At the end of June and the end of December, Shinto shrines hold the ōharae, the great purification. It cleanses the tsumi and kegare, the sins and impurities, that have built up over the half year.
The June rite, nagoshi no harae, falls on June 30. The December rite, toshikoshi no harae, belongs by tradition to New Year’s Eve. Passing through the chi no wa, a large ring of grass, is believed to cleanse body and mind of the impurities of the half year.
Article 723 of Japan’s Civil Code allows a court, at the request of the victim of defamation, to order “measures appropriate to restore the reputation,” in place of or together with damages. One such measure is a shazai kōkoku, an apology advertisement.
On July 4, 1956, the Grand Bench of the Supreme Court ruled on whether such an order violates the freedom of thought and conscience in Article 19 of the Constitution. It held that an apology that only states the truth of the matter and expresses regret does not.
Sumimasen (済みません): excuse me, I am sorry. It is the polite form of sumanai, which comes from sumu, to be finished or settled.
Mōshiwake nai (申し訳ない): I am very sorry. Mōshiwake means one’s case or explanation. With nai, it means there is nothing to say in one’s defense.
Owabi mōshiagemasu (お詫び申し上げます): I humbly offer my apology. The form used in formal written and public apologies.
On January 23, 2026, Prudential Life Insurance held an apology press conference after more than 100 current and former employees had improperly received money. Its management apologized and explained the company’s saihatsu bōshi-saku, measures to prevent recurrence.
A public relations column in the business report of a Japanese regional bank gives the order for a written press release on such trouble. It opens with an apology, then sets out the course of events, the facts, the response to customers and the measures to come. For press conferences, the column warns against wording that sounds like an excuse.
The film Shazai no ōsama (The Apology King) opened in Japan on September 28, 2013. Abe Sadao plays Kuroshima Yuzuru, who runs the Tokyo Apology Center and helps clients out of trouble by apologizing. In the end, he saves Japan with the ultimate apology, one that goes beyond dogeza, kneeling with the forehead to the ground.
The film was directed by Mizuta Nobuo from a screenplay by Kudō Kankurō. It earned 2.18 billion yen.
In Japanese baseball, a pitcher who hits a batter with a pitch takes off his cap to apologize. The newspaper Nikkan Gendai describes this as what is taken for granted in Japan.
In August 2024, after a brawl in a game of the Lotte Marines, the former star hitter Ochiai Hiromitsu spoke about it on television. The pitcher probably believed he had apologized, he said, but the apology had not reached the batter.
A Japanese person who goes to apologize in person often brings a kashi-ori, a box of sweets. A Japanese lifestyle guide calls this a custom unique to Japan, and notes the saying that “the weight of the sweets is the weight of the feeling.”
Very expensive sweets are avoided, because they can suggest an attempt to settle the matter with things. Another guide advises keeping the gift out of sight at first and handing it over only after the apology has been accepted.
A hanseibun is a written statement in which a person reflects on misconduct and apologizes for it. Writing one is a common disciplinary practice in Japanese schools.
On November 14, 2017, a Tsukuba Express train left Minami-Nagareyama Station about 20 seconds before its scheduled time. The operating company published an apology: “We deeply apologize for the great inconvenience caused to our customers.”
A shimatsusho is a written apology and reflection on a mistake, submitted promptly after trouble occurs.
A tenmatsusho is a different document. It reports the full course of events. It is generally an internal document, usually addressed to supervisors or the management department, and is submitted after the matter is resolved.