Humans are social creatures. We live surrounded by a variety of friends, including friends from our small trusted community, local friends, friends from work, and friends from school. In Japan, there is a mindset that making friends and building good relationships will lead to a good life. Japanese people are proactive in making friends. So how can foreigners build friendships with Japanese people?

You can communicate with Japanese people you meet by simply striking up a conversation, but before that, it is important to understand cultural differences in order to deepen friendships. I would like to briefly talk about Japanese culture from my own experience.

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Compared to people from other countries, Japanese people are polite and conservative by nature. They are afraid of giving foreigners the wrong impression, so they tend to be reserved, especially when speaking with foreigners. However, Japanese people have a strong desire to help foreigners, so if you meet a reserved Japanese person, try asking them about the meaning of Japanese words. You can also talk about music events or the nearest post office. Starting a conversation with questions about Japan like these will help you have good communication.

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Also, even if you want to know a Japanese person's opinion on a topic about Japan that interests you, it's best to ask them after they have gained your trust. Generally, Japanese people avoid expressing opposing opinions in conversation. Furthermore, even mentioning something bad about Japan can be perceived as you dislike Japan. Every country has its good and bad points. If your country of origin has a culture of speaking directly, you may offend Japanese people.

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However, Japanese people don't show their emotions, so it's hard to tell if they're angry. So be careful when discussing such topics with Japanese people you just met. Some of my Japanese friends thought I hated Japan because I complained about things they didn't like about it. Eventually, they understood that I wasn't hating Japan, but that I was just talking because there were things that bothered me, and now we have deeper exchanges of opinions.

I wrote this based on my personal experience and hope it will be helpful.

I hope that everyone will live a happy life in Japan.

This article has been partially re-edited by KARUTA from an article published on Guidable.