Recently, I heard the phrase, “big boys don’t cry.” When I was discussing it with my husband, who is French, he told me an interesting story.
He works for a Japanese company that is transitioning into a global company and, as a non-Japanese executive, he is helping with this process. He said he took part in a three-day, off-site meeting with members of the global team, and it was really successful. At the end of it, he gave closing words and began to well up a little, visibly moved by how much everyone had achieved during the three days.
After the meeting, the Japanese members all personally thanked him, saying, “感動しました” (kandō shimashita, [I] was moved/touched) and “とてもよかったです” (totemo yokatta desu, it was very good). However, the non-Japanese members of the team seemed slightly put off by the show of emotion and some asked if he was OK.