Some responses to Debito Arudou's Nov. 1 Just Be Cause column, headlined "The costly fallout of tatemae and Japan's culture of deceit":
Although I agree with fellow activist Debito Arudou on most things, I must take issue with his recent piece claiming that Japan has a "culture of deceit" that explains many social ills.
While liars can be found in all cultures, I see no evidence that Japanese culture has anything but contempt for lying. Tatemae is often confused with lying, but it actually means something more like telling the truth, albeit through "pretense" (the translation Arudou dismisses). Tatemae is used when both parties — speaker and listener — know the truth so there is no need to voice it. Its intention is not to deceive.