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this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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Once again he missed the basics
Not only is this... perhaps one of the most insulting things you could possibly say, so insulting that ... basically every extremely formally well-mannered Japanese politician or attache in that room actually completely lost their composure...
Why Donald, WHY WAS IT that Japan did a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor?
Was it maybe because, I don't fucking know... they didn't have sufficient access to oil resources?!
I want to beat Trump to death with a phone book.
God fucking damnit.
... This unimaginable shitstain needs to be fed his own teeth, through his nose.
I've met an ex-Yakuza once.
Had an interesting night at a bar once, we bonded over martial arts.
... I can only imagine his reaction to this.
Wait wait I thought I was the only person on here who knew about the oil embargo
No I remembered. It'll be really funny if it turns out America's oil-motivated sneak attack is how the giant ultimately goes back to sleep. I could see this disaster unfolding with the winding down of the military industrial complex following a massive economic collapse and the loss of status as world reserve currency, so it's not the silliest hypothetical I can cook up.
They’re also not idiots, and they understand when they’re interacting with someone from a another country that their counterpart isn’t always going to follow their local social norms. They also know Trump is a buffoon. I doubt anyone Japanese was truly insulted; all US citizens should be embarrassed though.
"Showing respect in all aspects of daily life" sounds like a bit of orientalism. People aren't exactly bowing to each other when they pick up a beer from a convenience store.
... that actually happens. Cashiers at Konbini do bow. Not every cashiers, not every Konbini, but more than you'd expect. Plus, they verbally welcome you to the store and say good bye when you exit. It's reflexive over there.
Its really not, if you're broadly comparing Japanese culture to American culture.
I was a karateka for over a decade, met a fair number of Japanese people, Japanese karatekas.
Even the Japanese karatekas, who are... largely considered to be more rude and care less about politeness, be more brash than the typical Japanese non karateka... they were generally much more polite, less crass, more likely to avoid an unintentional insult, and be very embarassed than the American karatekas I knew, than the typical American.
Like I actually remember a Japanese karateka explaining to me the difference between ... what kinds of situations call for a 15-30 degree bow, a 30-45 degree bow, and basically a 90 degree bow.
There is a literal physical language and ettiquette to showing the proper amount of respect: If you do a very deep bow for something that only calls for a minor one, you're basicslly acting like a kiss-ass, being overly dramatic. If you do a minor bow for a situation that calls for a deep bow, you're being flippant, insulting, not taking things seriously.
The only exception to that pattern I've personally experienced was when, years later, I happened across an apparent ex-Yakuza at a bar.
Yeah. Yeah that guy was significantly less well-mannered lol.
But also extremely skilled at martial arts.
Yeah, talking cultures broadly I agree, but the phrasing of how respect permeates "all aspects of daily life" sticks in my craw.
This isn't really unique to Japan, except maybe for the fact that it manifests itself as a bow. If you owe someone a really big apology and you say "Yeah, oops" you'll come off as flippant. If you minorly inconvenience someone and you say "I'm so deeply sorry for the grave harm I've done to you!" you sound insincere.
I mean, my point in saying its a literal physical form of etiquette that is systemitized is to ... differentiate it from many other cultures, where its mostly just linguistic.
Not too many other cultures have a whole system of physical manuevers that also comprise part of how respect is culturally conveyed.
Microexpressions? Nah, this is a macroexpression.
Tons of broader Japanese culture also has systemitized, physical rituals... essentially, complex dances, that either accompany or just literally are an actual ancient tradition.
There is an extreme amount of emphasis on physical control of your own body, compared to other cultures I have interacted with, have studied.
Of course, not everyone takes all of that so seriously, is so formal... culture changes over time and is never totally homogenous... Japan is also rather famous for its extremely expressive and distinctive fashion/lifestyle sub cultures.
There is differentiation, but its... its sort of like the Overton window for etiquette is in a significantly different position as for many other cultures, if that makes sense.