In Japan, people often expect you to understand what they want without being told.
Saying things directly can feel rude or awkward.
This kind of communication style is often called a high-context culture.
While this culture is common in many Asian countries, it is particularly noticeable in Japan.
From my experience, communication in countries like South Korea and China tends to be more direct compared to Japan.
Western countries such as the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands are generally considered low-context cultures.
Interestingly, some Dutch people feel that even Americans communicate in a somewhat indirect way.
From a Japanese perspective, this may come as a surprise.
Like any cultural trait, high-context communication has both advantages and disadvantages.
This communication style comes with both strengths and weaknesses.
Advantages
- Smooth communication with fewer words
- Less need to explain everything explicitly
- It allows people to communicate negative messages in a softer way
Disadvantages
- It is difficult for outsiders to understand
- Problems tend to remain unspoken
- People may misunderstand each other
From my experience in Japan, speaking too directly has, at times, made situations worse instead of better.
Because direct confrontation is often avoided in Japan, reading the air functions as a way to prevent conflict.
For example, Japanese drivers tend to avoid using the car horn unless it is absolutely necessary.
A car horn can feel confrontational in Japan because it sends a very direct and public message.
This reflects a high-context communication style, where people try to avoid direct signals that might hurt or embarrass others.
Another everyday example can be seen in how people make plans in Japan.
Instead of saying, “Let’s meet on this specific date,” people often say, “Let’s hang out sometime.”
This keeps the conversation friendly and pressure-free, but in many cases, no concrete date is ever decided, and the plan quietly fades away.
This indirect approach reflects a desire to avoid imposing on others or forcing a decision too quickly.
In this way, these everyday examples show how indirect communication operates in Japan—not as avoidance, but as a form of social care.
So why do people feel the need to read the air in Japan?
Perhaps because it helps maintain harmony, avoid unnecessary conflict, and protect relationships in subtle ways.
Japan has also historically formed its society within a relatively homogeneous population and a single shared language. For a long period, the country experienced isolation, which limited contact with the outside world.
In such an environment, shared assumptions and unspoken understandings were more easily developed and widely accepted, which may have contributed to the establishment of a high-context communication style.
At the same time, it raises a quiet question about whether this unspoken understanding still works in a more global and diverse society.
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