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Apology After Japanese Train Departs 20 Seconds Early (bbc.com)
Several readers share a BBC report: A rail company in Japan has apologised after one of its trains departed 20 seconds early. Management on the Tsukuba Express line between Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba say they "sincerely apologise for the inconvenience" caused. In a statement, the company said the train had been scheduled to leave at 9:44:40 local time but left at 9:44:20. Many social media users reacted to the company's apology with surprise. "Tokyo train company's apology for 20-second-early departure is one of the best things about Japan," a user wrote. The mistake happened because staff had not checked the timetable, the company statement said.
Tokyo train company's apology for 20-second-early departure is one of the best things about Japan
And reinforces one of the worst things about Japan.
This extreme fastidiousness is also why Japan's suicide rate is higher than the US homicide rate and suicide rate combined.
No trains were running in the capital yesterday due to industrial action. The French and Korean companies that run them have been trying to claw back conditions from employment agreements they agreed to when they won the operating contract, so the workers went on strike after 6 months of failed negotiations.
The Japanese apologize for 'trivialitities' because they are often insults - leaving early is an insult to those who missed the train. Insults are not trivial things in Japan. The Japanese never apologize for the 'real crimes' because they don't believe they have insulted anyone. Commiting war crimes during WWII was not an insult to the American soldiers, those were honorary executions of the enemy.
Not right or wrong, just a different point of view.
Sorry to blow away your whole point, but this railway is owned by a "company" which is actually owned by a number of Japanese governments.
Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company ownership (all government bodies): Ibaraki Prefecture, Tokyo, Chiba Prefecture, Adachi Ward (Tokyo), City of Tsukuba, Saitama Prefecture
No competition involved either on this route.
Seems to be well-managed, in spite of this. But your whole premise is blown away, you don't know what you are talking about.
Not all of the stations have the timer or the marks. For the "subway" ones in Tokyo, I had humored myself a bit by comparing to a timer. I never saw it more than a second off. There was slightly more variation in the shinkansen, but we left every stop within 5-6 seconds of the schedule time. While impressive, I was more impressed with the number of people that road them versus how ridiculously sparkling clean they were.
The Japanese never apologize for the 'real crimes' because they don't believe they have insulted anyone. Commiting war crimes during WWII was not an insult to the American soldiers, those were honorary executions of the enemy.
(1) To deunk with reality : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
(2)One of the well-travelled young (still in 30s) Japanese I used to work under had this assessment:
Not only had they apologized to so many people, everytime the Chinese and Koreans asked for one more apology it is ususally another ruse for Asking compensation yet again
(3) Disclaimer : I'm an ethnic Chinese and the following said will, in no way, lessen the Japanese atrocities during the war:
Quite a significant portion of the very organized, politically-backed South Korean Comfort woman (that is still living is strangely large number) protesting in 2017................are also actually not comfort woman from more than 72 years ago, but rather prostitutes (admitedly, "forced" by every tough situations and war and post shoartages. Post-war ones are total frauds) that was allowed to tag on to the grievance seeking team because
(a) The vastly missing or non-existant records after multiple changes of adminstration within 10 years
(b) compounded with Korean war around 1951 that turned SK into a rubble (figuratively)
(c) Anyone whose records are stored north of 38th parallel north being totally inaccessible,
As a result people just had to take everyone's word for it. when a woman claimed that she was a comfort woman and she's with the team. And despite of previous compensation to the SK administration decades ago ( when it was still military-ruled - seems like money went straight to the army and the victims didn't get them), South Korean comfort woman, who have a significant voice internationally as a humanitarian issue, did a great job in reinforce in people's minds the factually incorrect "Japan never apologizes, Japan never compensate" "common knowledge".