The sumimasen of silence

Cultural difference is the longest distance in the world, and the biggest gap between any individual.

Junko san, a dear dear dear friend of mine has recently posted a short article on her blog, blaming an aspect of life in Tokyo, the cosmos-huge mega-metropolitan human agglomeration she recently lost herself in...

Being a mixture of western and oriental culture, Junko san seems to suffer from the "indifference syndrome" that most people in Tokyo as well as the rest of the world is victim of.

Sumimasen, sorry in Japanese, is widely employed and might be the most used word in Japan. Whenever one would like to do something in the presence of others, "sumimasen" is said in order to let people know. At this moment, a reply from the people we are addressing this word is mostly expected, no matter it be a smile, nod or just friendly eye contact.

However, indifference is ruining it all. There is in general no reply at all, and the "sumimasen" is just unheard.