On September 2, 2026, a post titled 'How to get close to Japanese people?' appeared on China's social media platform Xiaohongshu (RED) and has attracted the attention of Chinese netizens.

The poster asked, 'Japanese people seem to place great importance on their sense of distance from others, and they appear to pay meticulous attention to their words in daily life to avoid making others uncomfortable. So, how do they usually interact with people? Even if they're not lovers, how do they build relationships with acquaintances and friends?'

In response, Chinese netizens offered advice such as: 'Start with common hobbies!' 'If you get drunk, the distance between you will shrink rapidly.' 'Quite a few Japanese people themselves don't even know how to interact (lol). Personally, I recommend going out to eat together a few times. Also, if you contact them suddenly on the weekend and they immediately say 'I can come now,' I think you can become good friends.'

Additionally, views such as: 'Japanese people just have a strong sense of boundaries with strangers.' 'They're like that during work in the daytime, but once work is over and they go out at night, they completely let loose and get lively with anyone.' 'The sense of boundaries is about social manners and politeness, while intimate relationships are about personal emotional connections. The two don't contradict each other; they just switch depending on the situation.' were also submitted.

Furthermore, voices such as: 'It depends on the person. Not everyone is cold and has strong boundaries.' and 'There are both sociable and unsociable Japanese people. Some actively try to close the distance, and not everyone is introverted.' were also heard.

Also, opinions such as: 'Having boundaries is a good thing. My friend also told me, 'If you maintain an appropriate distance, you can have a longer relationship,' and I really think that's true.' and 'Intimacy with boundaries' is very comfortable. I feel that relationships like 'You don't need to apologize, we're close' or 'We're buddies, aren't we?' tend to fall apart easily when something unexpected happens.' were also shared.

On the other hand, anecdotes such as: 'I've been working with a Japanese colleague for two years, but our relationship hasn't changed much since the first day (lol).' and 'I've recently been dating a Japanese person, and they are incredibly polite and courteous. The other day, when I said, 'You don't have to be so formal,' they replied, 'For Japanese people, politeness is a habit.' Such anecdotes were also collected.

In addition, questions such as: 'Watching 'Crayon Shin-chan,' Japanese people seem much livelier.' and 'Do Japanese people themselves feel that kind of distance is 'reserved' or 'aloof'? Conversely, if foreigners don't interact with the same level of distance and politeness, do they think 'that person is rude?' Such questions were also raised. (Translation/Editing by Iwata)