Understand or Not — SOP Continues

Into The Japanese Mind  by Sio

When I first moved to Japan, my IC card once stopped working, and I couldn’t get through the ticket gate to leave the station. So I asked a staff member for help. He nodded politely, then fired off a long string of Japanese at full speed. My Japanese was very limited at the time, so I asked, “English OK? Google Translate OK?” He stared at me, then repeated the same thing even faster. I was stunned. Was he joking? He knew I hadn’t understood a word. Why keep going?

These robotic responses shows up everywhere — at banks, gyms, post offices. No matter how confused I look, the lines just keep firing.

Not until I met Tanaka San I could finally understand a Japanese. She spoke slowly, used simple words, even gestures. Turned out she had studied Chinese and lived abroad.

Then I realized most Japanese never learned to think another way. One language, one logic — not unkind, just never trained to slow down, rephrase, or gesture to help others understand.

In Japan, saying the right thing by the book makes you “correct.” A lot of time language isn’t for communication — it’s for obeying the system. As long as the SOP runs, your confusion doesn’t register as a problem.

People who’ve learned a second language know — if someone doesn’t understand, you slow down, change words, try another way. Cos language is for connection, not just proving you understand yourself.

They say Japan is another world. Maybe they never needed to be understood. I once thought it was not knowing how — but maybe it’s a choice. Aren’t we the same? Sometimes, even in our own tongue, speaking vaguely to shut people out.

Sio

Resetting life in Osaka after years in the UK, France, Spain, Canada & Argentina.

IG @ anothersio