Cross-cultural communication （74）　

74) Is it taboo to talk about politics?
This was around 2016. At this time, the number of inbound foreign tourists was rapidly increasing, and in the Kansai region, tourists from Asia, especially China, were particularly noticeable. One time, when I was trying to buy a ticket to get back to my home in Kobe from Hanshin Umeda Station, an Asian female backpacker seemed to be having trouble using the ticket machine and was looking worried. When I explained to her in English, she replied in very fluent English, and she was able to buy her ticket without any problems. As it happened, we were going in the same direction, so we were able to get on the same carriage and chat. First, I asked her why she was so good at English, and she said that she had majored in English at university in China. In Japan, there are many graduates of English literature and language, but I don't often come across people who are this good at English.

It seems that university education in China is not to be underestimated, at least when it comes to English. Then, as we were chatting about her impressions of her trip to Japan, the conversation moved on to the topic of train fares in the Kansai region. She replied that train fares in Japan were very reasonable, and then asked whether there was a special charge for riding express trains, etc. I replied that, at least within the Kansai region, there is no need to pay a special fare for distances of around 50km, whether you are using a private railway or JR, and that Japan is much more communist in this respect than China. Then, the expression on her face, which had been friendly up until that point, suddenly hardened, and she said, “I don't want to talk about anything political,” and ended the topic unilaterally.

It is said in the news that there is no freedom of expression in China, and that severe penalties are imposed for claims that go against communism. It is true that activists aiming for democratization must be careful of what they say and do at all times, or they will get into trouble. However, this is the kind of overreaction that a Chinese person who appears to be an ordinary person would have in a conversation on a train while sightseeing in Japan. I once again experienced the stubbornness of the current Chinese government. If you have the chance to have a conversation with a Chinese tourist, it would be interesting to bring up a political topic and see how they react. Of course, Japan is a democratic country, so don't worry, you won't suffer any harm from doing so.

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