By Yuko Iseya

Have you ever thought about manners in your daily life? You should mind your manners wherever you are, whether at home or outside. A minimum of attention and decency is absolutely needed when we meet people. It's commonsense that most manners must be observed, but we often see where these manners are not observed.

One example is to watch how people behave on public transportation. There are announcements for passengers to refrain from using cell phones and they are asked to turn off their phone when near a seat for the aged or physically handicapped. However, we often find not only the young, but also office workers and even elderly people who ignore the announcements.

We often see high school students sitting on the floor in crowded buses or trains when there are no vacant seats to sit on. They jam the narrow aisles and chat loudly, but they don't notice that they annoy the others with their conduct. There are also many people who turn a blind eye to someone who is in trouble. When a pregnant woman or a handicapped or elderly person using public transportation needs a seat and there are no empty seats to sit on, passengers close their eyes to them.

A few days ago I saw a woman squatting down on the train on my way home, but nobody talked to her. She looked pale and she was shuddering. She was squatting down near the seats for the handicapped, but a young woman just sat there playing a game on her mobile phone. Other passengers were just looking at the sick woman with a concerned look, but no one took action until I talked to her and gave her my seat. It took about 10 minutes before she could get a seat. That people turn a blind eye to someone in need is really sad.

A lot of people drink and eat on the train and then leave the trash even though there are garbage bins. The number of women applying their makeup in public, which ought to be done at home, is also increasing. These kinds of bad manners on public transportation catch my eye while I commute to school.

I often find people who don't observe their manners at a restaurant where I work every weekend. Some people park their car in the parking lot for the handicapped although they have no disability and it is not so far from the storefront to the back of the parking lot. While there are people who really need that parking space, some ordinary people park their cars there without any second thought.　Sometimes it is a young couple or a family with children. Is it possible for such parents to teach appropriate manners to their children?

Inside the restaurant, parents who don't take care of their children stand out. They don't seem to care when their children are running about in the restaurant where many people are waiting in line for their seats or when their children disturb people who are eating or waitresses who are carrying dishes. Such irresponsible behavior by parents is also bad manners. It's also hoped that people keep the custom to say "gochisousama!" "It was delicious!" when paying their bill at a restaurant.

The manners on campus, which is where we students spend much of our time, are becoming worse. Students talk in class, send e-mails, play games and use the Internet on their mobile phones, come late to class, go to the rest room during class and even escape from the class room. These are more than bad manners and it's shameful to see them.

It is true that people do not observe their manners in public places. People should look around carefully and think about manners. Good manners show consideration and respect for others. If each one of us acts with a little empathy toward others, everyone will feel more comfortable. And if this kind of understanding is passed down to the next generation as it should be, it's possible to change modern Japanese society which is now full of people with bad manners. Prime minister Abe talks about "beautiful Japan," but however beautiful nature is, it's not really beautiful if the people don't acquire beautiful manners.