Continuing the work theme, as Dirk notes, new employees join Japanese companies on April 1st every year. It's funny to see them walking in lines following their boss - they look a little like ducklings, or small children going on their first school outing.
Anyway, the young lady standing next to me on the train this morning was reading a riveting book about how to behave in a Japanese company. One page had a diagram of a car, and explained where each person should sit, relative to their position in the organization. It also explained in which order one should get out of the vehicle, so as to cause the least offence to others!
No wonder there is a kind of ritual musical chairs-style dance every time you put a few Japanese people in a meeting room.
Posted by Gary at April 6, 2005 11:53 AMI like to count how may times people bow when parting ways. Not wanting to be the last one to bow they just keep going, and going, and going...
Posted by: mhegge at April 10, 2005 11:20 PM