Japan is very much the land of situational ethics, where many things are case by case and how they affect others if they know about it. The problem with this is often it is not considered if it will be better to tell someone the bad news now versus stringing them along and breaking it over his or her head in the future.

Considering ones' status as compared to others is a constant dance, yet we sometimes play the same game in other cultures, perhaps not as well.