Cellphone Etiquette In Japan
Today Mainichi News reported a man fatally beating a 61-year-old bus passenger after the victim told him off for talking on his cell phone on a bus.
While this is a sad incident, this presents a nice opportunity to talk about phone etiquette in Japan.
Did you know that it is considered rude to talk on the cellphone while riding a bus or train?
One widely believed reason is radio waves from the cellphones causes interference with heart pacemakers and other medical devices. Of course the other more obvious reason is because talking on the cellphone may annoy passengers sitting around you.
Therefore most of the time, you can see signs reminding people to turn off their mobile phones when taking public transport, especially around seats reserved for the elderly and handicapped.
As for Singapore, I always see people talking on the cellphone on public transport and even while driving. In fact, there are many annoying people that talk so loudly you can hear what the content of their conversation is about. The only time people would turn off their cellphones is probably in the cinemas.
So how about the cellphone culture in your country? Do you talk on the cellphone while on public transportation?
More from this category
- Clumsy Robbers Drop Loot During Getaway
- Lonely Japanese Man Steals Other’s New Year Card
- A Plate of Knitted Sushi
- High Tech Peeing Products for Japanese Women
More from this author
- Vocaloid CV03 Revealed: Megurine Luka 「巡音ルカ」
- Nendoroid MikkuMiku Kagami PVC
- Ringing In the New Year At Akihabara
- Figma Saber Lily Photo Review
Subscribe to this author
Alafista's Twitter
My phone is switched on 24/7 lol. We just don’t really practise switchin’ it off here in SG. Maybe in silent mode sometimes but never off for me. =/
Whenever I ride the Metro North (commuter rail into New York) in the morning, there’s inevitably someone having a big conversation on a cell phone. Usually they are business men who have turned their seat into a temporary office! I’m tempted to pretend to talk on my cell phone and loudly say stuff like, “Tell Trump I won’t accept less then $5 Million!”
Italy, I heard people using their mobile also in cinemas, restaurants, churches and on planes during landing.
The best place is riding a scooter wedging the mobile in between the ear and the crash helmet
Most students use there little cellphones in class to text each other meaningless messages and as for public transportation I’ve never been on one unless a tour bus counts so yeah….
“While this is a sad incident, this presents a nice opportunity to talk about phone etiquette in Japan”
the way u typed that made me LOL
@ Leefe: The only time I turn off my hp is when I’m asleep. For some reasons, a couple of my friends like to call me up at 8am in the morning when I’m still practically unconscious.
@ DS: LOL. $5 million is too little =P
@ Fabio: Ah thats smart to wedge the hp in the helmet. That way the police wouldn’t know that you are talking on the phone and riding at the same time.
@ Hei: I guess sending text messages are still cosidered okay since there not much noise involved except the pressing of the number pads.
@ Dee: I couldn’t come up with a better way to link back to the topic =P
We have no such rules in Pakistan..people use it whenever they like. But usually people avoid it infront of others and move to some place where they intend on disturbing less.
NY is like that. Actually the US is like. People are so rude and don’t realize it and get offended when you tell them to quiet down. Makes me want to drop kick someone