashi could pilot it himself.

* In ''VideoGame/FreedomForce vs. The Third Reich'', Red Sun, an Energy X-infused Japanese army captain who reacted to the energy by turning into a lot of physically identical people who have a HiveMind, follows this trope. He views Freedom Force as a WorthyOpponent and spouts phrases like "You are a most worthy adversary. Please die.". At one point [[YouHaveFailedMe he kills a Nazi]] {{Mook|s}} over a BackStab on Tricolour and apologizing to the heroes for the Mook's rudeness. The game is an extremely faithful homage to [[TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age comics]], which often featured well-meaning writers and artists perpetuating unpleasant stereotypes while attempting to be anti-racist (Red Sun is also a ThirdPersonPerson and spreaks, er, speaks, with a pronounced AsianSpeekeeEngrish accent).

* In Irrational Games' ''VideoGame/FreedomForceVsThe3rdReich'', Red Sun, an Energy X-infused Japanese army captain who reacted to the energy by turning into a lot of physically identical people who have a HiveMind, follows this trope. He views Freedom Force as a WorthyOpponent and spouts phrases like "You are a most worthy adversary. Please die.". At one point [[YouHaveFailedMe he kills a Nazi]] {{Mook}} over a BackStab on Tricolour and apologizing to the heroes for the Mook's rudeness. The game is an extremely faithful homage to UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} comics, which often featured well-meaning writers and artists perpetuating unpleasant stereotypes while attempting to be anti-racist (Red Sun is also a ThirdPersonPerson and spreaks, er, speaks, with a pronounced AsianSpeekeeEngrish accent).

* The picture above is from a city like Nara, where deers are sacred and it is forbidden to harm them and they walk freely. Locals and tourists alike often pay for leaves or special "deer crackers" to feed them, with the deer themselves learning to bow respectfully to receive treats. However, this is actually a subversion, as the deer are known to get aggressive once their feeder runs out of treats, with numerous signs being posted around the city to warn people of the risks of feeding the deer as people have been headbutted, knocked over, bitten, and had their feet trampled by these gluttonous deer. Which is a natural response, since the deer are wild animals and have no understanding of politeness, human culture or anything else, their actions being nothing but a learned response to being offered treats for certain kinds of behavior.

* There's also an eyewitness account of a Japanese mall that was shook by the earthquake where everyone left with whatever they intended to buy, then returned to complete the purchases rather than just walking away with it.

** At a Japanese screening of the original Star Wars, Lucas and his main editing/production team were unaware of this tendency. They were discouraged and unsettled by that fact that the audience stayed stock-still, even during the climactic moments of the film where Western audiences would be cheering, until the moment the credits finished and the entire audience immediately rose from their seats and gave deafening applause.

* One of the most common forms of culture shock people experience when visiting in Japan is that the locals are so honest with each other so much, they will do things that foreigners would find baffling to do in their own country. A common example is if you lose your wallet, it will show up in a lost-and-found or the local police box within a few ''hours,'' with everything still in there. Another subtle one is people will, when say pulling up to a convenience store for a quick stop, will just walk out of their car while it's still on.

Western counterparts to Japanese politeness include BritishStuffiness, CourteousCanadian, MinnesotaNice, and SweetHomeAlabama.

Western counterparts to Japanese politeness include BritishStuffiness, CanadaEh (American stereotypes of Canadians often depict them as being impossibly polite), MinnesotaNice, and SweetHomeAlabama.

However, this stereotype has only become truly popular relatively recently, and the older generation of westerners will likely be more familiar with the two other stereotypes associated with the Japanese: the angry, [[ScreamingWarrior screaming]], {{Katana|sAreJustBetter}}-wielding, [[GodEmperor Tenno-Heika]]-worshipping, [[HonorBeforeReason bushido-on-steroids]] ProudWarriorRaceGuy (primarily because of memories of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII); or (in {{Cyberpunk}} works) the corporate executive or investor of a MegaCorp, who [[FauxAffablyEvil acts superficially polite]] but [[CorruptCorporateExecutive is utterly ruthless in the pursuit of efficiency, profit]] [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld and technological domination at all costs]]. Of course, both of these stereotypes are colored by anti-Japanese feeling, and have rather been {{discredited|Trope}}.

* Yuki in ''Webcomic/MenageA3'' invokes this when politely and amiably accepting Angel's card while he insults the band she's currently in (with Zii, ''in front of Zii''). Yuki explains this by saying "Zii, I'm Japanese ''and'' Canadian. I know how to be double polite!" (This is ''not'' really true, but oh well...)

->'''Hikaru:''' Wait… ''that’s'' why you like him? Because he’s ''polite''? Well, he ain’t special. I’m half-Japanese. Politeness is in my DNA.
->'''Anastasia:''' …Hikaru, you are ''not'' polite. You’re loud, impulsive, have no filter, and you eat like a wild beast.
->'''Hikaru:''' (while shoving handfuls of food into his mouth) [[IResembleThatRemark I DO NOT]]!

* Masi Oka appeared on ''Regis and Kelly''. He said that Japan has only just started watching ''{{Series/Heroes}}'' at season one. When he was there to promote the show, he said his fans would rush up to him, shout [[CatchPhrase "YATTA!"]], bow deeply, and then "scurry off."

