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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.
My company received an apology from a Japanese supplier because a shipment of parts were a week late after the 2011 earthquake.
Meanwhile other suppliers were apologetically late for no good reason.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
I've ridden these trains. There are marks on the platform showing where the doors will be. There is a timer counting down until arrival. You can stand at the mark, and when the timer hits zero, step forward onto the train. It will be there with the door open right on that mark. Not even German trains are as punctual as Japanese trains.
It really is part of the culture. People rely on things to be on time. Now different parts of Europe have different standards. In Switzerland and Germany, if the train schedule says 15:13 departure, it leaves at 15:13 not 15:12 or 15:15. So you have to be on time to catch the train. In Italy, the trains are on time most of the time. That 15:13 train might be 15:14 or so.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Not quite. There are two good reasons why trains need to run on time in Japan.
1 - They are so many of them that small delays can snowball into major delays across the network.
2 - Trains leaving early is bad because you make people who are on time miss their train, and then make them late.
This is indicative of the kind of mindset that led to the tragic train crash of 2005. A train was running 90 seconds behind, and under tremendous pressure from his superiors, the operator sped the train up and ended up derailing it. If it weren't for the new automatic brake systems installed, this would likely happen again (because I see no change in the culture)
Amagasaki rail crash
I'm Canadian, but I lived in Atlanta in the early 90s. This was when Atlanta was the violent crime capital of the USA. I found Canadian kids are more violent than their American counter parts. They tease, bully and particularly in sports resort to fighting far more often.
The Canadian apology is part de-escalation, half social signalling (and part programmed reflex). When I apologies for someone else bumping into me I'm avoiding a fight and I'm showing confidence that I'm big enough not to be offended. Call me an idiot, I'm not going to take the bait and get a penalty. I will let you go first through the door to show I'm organized, and not in a rush. (yes, I'm guilty, I've been in a few Canadian standoffs) .
In work, if something goes wrong, I'll take the blame and then work on the solution. This is doubly effective in some cultures as I'm remembered as the one who took charge and solved the problem and also saved someone else embarrassment.
One last note. I did find the people of the American south the most friendly, open and genuine people I've ever met. They will always start a conversation and will tell you anything you want to know.
During normal operations, I did notice Japanese trains run to the second when I was there a while back. There's no similar sense of urgency here in the US.
In Hong Kong there is no timetable. The trains run so frequently and reliably that you just turn up at a station a train is either there or will be in 2 minutes. That is how public transport should be done.
Yes, I second this. My Japanese-Japanese dictionary lists the definition for harakiri as simply "the same as seppuku" (my translation). Not that it's a frequent topic of conversation but for what it's worth I've really only heard the latter used during my years over there. I always assumed harakiri was an older synonym that had fallen out of vogue based on that observation and the fact that harakiri entered into English by at least the late 1800s. You say pharmacist and I say apothecary and all that.
Harakiri is considered more vulgar, as it literally describes the procedure as stomach cutting, while since seppuku is derived from the Chinese reading of the characters it does not evoke the same graphic description on hearing it (even if it does on reading it).