In Japan, many civil lawsuits end in a settlement, wakai, instead of a judgment. A report of the Japanese courts on cases in 2018 found that 37.1 percent of first-instance civil cases ended in settlement and 41.4 percent in a judgment.
Listening Responses
Aizuchi are the short responses a Japanese listener gives while another person speaks. Japanese linguists describe one type as used “without expressing a judgment of yes or no, simply to mean ‘I am listening’ or ‘I understand.'”
A study published at Ochanomizu University sums up the basic function of aizuchi as “a sign that one is listening.”
Polite Ways to Say No
Muzukashii desu ne (難しいですね): that is difficult. A common way to refuse a request politely without saying no.
Maemuki ni kentō shimasu (前向きに検討します): we will consider it positively. Sometimes used to avoid an immediate answer or to decline gently. It is not a promise.
Kekkō desu (結構です): that is fine. It can mean acceptance or refusal, depending on the situation.
The Textile Promise
A study at Hitotsubashi University describes a meeting between Prime Minister Satō Eisaku and President Richard Nixon. Shaking hands, Satō clearly promised Nixon that Japan would restrain its textile exports to the United States by the end of the year. Satō later said that there was no paper, and that he had never promised anything concrete, even orally.
A popular version of the story says that Satō answered zensho shimasu (I will deal with it appropriately), and that Nixon took this as a commitment. No source for that wording was found.
Utmost Sincerity
The teacher Yoshida Shōin lived by a line from Mencius: Shisei ni shite ugokazaru mono wa, imada kore arazaru nari. There has never been anyone who was not moved by utmost sincerity.
When he was interrogated by the shogunate in Edo, he believed in this teaching and kept trying to persuade the senior councillors. He was sentenced to death.