It's among the most Japanese of traditions: Officials go before the cameras to express deep regret over some alleged wrongdoing and promise to make sure it never happens again.
Americans, too, know the drill and lately they've been the players.
In the past few weeks a raft of U.S. officials -- from the U.S. military, the U.S. Embassy, and the departments of State, Agriculture and Defense -- have gone before Japanese officials to humbly apologize.