Names

The use of names is different in Japanese than it is in English. I know from exposure to Japanese resources that they use their family names more than their first names, first name usage is reserved for those that you know very well and are close with. In English we use everyone’s first names by default, ones last name is only used in specific circumstances or after a title such as doctor, mister, missus, etc. Personally, I’m glad people don’t call me by my last name here. I like my first name much better and it’s interesting to have your identity tied so closely to your family. It’s almost like you’re seen as less of a person independently from your family, though that idea comes from a very American and individualistic point of view. I know for them it’s also about social distance and privacy in a way, using someone’s first name is almost intimate and so going by a last name makes more sense, I’m sure if I grew up there I would prefer it that way. I wonder if they find it odd calling some foreigners by their first names, I’m sure they know of the difference but maybe it would feel too personal to them. Or, maybe they’re used to it with foreign celebrities and news circulating.