When the Japanese say "Yes", is this what they really mean?
Westerners often say that it is difficult to understand what Japanese are thinking. This confusion arises because of cultural differences. For example, when an American or European says "yes," he or she always means "yes." However, occasionally when a Japanese says "yes," it really means something else. Sometimes they will seem to change his or her answer, and quite often a Japanese will not say anything, and an American or European will think, "How rude!" I can think of two reasons why this happens.

First, this occurs because of the structure of the Japanese language. In English and most other European languages, a negative answer depends upon the key words of a question and is almost always negative. For example, if we were drinking coffee and I offered you some more by picking up the pot and motioning toward your cup, you might wave your hand in a motion to indicate "no." I would then clarify this by asking "No more coffee?" and you would respond "No, thank you." In Japanese you would answer "Yes," to my question. An English speaker would concentrate on the key words "more coffee," while the Japanese speaker would concentrate on the whole sentence "No more coffee?" Confusing isn't it? When the West meets Japan this sort of misunderstanding occurs frequently.

Second, in Western countries people are expected to give their opinions freely and openly. In Japan this isn't the case. There is an old Japanese proverb that says "Silence is a virtue." The Japanese try to withhold their personal opinions as much as possible, another long-standing cultural tradition that leads to confusion for many Westerners. In the West it is considered polite to maintain eye-contact with anyone to whom you are speaking. In Japan maintaining eye-contact is not nearly so important, in fact, mothers often scold their children for staring into peoples' eyes when they speak. When you are dealing with Japanese and they seemingly avoid looking you in the eye, far from being rude or untrustworthy, they are being polite and non-confrontational. An American English teacher who had recently arrived in Japan was distressed because her students wouldn't look her in the eye as she was teaching. After I explained that they were trying to be polite, she felt better and later admitted that she had run into similar cultural differences in other countries as well.

Lastly, it is common, in American English at least, to say "You're welcome," to someone who has thanked you. In Japanese there is no exact translation for this, so often when you thank a Japanese he or she will not respond with "You're welcome." Again, this is merely a cultural difference, not an attempt to be rude. I hope this makes things a little clearer. That's all for today.

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Contact: mike@uniconpro.co.jp for comments and questions