Manners on buses

I often see college-age boys or young men occupying a double seat on buses. They put a bag on the seat on the seat or sprawl across it. Real "passive aggression". I make them move over in no uncertain terms but Japanese passengers seem unbothered. Why?

because Japanese folks are usually chicken and don't have the guts to come out and warn those bad mannered people whether it be on buses or trains. Of course deep inside though, they're pissed and upset that nobody else doesn't say or do anything about it. I reckon it's a cultural issue rather than them being unbothered by it.

on my bus, it's old ladies who occupy the 2 seats. They sit on the aisle seat and move across for no-one. I too force the issue but to be fair there is not much room for the@two of us.

They think the guys (or the old ladies or whatever) will "gyaku-gire," in other words, go nuts against you in return. They think they might get stabbed or something, because they hear about stuff like that on the news all the time.

But if you ask me, that's just an excuse for being chicken. I've asked people to move over, very politely and precisely, and I've never had a problem about it. If you get mad at them, they get mad at you, but if you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you and even be embarassed about their ignorant behavior.

I do, however, see locals asking people to move over once in a while. On a related note, as long as there are several unoccupied seats left, I think it's okay to occupy the seat next to you.

Agree with Uco. People who display ignorant behaviors ARE ignorant. I don't want to bother with such folks. Personally I prefer to stand and leave the seats for old people, pregnatn women, people with little kids and so on.

some old folks occupy a double seat while some young guys sit in the aisle. They are all disgusting but why shoul we bother with such fools? Unfortunately, some proportion of people, regardless of generation, are desperately inconsiderate and we cannot help it. Or should we exterminate them?

Everyday Commuter wrote;
"Or should we exterminate them?"

No, we should let plainly them know that they're bothering others and that they can be helpful just by putting their bag on their lap.

Also, I do think they are ignorant, but I still want to bother with them.

And I do understand their feelings, too. When you're tired and you find a seat, the first thing you feel like doing is to put your heavy bag on it and sit next to it. You don't want to put your bag on your lap or on the floor 'cause it's just plain uncomfortable.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be notified that other passangers are being annoyed by that. Hey, I even notified an annoying boy once (and he happened to be a non-Japanese, btw) and guess what? He said that of all the (teenage) years of living in Japan, noone ever told him that his behavior was annoying others and that that is the very reason he still doesn't think he's annoying.

You got to let them know, or else the world will be filled with stress. And kids have the right to be educated by the society. So do old ladies.