How would you ask sb to do sth in the most polite way in Japanese?

Hello, everyone. Before talking about today's topic, let me give you a brief introduction about myself. I'm KMC, though it is, of course, my pseudonym. I was born and raised in Japan. I delved into linguistics and English education at university. Currently, I'm learning English to achieve 8.0 or higher overall on the IELTS to become an English teacher at a private high school.

Besides English, I'm also interested in social sciences such as politics, international politics, geopolitics, history and economics.

Today, I'm going to share with you an interesting way to politely ask somebody to do something in Japanese, a way that might surprise you.

The expression was introduced in a Japanese TV program. I don't remember the name, though. Let's say you're having dinner with someone of high status like the Prime Minister and you want him to pass the soy sauce. How would you ask in the most polite way possible?

I guess that in English, you would say, "I was wondering if you could possibly pass me the soy sauce." or "I'd appreciate it if you could possibly pass me the soy sauce.", though some people feel these expressions too polite. However, anyway, I would like to emphasize that native Englsih speakers would use words to make requests, even in formal situations.

Now, how would you make this request politely in Japanese?

To be honest, when a friend asked me this, I couldn’t come up with the “correct” answer. It was surprising! According to Haruhiko Kindaichi, a well-known Japanese linguist, the most polite way in Japanese is simply to say the person’s name, title, or position while looking at the object you want.

In other words, if you were having dinner with the Japanese Prime Minister and wanted the soy sauce, you would simply say, “Prime Minister,” while staring at the soy sauce. That’s it!

This reveals a fascinating aspect of Japanese communication: not everything needs to be said out loud. Much is implied. This style of communication might be puzzling for non-native speakers, on the contrary, for even some native Japanese speakers.

When I first learned about this, I found the cultural difference truly fascinating.

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Bye for now!