Who should be blamed

What do you think about this news?(JP) This happened on the JR Chuo line (yes that one. famous for suicides) this morning. A guy made a dash for the train door and the door almost closed but he pried it open. A train conductor announced; "Rushing to get on the train is dangerous so please be careful." This is the normal announcement. But then he went on to say: "You alone will be responsible if you are seriously injured". Hmm a new comment was added today.

Another customer who heard this announcement complained to JR and JR apologized: "We apologize for his inconsiderate comments". But the train conductor in question said "His rushing was so bad, it caused me to make an emotional comment." But there have been people who have fallen down and broken bones, got their clothing stuck in the door, or ran and fallen off the platform. Even without such big trouble, a little rush can cause a train to stop for a second to open the door again. But just one second can cause a big delay on Tokyo's morming trains. The Yamanote line runs every 2 minutes.  But actually I would also feel a bit upset as well if I listened to such an announcement. I might say too myself "He's said too much".

This sounds funny, but "self-responsibility"  is not an easy issue for us.  My American friend said usually no Japanese want to have responsibility for anything.  On the ohter hand, when we had this kidnapped accident in iraq, some foreign media said Japanese are cold for three volunteers. Because we said they went there on thier self-responsibility, so we could'nt have sympathy so much.

Do you know this bad joke? A ship is on the verge of sinking. Lifeboats are limited, so some guys will have to give up their chance of getting on one and must jump into the sea. This might mean their death... You need to ask guys a certain way to do something like that.
For the English guy, you may ask, " Are you a gentleman?" then he will give up his seat on the boat.
For an American guy, you may ask, " Are you a hero?" then he will jump into the sea without question.
For a German guy, you may tell him,  " That is the rule". Yes, they are so strict for the about rules.
For a Japanese guy though, all you have to say is, " Everybody does that", and he will rush to jump.

"Self-responsibility is important. You want to do it? Please do it at your own risk, I don't care. Please don't give me any trouble. Me? I don't know. Well, I will do the same as other people. How do I feel or think about it? I don't know. Well...leave me alone."

Sounds like this.  Self-responsibility means taking a risk by oneself.  It can apply to rushing for the train? Or when someone does something as a result of his or her willfulness, we don't need to care anymore?   Is self-responsibility an excuse for disregard?  What do you think about this?

Comments

[chronic arthritis]

There are over 100 kinds of arthritis that can affect many different areas of the body. In addition to the joints, some forms of arthritis are associated with diseases of other tissues and organs in the body. People of all ages, including children and young adults, can develop arthritis.

Inflammation is a reaction of the body that causes swelling, redness, pain, and loss of motion in an affected area. It is the major physical problem in the most serious forms of arthritis.

[NeededPills]

Category Arthritis
http://neededpills.com/order_arthritis_en-us.html
Buy Generic Motrin (Ibuprofen)
http://neededpills.com/buy_motrin_en-us.html
What is Motrin (Ibuprofen)?
Motrin is in a group of drugs called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body.
Motrin is used to reduce fever and treat pain or inflammation caused by many conditions such as headache, toothache, back pain, arthritis, menstrual cramps, or minor injury.
Our official website http://www.NeededPills.com/

[Duke William]

bebothered yarnwindle intercutaneous unrightfully daylit mystify ossetine unlizardlike
http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/africa/10/20/zimbabwe.farms.ap/ >Zimbabwe farmers predict corn production will drop by a third next year
http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/KittenCats/index.html

今日分享

[lotensin 5]

I can't be bothered with anything recently. I've just been sitting around doing nothing. Today was a loss. I just don't have much to say. Nothing seems worth thinking about.

[Martin]

HAHAHA this was really funny:

For a Japanese guy though, all you have to say is, "Everybody does that", and he will rush to jump.

Mari, your posts are great! I enjoy reading from your point of view.

[robert]

