During the guided tour of the company Jens understood one thing: there was a humongous difference between the top staff’s offices like Mr CEO’s secretaries’ office or reception, and the rest of the office spaces. For Jens it was obvious that these two areas were the most representative - so they needed to be better than the rest. What he did not expect was just how bad offices that were not representative were. And it was not like some departments were better than others - there were a few differences between each department, yes, but all of them looked mostly the same - old and worn out desks without drawers made from plywood, greyish wall paint that was probably white twenty years ago. And the chairs - oh the chairs were so bad — he remembered having chairs like that twenty years ago when he was a little boy and he had his first computer lessons in school. He remembered how brittle and uncomfortable they were. He dreaded sitting on one again, to feel again like a child in a place that felt like there was neither day nor night with these harsh artificial lights.

But he got one desk and one chair for himself. And one desk without drawers. With one old monitor he could plug his new laptop into. Because getting all the necessary access to internet systems could take up to a week, according to the support team, he received a big printed work manual he needed to read. What a waste of paper it was. 

Even with all this, he still was on the edge - should he change it? That was until he saw all of his new department colleagues' faces. Those faces looked tired, with both eyes and skin imbued with a little of this grey tint he saw on the walls. Those were not happy nor satisfied faces.

Purpose breeds passion.

So the question in Jens’s mind was: how was he going to fix it?

He took a look at what he had at his disposal. First, he evaluated his situation - he was not wanted, sought after, or respected here. Nobody expected anything from him. No, wrong - Haruka Tanikawa did not expect anything from him. Mr CEO expected him to stay low and learn Japanese customs. At the same time, nobody believed there is a place for improvements or that it is possible to make any. And he could see how in this culture people were allergic to directness. Because of that - no matter how he would say it, being direct or suggesting any changes, it won't be taken into consideration or lead to change. So he must find another way. How? Jens sighed deeply. He lacked data!

“Tell me if some kanji are too hard for you in this manual, I will explain it to you”, said Haruka, interpreting his sigh as difficulty in reading.

“No, it's fine”, Jens adjusted his position on the uncomfortable chair. Then he took out his phone and started to look for office chairs online. The prices were not bad. From what he saw, the company was also not in a bad financial situation. A plan started to form in his head. Just then, Haruka cleared her throat, and broke the silence:

“I booked us a meeting room”

“Why?” Asked Jens. “Are we meeting someone?”

“I need to teach you some basics. We moved the whole traditional meet and greet with the whole department after that meeting.”, the tone that Haruka chose for this, made him feel a little guilty. “Wait, she’s good”, thought Jens. “I did nothing wrong yet, I should not feel any guilt”.

“Let’s go”, Haruka got her things and stood up. She started walking, not looking back.

CRASH!

Everybody in the office moved their heads to the source of this loud, crisp noise. She turned around and saw Jens sitting on the floor with two pieces of broken chair. He smiled apologetically, and opened his mouth to say something.

“Don’t worry, we will take a new one for you from the meeting room”, said Haruka. Some people ran to check on Jens, but stopped in the middle, wondering if they should say anything, because they were not introduced formally yet. 

They moved into a meeting room, with five chairs, oval table and a tv. Nothing subnormal here. Haruka plugged her laptop in - and it was working perfectly. Jens thought she probably had someone who took some time to set it up before she got it, or she was higher on the list of priorities than him. Both were plausible explanations.

“I will teach you this year the basics to live in society. I know you probably learned some of this stuff in the language school you went to, but you will need the context of a corporation to survive next year. Please cooperate.”

On the TV screen Jens saw a presentation starting. On the big screen, he saw one word: KEIGO.

“What will happen if I don't?" asked Jens with pure curiosity.

Haruka stared at him blankly.

“Please don’t make me repeat the whole espionage and debt stuff”, she believed she got her point. As Jens closed his mouth, she continued: “Have you heard about Keigo?”

“I heard its term for polite speech. Adding to name’s ending’s like -san, -chan or -kun. Or sensei to teacher.” 

“That’s what you learn in school. Now, our focus today is on keigo used in corporate settings. We will later have an official introduction to the marketing department, so try to focus, so you don’t embarrass…” Haruka made a significant pause. And then she thought, he probably won’t catch the subtle meaning behind the silence. “…us. Please don’t embarrass us”.

“Oooh, so it will be a real-life test later, how exciting” Jens smiled at Haruka.

She wished he would take this seriously. 

“It’s not an easy task. First, I’ll show you a few faces, and tell you how you should address them. It’s important, so focus.”

On the presentation slide he saw a middle aged man with a face resembling a basset hound, with a photo taken clearly from one of the corporate sites.

“This is Kimura Ryou, chief of our department. You should address him as Kimura-bucho, or Bucho, or Bucho-san. Remember his face”

“Right, so Ryou-bucho. Surname was first, and then first name?” asked Jens.

“No, no Ryou-bucho or Ryou-san unless he asks you specifically to address him like that.”

“Understood, Haruka-sensei”, teased her Jens.

“Please don’t call me like that”, her words cut through air the same way paper cut through skin. “You should call me Tanikawa-san”.

“Oh. I’m sorry” apologised Jens. At the same time, he thought about how the Prime Minister and Mr CEO addressed her by her name and -san. What was the meaning behind this, was it closeness, or disregard for her? Once again, he felt bad for her. He felt like he understood her world a little.

Sometimes the same things that open us up, close us down.