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The story
A national survey on the Japanese language released by the Agency for Cultural Affairs on October 2 found that more people are addressing their workplace superiors by attaching “san” (the all-purpose honorific, like Mr./Ms.) to their name rather than using their job title. On 5ch, some asked “What else would you call them — surely not with no honorific at all?”, while others took a favorable view, saying it reflects “a society aiming to downplay hierarchy.” Still others were puzzled, arguing that “using the title shows more respect” or asking “what do you even call a boss who’s been demoted?” With no single correct answer, opinions clashed.
More People Calling Their Boss “San” Instead of a Title; Only 13.1% Knew the Original Meaning of “Himotoku” — National Language Survey (Yomiuri Shimbun Online) – Yahoo! News
Published 10/3 (Sat) 5:00 AM JST
A growing number of subordinates are addressing their workplace superiors by attaching “san” to their surname rather than using their job title, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ fiscal 2025 survey on the Japanese language, released on October 2. (By Keito Ehara)
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Section Chief So-and-so
Department Manager So-and-so
Supervisor So-and-so
Team Leader So-and-so
Like, say there's a company president named Tanaka — even a brand-new hire would call him "Tanaka-san" instead of "President." Japan is aiming for a society that doesn't make people conscious of hierarchy.
Like in Gundam, where everyone just calls each other by first name.
"San" works fine for that.
I've seen plenty of cases at big companies — not my own employer — where a change of president got department heads, section chiefs, team leaders, even executives fired or busted down to regular/non-regular staff. So at the big-company subsidiary I moved to, I just use "san" on everyone from day one. (´･ω･`)
That's exactly why "san" is the easy option.
There weren't many demoted people around me, but if you're at the level where you'd get demoted, you probably can't stick around anyway.
You should be the one calling yourself "-kun" then.
Can't do that to a guy.
Must be exhausting, constantly digging up lame excuses for your own life.
At a cabaret club it's more like "Oh, Mr. President~!"
Apparently for foreigners it's easier this way — no titles to memorize, just slap "san" on everyone and you're done.
Couldn't you just go with "Mister" or something?
"Department Manager-san" works fine, no?
So what, are we supposed to say "Section Chief-sama," "President-dono," "Department Manager-sensei"?
Calling everyone by first name only is just standard practice when dealing with American companies. (´･ω･`)
Respectful? Reducing someone to a label counts as respect?
It's about keeping things proper — drawing a clean line between work and personal.
So is "director" basically code for "enforcer"? Sounds like something Jagi would do. (Wordplay: 取締役/"director" shares kanji with 取り締まり, "crackdown/enforcement"; Jagi is a brutal enforcer-type villain from Fist of the North Star.)
"Director" (torishimariyaku) is just a Companies Act legal term — nobody uses it internally. Internally it'd be "senior managing director" or "department manager" or whatever.
Well sure, that's what happens when there's no section-chief or supervisor position to begin with.
At small factories out in the countryside, the "president" is sometimes just the boss's wife — gets confusing.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
This survey is part of the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ annual “Public Opinion Survey on the Japanese Language.” The same release also covered other shifts in word usage — for instance, only 13.1% of respondents gave the original meaning of “himotoku” (to explain by tracing something back to its source). What actually divided opinion on the thread wasn’t whether using “san” is right or wrong, but whether there’s a workable alternative. Those sticking with titles cited practical reasons — “it gets awkward when someone’s title changes after a demotion or transfer,” “‘director’ (torishimariyaku) isn’t even a title used internally.” Those fine with “san” cited benefits like “it avoids emphasizing hierarchy” and “it’s easier to remember people’s names.” Easy to overlook: the survey itself only shows an “increasing trend” — it doesn’t claim “san” has become the mainstream norm.
*This article excerpts and summarizes the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “More People Calling Their Boss “San”… National Language Survey.”
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