Wow 17 comments! This was a successful post Mari!
heh heh.
I didn't get that this was about trains or corporate responsibility really. It seems more a question of the responsiblity of the individual versus the responsibility of a culture in general. Are they truly a seperate frame of mind? Because holding someone accountable for their actions, or placing blame as some would call it, assumes that the individual is cognizant of their error. We determine the level of our interaction with life. We can choose to react negatively, positively, indifferently, but the fact remains any reaction is just that. Cause. Effect. Understanding the situation is only part of the solution. Making the individual aware of the consequences of their actions approaches the proper course of action. Though I doubt saying anything to someone who just got chewed out for prying open a train door would be very productive. The thing is, we make bad decisions all the time. It's second nature. Anytime you react to stimulus you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. The problem is that we condition our selves. We begin to rationalize function. Maybe it could be called cumulative negativity, but we start to believe that others intentionally screw up. It becomes personal. We start to believe that making the wrong choices is necessary to our well being. What happens to self-responsibility? It is now skewed into something else altogether, in fact it begins to look like self-destruction. And that is where this post took me. If we see ourselves in the eyes of the guy who caused the delay (which could cause such horrible accidents as earlier this year--it's funny how bad decisions create more bad decisions) then we become aware. Writing it off on one side of the argument or the other is only playing the game of disassociation. It never recognizes our own culpability. True, you did not cause that person to react in such a way, and yes it was a bad call in case you wondered my own personal bias on this, but as part of the same culture that creates the conditions for this, then we all had a part. Is self-responsiblity actually collective responsiblity?
Am I my brother's keeper? ---Tokio-kun says.
®rz

[Lothlorien]

To Claire - right now the US Justice Dept. is trying to let the tobacco companies off the hook, so they don't have to pay for the $$3 million in anti-smoking ads. These ads could help keep kids from becoming smokers. (Good old dubya.)
The addictive chemical in cigarettes is nicotine - a powerful pesticide - I once read one drop of it can kill a horse. Other chemicals are lead, cadmium, arsenic, fluoride, hydrogen cyanide, phenols and acetaldehyde and many others. These ingredients are also in second-hand smoke.
I think it's good there are still lawsuits - maybe the cig companies will be driven out of business (highly unlikely) and tobacco farmers can grow food instead. You know, tobacco is what drove the slave trade in our country.

Human behavior is the same between Japan and the USA. Here in America there are many laws and regulations to protect people from injury. However, people still do stupid things.

Alchohol, tobacco, caffine, other drugs; all these things have been commonly known to be addictive and cause health issues for hundreds of years. Anyone who wishes to know about these drugs can find information from many sources or, talk to people who have used these drugs.

Personal responsibility is just as difficult a subject in the USA as in Japan and there are many people here who would also take offense at the conductor's admonishment. I'm sure there are many people in Japan who would agree the rushing person did a very stupid thing risking his own safety for 2 minutes. I am also sure there are many people in Japan and the USA who would feel very embarrassed if the conductor pointed out the rushing person's stupid action.

In the USA there are many law suits by people saying "Why did you not prevent me from doing a stupid thing?"

Most Americans eat too much food because it tastes good, there is a lot of it and the price is small. When they do not excersize they become fat and discover many reasons it is not their fault. Many drugs are made to help these people live longer. If the drugs do not work or have side-effects people blame the drug maker.

[eddie singer]

I was once getting on a train in Shinjuku, late at night, not the last train, but almost the last train, around midnight, and the platform was crowded, as was the Yamanote Line train I was getting on. To go home to Akabane. Higashi-juju.

As I ran onto the train car, the doors began to close and I managed to get inside, my body that is, but my left arm and the briefcase I was carrying, got stuck outside the car. I tried to pry open the doors but I could not. I was stuck.

at this moment, a bloke on the platform, local guy, tries to steal my briefcase. really! so much for polite sweet nice thoughtful Japan. get over it folks.

And, nobobody came to my defense. nobody tried to help me, not inside the car, to try to open the door, and not outside the train on the platform, where hundreds of people were waiting for the next train coming down the line. Nobody moved a finger. They just watched this young punk (not me!) try to steal my briefcase, which had my passport, and ID and some money, and no way was I going to let go. But nobody on the platform tried to intervene, and nobody in the car next to me even ... looked! They pretended not to see what was happening...

So much for polite sweet gomenasai Japan. Japan is a dark sick country full of mindcontrolled robots who do not know right from wrong.

In the end, I won. I held on to the briefcase, the door finally opened a bit, before the train took off and I got totally inside. But not one person next to me said sorry or even looked at me. They all pretended not to see.

This is Japan, folks. They all pretend not to see. Blame the education system, the govt textbooks and the mindcontrol semi-police state that exists there. Lost in translation? Fie! Don't be fooled, western people, Japan is a deep dark dank cesspool of strange behavior, set up and monitored by the government, of course.

The people themselves are great, one by one, but in a group, forget it. They would just as soon step over you then help you when you need help.

Forget all the cute anime and hello kitty and jpop stara and sexy AV girls, Japan is a sick sick place.

Been there done that. Never again

[Drew]

I saw the conductor on the New Jersey PATH train repeatedly punch the fingers of a guy who was attempting to pry the doors open. There happened to be another PATH maitenance guy in the car who stopped her after a few good smashing blows to the guys fingers.

