[US] 2. Making friends in Japan

One complaint I hear from Americans living in Japan quite often is how difficult it is to make Japanese friends. The arguments are that people are usually really happy to talk with you in a social situation, but when it is time to meet again, there is no response. Personally, I haven’t had such an experience, as I have a pretty good social circle of friends. But for others, this is not the case? They ask me why. While I don’t have a clear answer, I’m thinking it may be a few reasons

– Firstly, it would be language barriers and communication styles. Oftentimes both the Japanese person and the American person can’t speak each other’s language at a high enough level to make any meaningful conversation.

– Secondly, maybe the Japanese person is talking to the American person “just to be nice” but doesn’t really want to be that person’s friend. As an American, it’s important for us to be able to “read the air”, and gauge whether the Japanese person actually wants to be our friend.

– Thirdly, if you’re a type of person who likes to complain and say how everything in Japan isn’t like it is back home, who would want to be your friend? As a fellow American, I wouldn’t want to be your friend either.

– From the American point of view, sometimes we wonder if this Japanese person actually wants to be our friend, or if they want to use us for “English practice”.

As you can see, there are several reasons why there are a few people who cannot make friends in Japan. However, if you just relax and have fun, generally there won’t be any problems on both ends of the spectrum.

 

Questions:

1) What is your opinion on the statement above? Do you agree or disagree with anything?

2) Is it easy or difficult for you to make American and/or foreign friends? Why or Why not?

3) If people wanted to make more friends, what would you recommend they do?

4) What kind of topics do you discuss with your friends?

5) If you wanted to meet new people, where would you go?

Key Words and Phrases: barriers, gauge, spectrum.

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Author: sayinsei

英語の発音矯正と会話クラスを提供する新宿の語学学校. A language school in Shinjuku offering English classes

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