A column on the real estate site LIFULL HOME’S advises residents of Japanese apartment buildings not to deal with a noisy neighbor directly. Direct dealings between residents, it says, can cause further trouble. The best way is to go through a third party, such as the management company.
The management company then usually puts up a notice or puts a letter in the mailboxes. A real estate blog adds that the warning is often addressed to all residents, not to one particular resident.
Kao ga tatsu (顔が立つ): the face stands. The Daijisen dictionary defines it as keeping one’s honor in the eyes of the world.
Hana o yuzuru (花を譲る): to yield the flower. In this phrase, hana means honor and credit. The Daijisen dictionary gives the example kōhai ni hana o yuzuru , to yield the honor to a junior.
The General Council of the Liberal Democratic Party decides by unanimity, as a matter of custom. A 2016 paper by the political scientist Nishikawa Shin’ichi gives examples of how dissent has been handled. In 1974, two dissenting members were asked to leave their seats voluntarily, so that the council could adopt the Japan-China aviation agreement “unanimously.” In 2015, a member who opposed the security bills left before the vote, and the decision counted as unanimous.
On June 28, 2005, the council’s chair, Kuma Akio, broke the custom. He put an amendment to the postal privatization bills to a vote by show of hands.
Japanese management advice repeats one rule for scolding: not in front of others. An article in President Online says that scolding is basically one-on-one. A career guide by Mynavi Agent says that being scolded in front of others hurts a person’s pride, even when there is a reason for it, and suggests a private room where voices do not carry.
Shin’yō (信用): trust, credit. The Daijisen dictionary defines it as judging, from a person’s past actions and achievements, that the person can be trusted.
Menboku (面目): face. A person’s standing, position and honor in the eyes of the world and of the people around. The dictionary gives menboku o tamotsu, to keep face, and menboku o tsubusu, to crush face.
Mentsu (面子): face, standing. The dictionary gives mentsu ga tsubureru, face is crushed, and mentsu ni kakawaru, face is at stake.
In September 2013, a customer at the Naebo store of the clothing chain Shimamura in Sapporo made a female employee kneel in dogeza, the deepest bow of apology. She posted a photo of it on Twitter. On September 21, the image spread widely.
On October 7, after the employee reported the harm to the police, the customer was arrested on suspicion of kyōyō, coercion.
In Japanese business etiquette, a business card, meishi, plays the role of its owner’s face. It is received with both hands, while looking at the other person and saying chōdai shimasu (I humbly receive it).
Papers are not placed on top of it. Notes are not written on it in front of its owner. A card is taken from a card case, not from a pocket or a wallet.
A guideline of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, in force since June 1, 2020, defines power harassment at work. Under psychological attacks, its examples include “repeatedly scolding a worker loudly and in an intimidating manner in front of other workers.”
The same guideline lists cases that do not count. One is warning a worker firmly, to a certain degree, after repeated lateness despite warnings.
The final episode of the drama Hanzawa Naoki in September 2013 had an average rating of 42.2 percent in the Kanto region. It was the highest rating of the Heisei era, from 1989 onward, for a drama on commercial television.
In the climax, the banker Hanzawa forces his superior Ōwada to kneel before him in a dogeza, the deepest bow of apology.
On November 10, 2003, Japan’s National Personnel Authority issued guidelines on publishing disciplinary actions against national public employees. A notice gives an outline of the case, the penalty and its date, and the person’s department, rank and similar details.
As a rule, the notice is written so that the individual cannot be identified.