[Marc]

In New York City conductors yell all the time! "Stand clear of the closing doors! Yes, you! If you hold the doors, this train will be late! Stand clear!" It's great, especially if the person holding the door is in front of you.

[abraxis]

Hey, I like the graphic that you used for the story.

Salaryman Hero Ultraman running for the train!

I picked up some Salaryman Hero teacups last time I was in Tokyo.

Neat!

[クレア (Claire)]

To lothlorien: I, too, have many relatives and both parents who died of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other smoking-related illnesses.

But there are still court cases in America where smokers attempt to sue tobacco companies for causing them to become addicted, and later become seriously ill as a result of using their products. There are suppositions that the companies add unknown ingredients to those products to make them more addictive, but nobody can determine exactly what those might be.

I submit that, if the tobacco companies had not had that landmark court case brought against them by the state attorneys general, they would still be arguing that their products are not addictive, they are not unhealthy, it's perfectly fine to use characters that might appeal to children in their advertising, it's OK to pass out free samples on street corners, etc.

I do beg to differ with respect to Vioxx. Merck *did* know that their product, as Pfizer did know about Bextra, that there was higher risk to individuals with certain types of heart conditions if they were to use this kind of drug. And Merck knew--apparently as early as 2000--but failed to tell the FDA or prescribing doctors of the danger of this product to these kinds of patients.

If you will read the two transcripts from Snigdha Prakash's extensive reports on NPR about this very topic, in which excerpts from internal Merck memos, emails, and other documents were broadcast, you will learn a very sordid story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4696609>
here and http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4696711> here .

Now, if someone took Vioxx for a couple of weeks, as I did a few years ago, should I step up to the trough? I think not, even if I were to keel over from a heart attack tomorrow. Should someone with a known history of heart disease and chronic arthritis who took Vioxx over a multiple year period seek to join a class action lawsuit for the possibility of pain and anguish? What of the thousands worldwide who died needlessly because of Merck's sin of omission?

As for Bextra: Pfizer got off on a technicality. The US FDA had it withdrawn from distribution for 'rare but serious skin reactions'. It has also been taken off the market in the European Union, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, the Philippines, and Mexico.

And for santos l halper: That's funny, you don't look like Metra Locomotive 401 on the BNSF West Line...

[eric]

I suspect the perceived insult that led another commuter to complain is a matter of cultural comfort levels. Americans especially feel most comfortable when they can act individual, absolutely free of group pressure. They LIKE being responsible for their own actions, after a fashion, since it means they can take credit for accomplishments that may in fact have had more to do with a group effort. American teams are more like a bunch of individuals coordinating their talents with each other for mutual gain, rather than a cohesive force: look at any typical basketball game, for example. A lot of the time, someone feels his individual talent is greater than that of the others, and the team falls apart pretty quickly. Our ubiquitous lawsuits, even in shirking responsibility, are still a matter of individuality too. "You didn't do something for ME that you were supposed to do. Your group (corporation) failed in its responsibility to ME."

The Japanese, in contrast, seem most comfortable in a communal environment. The need to act as one powerful force, like a polarized magnet or something similar, has been culturally drilled into the national conscious since the start of the Meiji era. I mean, the modern Japanese succession of governments have been absolutely fixated on sculpting a group identity. So telling that commuter that he would be soley responsible for his own injury might be something like telling him, "Your action is so unacceptable that I'm singleing you out of the group entirely," which the other commuter may have felt was not within the perogative to say, even considering the rushing man's endangering behavior. An American, in contrast, might bristle at the statement because he views the train company as responsible to him to allow him dangerous and foolhardy behavior without the consequences of paying his own medical bills. Even so, absolutely no other American would complain about the conductor's outburst, since it has no bearing on their own individual conduct. They'd probably be more angry at the commuter for holding everyone up, thus in one swift move intruding on hundreds of --individuals'-- rights to arrive at their destination on time.

[lothlorien]

To Clair - You're right about the train thing.
But I don't agree that Americans shouldn't sue Merck or the tobacco companies. (The guy with the hedge-trimmer - that's another story.) But the tobacco companies lied about cigarettes being addictve and toxic. They should at least have to pay for advertising the truth about cigarettes. All their ads made people smoking and looking "cool" - so kids started smoking and got hooked. - I have several relatives who've died from lung cancer and emphysema, and a brother who had a heart attack - that's why this is a sore point . And Merck didn't do all the tests they needed to do or else they would have known about the heart attacks.
The tobacco companies and Merck are all multi-billion $$$ corporations that have made their millions off consumers ( and in the case of tobacco companies - lying to them). They can afford to pay for their mistakes - that's THEIR responsibility.

