Walking ahead of friends/colleagues

In Japan is it rude to walk several metres ahead of a colleague? I'm a female teacher and my male co-teacher always walks several paces in front of me when we're going to class.

It's either he walks faster, or, if you both walking together, students suspect you both are boy/girl friend relationship, thus he wants to avoid the suspect.

In Japan is it rude to walk several metres ahead of a colleague?

If you're walking "metres" away from each other, you're not walking together. You may be heading for the same place, but you're two different people minding your own business. It's not about being rude or polite.

I'm a female teacher and my male co-teacher always walks several paces in front of me when we're going to class.

I don't understand. Is it like he's walking slowly, but runs away every time you catch up? Well, usually, teachers are in a hurry when heading for class.

For example when we're teaching a class together, I will go to his office to meet up and we will walk to the class together but he insists of walking several metres ahead of me. Sometimes I have questions I need to ask about the class and I have to physically run to catch up to him. When I'm mid-sentence through a question he will cut me off with an abrupt answer and then rush ahead to avoid walking with me. Maybe you're right, that he doesn't want anyone to think we're in a relationship.

I don't think he has particular reasons that he walks fast. You better to understand his behavior and do all things before the class begins, not to chat while you both are walking.

He sounds like someone who just doesn't want to waste time. As tokyo friend 48 just mentioned, maybe you should show up at his office earlier to ask those questions.

I can't really tell you if it's rude or not by Japanese standards, but I certainly would find it rude myself, if it is how you describe, which sounds like a purposeful attempt to not walk next to you.
As long as he treats you professionally in other respects, I would just accept it, and learn to work around it by the methods mentioned above such as talking to him before the class.

It would certainly be rude if he was expected to walk together. But from what the OP has posted so far, I personally got the impression that his job is to teach rather than to host his colleague.

I got the impression that he was just trying to be proffessional by waiting patiently for his colleague, and then the colleague arriving in the nick of time, and then he trying to go to class in time for the bell while his colleague is asking questions she could've discussed earlier.

It's just my personal impression though. Anyway, if it's anything cultural, in Jaapn it's very important to not to be late.

I think op should ask him, rather than guessinG, if that bothers you so much. one can assume anything, like, perhaps, he perhaps wants to look he is in charge, although you called him co-teacher. This would look very unprofessional to me, though, like avoiding being assumed in a relationship.

Or he perhaps wants to get to class as quickly as possible, in case pupils need to ask some questions before class. If you two gets into questions and discussions, you 2 will be late. If you need to discuss anything about lessons/classes with him, can you not ask him to spare time for you after school, in teachers room?

Another guess: Maybe he is right now asking in a Japanese online forum why his foreign co-worker is always walking so slowly despite him trying to show her that he is in a hurry...

He's not the teacher of the class, I am. We're supposed to be team teaching but he asked me to run the classes, he just stands there and observes. And I don't turn up "in the nick of time", I turn up early with plenty of time to spare. He always walks off on me no matter what the situation or time of day, often when I'm in the middle of a sentence. To me insisting on walking ahead of someone or walking away when they're talking to you is very strong body language that you don't like them. It's not a matter of wanting to be punctual because we always arrive with a few minutes to spare and as soon as the class is over he rushes off back to his office when I want to debrief with him. I don't know if he's that busy because usually he's reading manga or sleeping. I asked on this forum because I wanted to know if Japanese people think it's rude, and the people who have replied have said a very strong no, so I guess it's just a point of cultural difference that I should learn to accept!

I didn't say a very strong no. In fact I did say it was rude, only that I wasn't sure if he had to walk with you.

Again he seems like one of those people who is always in a hurry, which probably comes from some sort of anxiety. And I don't think it's cultural, because the worst person of this kind that I've encountered was not Japanese.

Maybe you should be straightforward to him and ask why he needs to walk away all the time. Or this can be a good opportunity to discuss this with another mutual colleague of yours, as others have probably felt the same thing if it's that bad.

please don't jump to a conclusion that it's a cultural difference or it's ok in Japan. I don't think your matter is anything to do with Japanese culture. Yes, I think it's rude, if he is avoiding you for any reason, while you 2 work together. But you don't have a solid evidence. That's why it might be better to ask him. People here can only guess, based on what you write/don't write and how you explain.
Hope you get to speak to him somehow.

Thanks everyone. As I have been in Japan for less than a year I am still trying to work these little things out, and the first thing I ask myself when an interpersonal issue arises is whether it could be a cultural difference that I have misinterpreted before jumping the gun. I should probably ask him what his deal is however as he's my senpai I feel uncomfortable. I raised issues about his behavior before (he was speaking to me negatively in front of the students) and asked him why and if I have done something bad to make him dislike me but he just brushed it off because he was uncomfortable discussing it. Whatever it is, whether it be anxiety or rudeness or simply a tendency to walk fast, he either doesn't perceive it as rude or doesn't care so I'll let it go for now!