Culture Japan remains free from the tyranny of tipping

thomas · 28 Mar 2023

A few days ago, the FT featured a piece on the failed attempt to introduce tipping to Japan to help businesses overcome the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The so-called "Tip Promotion Association", launched by Youtuber Yoshihito Kamogashira in 2021, ceased its activities.

The "Tip Project" was an idea to introduce tipping in Japan, which is not a common practice. Kamogashira believed tipping would help restaurant workers struggling during the pandemic, proposing using fixed-sum tipping vouchers to get people used to tipping. However, it seems to have failed, and the website and association no longer exist.

Asia generally lives in cherished freedom from the extreme, US-style tyranny of tipping and the cloying calculus of guilt and pressure that underwrites it. Japan's economy is not without the capacity for hidden costs to consumers but has been a particularly stalwart defender of that liberty. Its resistance at this juncture is a timely triumph of sanity and fortitude. And possibly stinginess.

According to the article, in the US, on the other hand, tips are expected in more and more service industries:

As digital payments dominate points of sale in the US, the option and expectation to tip have oozed into businesses that weren't previously affected (florists, grocers). This has been significantly advanced by presenting customers with a choice between two buttons — one that offers a default 10-20 per cent tip on a given payment, the other providing an immediately guilt-inducing "no tip" option. The interesting feature of tipping is that it is extremely difficult to explain from the perspective of a purely self-interested consumer. An expectation of better future service is not, in most cases, the motive, which leaves psychological and social pressure a more plausible driver. Until there is a social norm to tip a particular type of worker, or a known narrative about their conditions (for example, waiters survive on tips), there is no guilt or embarrassment in not tipping.

And in Japan:

There are many theories on how those psychological and social pressures combine to create (or permanently suppress) a tipping culture. Still, the owner of one Japanese restaurant chain privately frames it as an index of varying faith in capitalism. For all their superficial faith in its powers, he says, Americans tip because they know very well that their version of capitalism does not, without supplement, deliver a fair reward for service across the spectrum of industries.

Tipping is un-Japanese!

He suggests with apparent mischief that Japan believes its version fundamentally does. If he is correct, faith on the Japanese side (and the refusal to embrace tipping) has endured an extreme and protracted test — decades of stagnant wages offset only by an accompanying battle with deflation. The test could, in theory, become sterner. Inflation in Japan is now palpable. Despite the success of workers in large companies securing historic pay increases this year, the win is unlikely to be replicated across the country's vast economic hinterland of small and medium-sized enterprises, which could widen pay disparity. None of this, though, appears likely to sway the debate. Gunton may not have won the argument that tipping is un-American, but the Tip Project definitely discovered that it is un-Japanese.

Source: Japan remains free from the tyranny of tipping

Petaris · 28 Mar 2023

Tipping needs to dye in the US as well. It is now to a ridiculous point where nearly every store requests tips, and in some cases they are mandatory (restaurants when there are more than 5-6 people in the group).

Also, I haven't seen anything as low as 10% in a long time, the lowest option is usually 18% now with the recommended option being 25-30% (here in Chicago). And usually to find the "No tip" button you have to press the "Other amount" button and either enter 0 or press the "No tip" button if it exists on that screen.

Tips should not be wage replacement, and in a lot of these industries that are now asking for tips there is no reason for them. If the service is really that expensive then raise your prices to reflect that. I also don't agree with the notion that a part time job needs to provide a living wage. Those have always been seen as positions for high school or college kids or maybe extra income for someone. If you need a living wage then you need a full time job.

Sorry, this tipping situation just kind of pisses me off.

mdchachi · 28 Mar 2023

Petaris said:
Tipping needs to dye in the US as well. It is now to a ridiculous point where nearly every store requests tips, and in some cases they are mandatory (restaurants when there are more than 5-6 people in the group).

Also, I haven't seen anything as low as 10% in a long time, the lowest option is usually 18% now with the recommended option being 25-30% (here in Chicago). And usually to find the "No tip" button you have to press the "Other amount" button and either enter 0 or press the "No tip" button if it exists on that screen.

Tips should not be wage replacement, and in a lot of these industries that are now asking for tips there is no reason for them. If the service is really that expensive then raise your prices to reflect that. I also don't agree with the notion that a part time job needs to provide a living wage. Those have always been seen as positions for high school or college kids or maybe extra income for someone. If you need a living wage then you need a full time job.

Sorry, this tipping situation just kind of pisses me off.

Companies deliberately don't allow people to work full time. Hence we have people working multiple part-time jobs to get by. The whole system is f'd.

Majestic · 29 Mar 2023

"the cloying calculus of guilt and pressure that underwrites it."