[santos l halper]

come on you idiots, it's just a train. get off your high horses. there are a lot of ways in which i think japan is far superior to the states; this is not one of them. i myself got my foot stuck in the door of a subway tonight. i had to pry it out and the train went on. in new york, there are no announcements, there are no admonishments, there are no feelings of "responsibility". it's a train door, not spitting on a person. this guy is lucky he even had his personal well-being acknowledged in a city that huge. and for the people who are talking about "why didn't he wait for the next one?" duh... it's human nature. obviously you primarily drive or walk everywhere. train commuters the world over will tell you there is an impulse to rush toward a train in station once you are on the platform. i know this for a fact; i am a train

[David A. Smith]

I did this very thing trying to get on the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. In fact, I thought the message was about me when I first read it, but this happened to me last year. Door nearly took my arm off, not insta-open like in the US. The conductor said something to me - probably similar to this conductor, but I don't understand Japanese.

[クレア (Claire)]

The man missed the train. If another one comes in only 2 minutes, why couldn't he have just waited for the next one, rather than inconvenience many other people by delaying that train and possibly others? ちょっと無礼ですね。

I feel the conductor was right to be concerned for that man's safety. He should not be blamed for making what another person thought was 'an inappropriate comment'. The comment was similar to scolding an elementary school student for running in the hallway. Every single Japanese train or bus I've ridden on says 御注意下さい ("please be careful") at every stop (either the conductor/driver says it, or it's a recorded message). Maybe Japanese people become deaf to this after hearing it so many times, day in and day out? What do you think?

Granted, American culture for a large part, is a blame culture. If something they dislike happens, a lot of people will blame it on someone else and hire a lawyer. Oh, Dad died from a heart attack, and he took Vioxx for two weeks... better hire a lawyer and sue Merck! Jim-Bob got drunk and took the Craftsman lawnmower to try to trim the hedge, and now he's in need of some serious plastic surgery. Better hire a lawyer and sue Sears! Granny smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day since she was 13 and she's dying from emphysema, better hire a lawyer and sue Philip Morris! Get a clue, people...

Self-responsibility is just as hard for many Americans, myself included. If I made a mistake in my job, I may not want to admit it. But I will be honest and say it was my error, and what I will do to fix it now and keep it from happening again.

はい、大変複雑です。

[Chris]

Doesn't arriving at the train after the doors have closed mean that a person has actually missed that particular train and must wait for the next one?
Perhaps that is why the conductor was offended and scolded the passenger. It was not really a question of bodily injury, but an issue of the passenger being selfish enough to pry open a closed train.

One cannot pry open the door of a closed restaurant and expect to be served food, after all.

Is that incorrect of me?

[Roger]

This concept is very complicated. Personal feelings and how one is treated in the eyes of the law are quite different. Here in the U.S, the man rushing the train did a very stupid thing, however, he could easily sue the train company if he was injured.

My wife is Japanese. Quite interestingly...she tends to be very critical. Though she sounds quite harsh about other people, she will blame herself for things that are not her fault and avoid responsibility for things that she alone can control.

The man on the train should have been asked to step away from the train. Like JR, he also has a responsibility to behave in a reasonable and safe way. If you behave in an unsafe way while boarding a plane—especially these days—you will likely be denied access to your flight, and possibly even arrested.

Being late does not entitle a person to endanger others.

[Kawika]

In the case of the train, the man did a stupid and irresponsible thing. If he had been hurt, it would have been completely his fault. I mean, the train comes every two minutes, right? I understand the irritation on the part of the train conductor who probably sees such stupid things happen many times every day. I think he was right to express his concern for the person's safety. I disagree with the person who complained to JR. If you must put blame, then blame the man who forced the door. But no one will, because since many people do such things, he must be right and the conductor is wrong to be concerned with his safety and say so!

I think that Japanese are *very* responsible and supportive to people within their group (which is usually very small). Even if a person in the group does something wrong or stupid or unlawful, they will support him. Outside the group, rules change completely. Every outside situation has different ethical considerations and approaches. When visiting Japan, I have always been amazed at how helpful Japanese are to me when I needed directions or advice in travel. I believe that I am being helped partly because the Japanese are concerned with how outsiders view them. I doubt that they would do such things for other Japanese because these other Japanese should know better. Is this not so?

Taihen fukusatsu desu ne...