Japanese people are very friendly and seem to get along with each other quite well. However, I think that underneath everything is a real lack of trust between people. Workers are required to "hanko" (stamp their personal seal) in a book everyday. No matter what type of job you have, it seems like you are required to do this. Every month I also have to fill out a form listing what public transportation I've used to get to work (I get reimbursed for this). Again, I have to hanko the paper. However, I can't just hanko it once to say everything is correct. Instead I must hanko every single day's line.

Another example can be seen with things like a lack of checks and the small number of credit cards. Most store owners don't trust not getting the money immediately. They don't trust that banks will pay them back later. Hence, Japanese people carry around hundreds of dollars at a time.

Japanese businesses also seem to follow this philosophy. They are very wary of starting business with a company they don't know. However, if you can gain their trust, then you will be business partners for a long time.

It seems strange to me to have such a mistrust of other people, especially since Japan has some of the least problems with crime in the world.