I thought this was a good line. Tipping is a diabolical custom. I would prefer it if restaurants raised their prices by 10% - 20% across the board and do away with tipping.

I hadn't heard about this Japanese initiative, but it doesn't surprise me it failed. There is something demeaning to both the giver and the receiver of this kind of tip. Its as if the customer is complicit in the underpaying of restaurant staff, and is sheepishly admitting it by sliding a few extra bucks of charity to the staff. There is nothing dignified about it, and yet it is an entrenched fixture of American (North American?) life.

Grandpa Frank · 29 Mar 2023

Years ago , our week long cruise was ruined by the tip begging the last night. It was like ...here's pictures of our starving families back home while tears ran down their cheeks. Way overboard on laying guilt on us for making them work for us.

johnnyG · 29 Mar 2023

We were recently in the US, and I was surprised when my wife relayed that we should be leaving a tip for the hotel cleaning staff. I'd never heard of this. (my reaction was, "huh...? really...?")

But that's what was in the guidebook, and some cash then left on the beside table did disappear.

Frankly, the service was about a 1-2 on a scale of 10. I was fine with true cleaning and new bed linens every few days (it was an 8-day stay), but I had to go to the front desk to ask about (and get) fresh towels. That we should be getting towels daily took a few days to straighten out. And this was at a nicer place, Marriott, which ran $265/night.

Sheesh. Spoiled by Japan, I guess.

mdchachi · 29 Mar 2023

johnnyG said:
We were recently in the US, and I was surprised when my wife relayed that we should be leaving a tip for the hotel cleaning staff. I'd never heard of this. (my reaction was, "huh...? really...?")

But that's what was in the guidebook, and some cash then left on the beside table did disappear.

Frankly, the service was about a 1-2 on a scale of 10. I was fine with true cleaning and new bed linens every few days (it was an 8-day stay), but I had to go to the front desk to ask about (and get) fresh towels. That we should be getting towels daily took a few days to straighten out. And this was at a nicer place, Marriott, which ran $265/night.

Sheesh. Spoiled by Japan, I guess.

Lately there's a notice saying if you want your towels changed to leave them on the floor or in the bathtub otherwise they assume you will reuse them. Of course they encourage this for the good of the environment (and it allows them to cut staff). Tipping for hotel maid service has been a thing as long as I can remember. The last 25 years at least. I didn't really stay in hotels before that since I was in Japan. Some places even have an envelope set aside for this purpose. Again it allows them to avoid paying a decent wage.

johnnyG · 29 Mar 2023

Sure, since we qualified as a long stay, that was all explained in the check in stuff--towels daily, linens every third or fourth day.

1st day back in just before dinner and nothing had been touched, got new towels from the front desk. Assumed we'd been missed or something. 2nd day was the same thing, and I'll assume nobody was in, tho maybe they saw there was no tip and just left without doing anything?

My sister, there at the same time, said she left a tip. Later, talking to my brother, he'd never heard of it.

This was in San Jose area, and I realize getting help in that area for what the hotel wants to pay vs what it costs to live there is almost a no-win situation. When my wife brought up tipping, I'd've certainly been more into it if the towels had be swapped out those first two days. (and the damp ones were left on the floor, the signal they suggested for when you wanted the towels changed.

mdchachi · 29 Mar 2023

johnnyG said:
Sure, since we qualified as a long stay, that was all explained in the check in stuff--towels daily, linens every third or fourth day.

1st day back in just before dinner and nothing had been touched, got new towels from the front desk. Assumed we'd been missed or something. 2nd day was the same thing, and I'll assume nobody was in, tho maybe they saw there was no tip and just left without doing anything?

My sister, there at the same time, said she left a tip. Later, talking to my brother, he'd never heard of it.

This was in San Jose area, and I realize getting help in that area for what the hotel wants to pay vs what it costs to live there is almost a no-win situation. When my wife brought up tipping, I'd've certainly been more into it if the towels had be swapped out those first two days. (and the damp ones were left on the floor, the signal they suggested for when you wanted the towels changed.

I really have no idea how the working class lives there. That place is insane.

thomas · 28 Dec 2024

An American traveller's impression of Japan: friendly, helpful staff with relatively low wages who smile and do their best without expecting a tip.

So here we have a prosperous country with a declining population and a comparatively low immigration rate, where you typically get superior service from people who earn relatively low wages and have no hope of obtaining tips. And it isn't just at restaurants. I also went to two baseball games in Japan, at Hanshin Koshien Stadium and the Tokyo Dome, and was astonished by how friendly and chipper the young female vendors were—again, with no tipping. Carrying heavy kegs of beer and other snacks on their backs and chests, they marched up and down the aisles, smiling and engaging in friendly banter with the non-tipping fans.
Can Americans emulate the Japanese model? It wouldn't be easy.

