Japan wants foreign tourists to avoid ‘public flatulence’

TOKYO: A Japanese tourism board has called on foreign tourists to refrain from public ‘belching or flatulence’ in an etiquette guide which was hastily rewritten, reportedly after complaints from a Chinese resident.

The Hokkaido Tourism Organisation, which represents Japan’s northern-most island, published a downloadable brochure on its website, with polite instructions on everything from public bathing to using a Japanese toilet. Helpfully, it even dedicated an entire section to protocol for avoiding bodily functions.

“Japanese etiquette is based on avoiding causing discomfort or nuisance to others. Accordingly, Japanese will avoid bodily functions such as belching or flatulence in public entirely, or perform bodily functions as discreetly as possible,” the guide points out.

However, the Chinese-language guide – originally entitled ‘Common Sense When Travelling in Hokkaido’ – upset a Chinese resident who angrily claimed the diagrams featuring examples of bad tourist behaviour were offensive, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. The complaint prompted a new, foreigner-friendly version with softer explanations of Japanese customs.

In the updated guide available in Chinese and English, gone are the large ‘X’-marks next to cartoon illustrations of tourists committing, from a Japanese perspective, embarrassing gaffes, such as putting used toilet paper into the waste bin – the general custom in China – instead of flushing it away.

According to The Japan Times newspaper, the original booklet was first published last August and was targeted at Chinese tourists, including a reminder not to open products before buying them when shopping, a habit also seen in China. — AFP