Is the left hand considered taboo?

I am an ambidextrous young woman. Knowing that the left hand is considered taboo in many countries, I try to remember to always use my right hand when travelling. However, I have forgotten one too many times. I often have to apologise for using my left hand inappropriately.

In Japan, is it rude to the following things with the left hand:
-Giving and receiving things
-Transferring food from hand to mouth
-Touching/tapping someone

NO.
Japan is not like India, using either hand is OK.

Passing food or gifts etc using left hand is taboo/unpure for Islam and Hindu religions.

Unless you are sure a Japanese national does not belong to any of these beliefs/religions, it is better safe than sorry not to offend by using your left hand.

"In Japan, is it rude to the following things with the left hand:
-Giving and receiving things
-Transferring food from hand to mouth
-Touching/tapping someone"

I do all this with my left hand, is not a problem. I left-handed and live for over 10 Years in Japan, and never had a problem.

the left hand is not a taboo in japan!

however,when you give o receive something,its rude to use only one hand....you may notice that the japanese,expecially the women,when receive or give something use both hands.

however,when you give o receive something,its rude to use only one hand....you may notice that the japanese,expecially the women,when receive or give something use both hands.

It is not that using only one hand is rude. Using both hands is more polite and respecful. And it is the same with both men and women.

Donald has a point. If you go the the U.S., unless you are sure a U.S. national does not belong to any of these beliefs/religions, it is better safe than sorry not to offend by using your left hand. Same thing in France or China or anywhere in the world. And you need to make sure if the person is a national in the first place.

But since I'm Japanese, I've been doing those things with my left hand all my life and it's difficult to avoid it. I've traveled to Indonesia and Malaysia and other places where Muslims are the majority, and still I used my left hand and no one complained about it. The Muslims are very generous.

On a related note, there are plenty of left-handed people in Japan.

As you might know, the basic reason that eating/touching people etc with the left hand is taboo in countries in the Middle East and India for example is that the left hand and water is traditionally used instead of toilet paper to clean oneself after going to the toilet.

Since this isn't the case in Japan, there's no taboo. My sister-in-law is left-handed and doesn't have issues, both my parents are left-handed and have visited Japan without having any problems due to using their left hands. It's not something you have to be concerned about at all.

Changing the subject slightly: Being left-handed and visiting Japan regularly, the two things I find amusing are:
+ Sitting to the right of a right-handed person in a restaurant while eating with chopsticks. It always ends in a battle of the elbows if the table is a bit small
+ Writing kanji and people complaining that I draw my kanji with the strokes going the wrong way. I know several left-handed Japanese people and they claim they never even thought about it, but I insist that the way kanji are written has been aimed at right-handed people, and must be mirrored for a southpaw like me. :-)

Thank you for the input everyone!

Yes, I know that the left hand's main job is to clean up in the toilet in many countries. However, I have been to countries where using the left hand is frowned upon for certain tasks even though they don't adopt the Muslim/left hand for clean up culture. I write Latin alphabets with both hands (taking turns). When I went to China to learn Chinese, a teacher told me that writing with the left hand is considered improper and that if I wanted to learn calligraphy, I was better off concentrating writing with my right hand only. Other people also felt that writing with the left hand is improper (they would stare to no end). But they were right... after a few months, my right hand was obviously more efficient.

@Kappa: As for using chopsticks, I am not proficient with either hand. I usually just lift the bowl to my mouth or eat very close to my bowl/plate when using chopsticks; therefore, I don't have a problem with knocking others even when I use my left hand.

The Japanese writing system of course is set up for right-handed people as well and they used to "change" some left-handed children here just like they did in English-speaking countries, but here most people now realise that isn't a good idea. Chinese people are probably still a bit more conservative in their thinking.

This though: "I usually just lift the bowl to my mouth or eat very close to my bowl/plate when using chopsticks"

can be considered bad table manners in Japan- you can lift the bowl, but aren't supposed to hold it too close to your mouth unless you are drinking, and definitely not bend right down to your plate/bowl to eat, so chopstick skills are something you might want to work on.