What Americans Could Learn From Japan’s No-Tips Work Culture

At the very least, they might gain a new appreciation for their own country.

www.city-journal.org

Hiroyuki Nagashima · 28 Dec 2024

Will the day come when serving robots ask for tips!?

Petaris · 31 Dec 2024

Hiroyuki Nagashima said:
Will the day come when serving robots ask for tips!?

In America? Probably, unfortunately.

Petaris · 31 Dec 2024

Can Americans emulate the Japanese model? It wouldn't be easy.

I don't even have any hope of that, though if tipping keeps getting "worse" it may come about very quickly if people in general reach the tipping-point from tolerating it and grumbling to a big "F-OFF! I'm going elsewhere!".
And it isn't just tipping, it is also all of the BS "fees" being added on to the bills at some places.

thomas · 2 Sep 2025

Ah, those pesky inbounds again, insisting on introducing evil foreign concepts:

The growing number of foreign visitors in Japan has led to an increase in instances of tipping, a custom unfamiliar to the country, which can be confusing and lead to new business practices, and, at times, friction with locals. Many tourists, unaware that tipping is uncommon in Japan, have been trying to leave money for staff at restaurants. One nationwide chain with over 20 outlets decided to adapt after employees reported feeling unsure about how to handle tips from foreign customers.

In response, the company began installing "tip boxes" beside the cash registers at nearly all of its restaurants from February last year. According to the operator, each branch now collects several tens of thousands of yen in tips every month. The company said that because tipping is not part of Japanese custom, staff were often left unsure of how to react when customers offered money. During busy hours, it was complicated for employees to handle such situations one by one, so the decision was made to place tip boxes as a practical workaround.

However, some customers who have seen the tip boxes harshly criticized the idea. "We don't want tipping culture introduced in Japan," they fumed. The tip boxes also became a topic of discussion on social media, with some people questioning, "Is the restaurant taking the money given for the staff?"

Some tipping history:

According to Yoshiyuki Ishizaki, a professor at Ritsumeikan University's Graduate School with expertise in tourism marketing, Japan used to have a custom similar to tipping before World War II. Basically, guests at inns would give "money for tea" to staff members. However, in pursuit of efficiency, the practice was replaced by fixed "service charges" around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Hotels adopted a 10-percent service charge, while ryokan traditional inns settled for 15 percent. Even today, some high-end restaurants impose a fixed service charge. [...] Chibo, an "okonomiyaki" savory pancake chain, introduced a tipping system at its upscale locations in 1992 after expanding from western Japan. However, no customers used the system, and it was quickly abolished.

Tipping from rise in foreign guests creates confusion at restaurants | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

mdchachi · 2 Sep 2025

It's not that complicated to deal with customers one by one. Just post a "no tipping" sign and point to it if necessary. If people insist on leaving without taking their change just keep it and put it in the till.

Ukigumo · 3 Sep 2025

The absolute irony of this is that of all nation's service staff, the sincere Japanese are probably the most deserving and the often 'force' pleasantness of American service staff, the least.

Ukigumo · 3 Sep 2025

thomas said:
Ah, those pesky inbounds again,

'Inbounds'

My new term for 'foreigners'!

thomas · 3 Sep 2025

I believe they started using the term "inbound tourists" during the pandemic. Nowadays, it's shortened to "inbounds", even on NHK.

thomas · 30 Sep 2025

More on the acceptance of tipping in Japan:

In a survey conducted by Kumagai with her students in June, 114, or 73%, answered "no" to the question, "Do you think Japan should have a tipping culture?" When asked if they thought tipping would become established in Japan in the future, 141 students, or 91%, said "no."

In the free comment section, many expressed negative views about tipping, such as, "When I studied in Canada, I was always unsure how much to tip," "I'd rather be paid by the company for my work than receive tips," and, "It seems like a hassle." Kumagai speculates, "The American style of tipping probably doesn't fit Japanese culture. Even if some shops in tourist-heavy cities start accepting tips from foreign customers, I don't think Japanese people will start tipping like foreigners do." The surging wave of inbound tourists does not seem to have reached the point of overturning cultural attitudes toward tipping that have seeped deeply into the island nation of Japan.

Could tipping culture spread in Japan as foreign visitors express desire to pay? - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- To tip or not to tip -- that is the question on some people's minds as Japan welcomes a surge of tourists against the backdrop of a weak yen.

mainichi.jp

Culture Japan remains free from the tyranny of tipping

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