Photo/Illutration Hajime Ota, a professor at Doshisha University and expert in organizational theory (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The word “personally” is all the rage in Japan. It seems too many Japanese are saying this word before expressing their opinions. But it might just be me.

Simply saying “I think” is good enough, but “personally” is often used, for whatever reason.

If speakers say “personally” in the middle of their talk, does that mean that they have not been speaking “personally” until then? Or was the speaker speaking on behalf of an organization?

I asked a colleague about this point, and received this explanation: This word is often used to mean, “What I’m going to say might offend you, but I nevertheless have to say it,” which is quite different from the original meaning of the word.

Hajime Ota, a professor at Doshisha University and expert in organizational theory, cites strong pressure to conform in Japanese companies and other organizations as a factor behind this trend.

If someone under such circumstances wants to express a dissenting opinion, Ota argues, the person needs a “way to escape” from the pressure. The word “personally” probably performs that function, according to the scholar.

“Japanese organizations work on the tacit assumption that public (organizational) interests take precedence over private interests,” Ota says.

Things are probably not so bad if you can express what you really think after saying “personally.”

“The worst situation is when you are in an organization where nobody will divulge what they really think and everybody must toe the official line,” Ota says.

During the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, or the Tokyo Trial, one of the Japanese wartime leaders convicted as a Class-A war criminal, said, “In my personal opinion, I was opposed (to the war),” while talking about the process of how Japan entered the war, according to political scientist Masao Maruyama (1914-1996).

Maruyama criticized leaders of organizations who dismiss individual members’ opinions as “personal feelings” and who adamantly believe that morals require members to conform to the people around them. Such leaders simply “submit to the fait accompli,” he observed.

Diverse views and opinions are vital for building a healthy and peaceful society. Honestly, I am not a big fan of the word “personally,” but I, personally, think it would be better if more people use the word as a preamble to say what they really want to say.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 22

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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