??

once in a while there are things I find it strange and peculiar to Japanese culture.

I was with my boss on a train taking the seats when an old lady with a cane getting on. My boss noticed that lady as well.
If I were in Canada I wouldn't hesitate giving my seat to the lady and a person who would be with me would do the same thing too. But here in Japan, it isn't so easy to do that cause a boss would think like " If I offer my seat first, my subordinate would feel obliged thinking he had to that prior to me and he might keep apologizing" while the subordinate thinks like" if I give my seat first, my boss might think like I do that for the sake of my promotion or, it might make him feel timid realizing he didn't do first, so should I or he give our seat to her?"

It seems an absurd culture but it is a culture characterizing Japan.
Is this something called cooperativeness or just a trend being not standing out from others?
Hmmmm weird...fortunately I already play a role of " an americanized returnee who can't adapt much herself to this society", so just gave my seat while it was obvious my boss felt a little timid. who cares.