One interesting Japanese TV show I watch sometimes is called “Miraculous Experience Unbelievable,” a drama-variety show hosted by famed director and comedian Takeshi Kitano (universally known as “Beat” Takeshi inside Japan) which presents true stories of human trial and triumph each week. An episode I caught the other day told the story of the “Bionic Heart woman,” an American girl who had to live for several months on a portable mechanical heart while she waited for a donor to be found. In a scene where a doctor was telling the woman and her parents about her serious condition, my Japanese father-in-law asked, “What is the doctor doing, telling the woman she might die at any time? Doesn’t he know he should tell the parents separately and keep the problem a secret from the patient?” This is an old Japanese tradition that says doctors should never share information with seriously ill patients, but tell their family (especially the oldest son, if there is one) and let them decide whether to share the information or keep it secret. It’s quite a big cultural difference from the way things are done in the U.S.
There are a lot of cultural differences bewteen Japan and the West.