The Japanese, in general, take the art and tradition of SacredHospitality ''very'' [[SeriousBusiness seriously]]. They will have many unwritten rules on etiquette and public social behaviour, not just amongst themselves but also to guests, visitors and anyone they may encounter in life in general. These include but are not limited to: [[HintDropping avoiding explicit disagreement or refusal]] at all costs as to not offend the guest; [[MyCountryRightOrWrong refraining from criticism of one's own in-group]] (whether that's your family, your company, your school club, or whatever) in front of outsiders; never bragging, either about yourself or about your in-group (you do not use honorifics about people from your own group while speaking with someone outside your group); [[ExtremeDoormat extraordinary deference]] toward others in general, especially on guests and authority figures; and indirectly praising others but always [[ThinkNothingOfIt downplaying one's own accomplishments]]. In a Japanese household, whenever introducing oneself to new guests and friends, offering [[UsefulNotes/TeaAndTeaCulture a Tea Ceremony]] is always a must. These are all taken to such extremes that it's necessary to learn a [[{{Keigo}} drastically different vocabulary and even set of grammar rules]] for expressing degrees of politeness in the Japanese language.

->'''Anastasia:'' …Hikaru, you are ''not'' polite. You’re loud, impulsive, have no filter, and you eat like a wild beast.

* ''VideoGame/{{Kuukiyomi}}'' is this as a game, requiring the player to read the situation and react accordingly. If possible, in the most polite and considerate manner, manner, though some players can have the choice to subvert for added hilarity.

* Japanese railways routinely charge the clean-up work after suicides to the families of the deceased; suicidal depression may be tragic and in many ways motivated by [[TheSocialDarwinist Japanese honor culture]], but it's no excuse for causing [[SeriousBusiness massive public disruptions on traffic schedules]]; after all the [[RepressiveButEfficient Shinkansen must always run on time]]. In addition the charge is affected by the proximity to busy traffic areas; kill yourself in Tokyo Station in rush hour and your family will be charged a lot more than if you killed yourself out in an obscure countryside station off-peak.
* It's not unheard of for the {{Yakuza}} to call a press conference and make a [[AffablyEvil public apology]] when their activities--such as, say, a ''gang war''--have seriously inconvenienced the public.
* After their team lost its opening match of the 2014 Usefulnotes/FIFAWorldCup to Ivory Coast, Japanese fans [[http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/worldcup/world-cup-2014-japanese-fans-clean-stadium-after-losing-21-against-ivory-coast-9539793.html stayed behind in the stadium to clean up their section]], an occurrence that is actually rather common in Japan but came as a pleasant shock to other international visitors, earning them much praise on Website/{{Twitter}}.
** This is a common occurrence at international sporting competitions, along with Japanese athletes cleaning the locker room and leaving a note behind, thanking their host for the hospitality. The UsefulNotes/OlympicGames two years later, in the same Brazil of the World Cup, displayed this habit again.
* Japan has a law against desecrating foreign flags but no law against desecrating its own flag. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_desecration#Japan here]] for details.
** In fact, one interpretation of the law ''protects'' this act, as it is considered a form of free speech or protest.

** Though catch Japanese people in a crowd, in those rare times they’re ''expected'' to go nuts, and watch in awe as this wildness comes back to them en masse (albeit in a somewhat tamer way). Riot police were actually set up at Shibuya one year to contain potential overeager Japanese FootballHooligans, who, while usually much tamer and manageable than, say European or Latin American ones, and as mentioned above are very quiet when sitting on actual bleachers, can also get carried away... just if everyone else around is getting carried away with them too. They’re weird like that.
* Unfortunately this can cause serious issues in an emergency. The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau[[note]] and yes it's "Japan" and not "Japanese"[[/note]] has cited "extreme politeness in the cockpit" to be a serious safety problem. Specifically, it's rude to second-guess authority in Japan, which is a problem because second-guessing the pilot is part of the co-pilot's job. Worse, some co-pilots are so used to following a pilot's orders that they literally become unable to fly the plane if the pilot becomes incapacitated.
** The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear incident was also made significantly worse because personnel tried too long to contact superiors before attempting to correct the problem at hand. For the reason mentioned above, the personnel had gotten used to calling off-site authority figures whenever there was a deviation from normal conditions, and reflexively did so during the incident despite the phone lines being down.
* Supposedly, some Japanese businesses hire a "rude American" coworker for the specific purpose of countering this- while the employees would never dream of contradicting the boss or explaining his latest idea is dumber than a screen door on a submarine, Americans are known to have no such taboos, and can give the boss some BrutalHonesty without anyone involved losing face.
* Ironically, the Japanese ritual of the Tea Ceremony, considered the epitome of Japanese politeness and hospitality, has backfired when it comes to treatment of missionaries from [[UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints]]: another group of people famous for their extreme emphasis on politeness and hospitality. The Japanese consider it to be polite and customary to offer tea to guests, unfortunately however, Mormons are not allowed to consume hot drinks containing caffeine, such as tea. This results in a lot of misunderstanding, as because of both Japanese and Mormon emphasis on politeness it becomes awkward to express displeasure or refusal on the topic of the consumption of tea.
* This politeness, or more accurately the unwillingness to disturb "social harmony" is often a cause of strife in relationships between Japanese and even more so with interracial couples and lovers. Problems that would otherwise be addressed with mutual talk get swept up under the rug and simmer until they boil over and the relationship ends.
** This is often averted with the subculture of so-called "Gyaru" japanese girls and women who adopt outrageous fashion and behavior (for Japanese sensibilities at the least). Since the Gyaru have far less compunction to conform to the social norms of Japan, being comparatively much more free spirited and opinionated, relationships with them may turn out better than with "proper" ladies.

* During the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, a lot of people cited this trope when pointing out that people in Japan often wore face masks in public during cold and flu seasons for many years before the pandemic in contrast to the resistance to the practice in the West, particularly among the American right wing. Many observers perceived that this was due to the lower social cohesion and greater sense of individualism in America in contrast to Japan, where people were more eager to mask up to protect others. Infecting people with airborne pathogens is rude!