In Japan, we apologize even before we know all the facts
"Apologies are ranked as to whether they should be made in person or on paper, with moderate or deep bows, or, for the most severe injury, the dogeza. In that, the apologizer gets down on both knees with head bowed to the floor, a gesture said to have been handed down from the time of samurai warriors, when an on-the-floor bow suggested subservienceŅand being disarmed."
—Christian Science Monitor. The American-style apologies for the sinking of a Japanese fishing boat (and the deaths of nine passengers) by a US submarine are not being well-received in Japan as a result of cultural barriers.
