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This book aims to provide a satisfactory answer to the question, “What does it mean to apologize?” through a complete depiction of the act of apologizing. A wide variety of specific cases of apologizing are discussed, including apologizing for unintentionally stepping on someone’s foot on a crowded train, an apology by a perpetrator of theft to the victim, and apologies for discriminatory language use and behavior, medical malpractice, and even war crimes. These examples will be used to clarify the relationship between important concepts that constitute an apology, such as responsibility, remorse, regret, atonement, forgiveness, personal involvement, and sincerity.
 
In Chapter 1, apologies are broadly categorized into “minor apologies” and “major apologies.” On this basis, we confirm that a variety of acts are ambiguously positioned together under the title “apology” in a spectrum that ranges from “minor apologies,” involving customary manners, to “major apologies.” Cultural differences in apologies are examined through a comparison of the various uses of the Japanese word sumimasen and other standardized Japanese expressions for apologies with those in English, such as “I'm sorry.”
 
Next, in Chapter 2, an analysis is done about what typically constitutes a “serious apology” while also clarifying in detail the role that this type of apology plays in our lives and in society with respect to repairing relationships, enabling the victim to overcome emotional damage, enabling the offender to make amends, and making societal reparations.
 
Based on this discussion, Chapter 3 critically examines several attempts toward a comprehensive definition of the concept of an apology, which confirms the difficulty of extracting the essential features that are common to all apologies and defining them in full. The important thing when looking at the overall concept of an apology is not to aim for a complete definition but rather to retrace and take an overview of the important characteristics found in many apologies. Based on that approach, the characteristics of apologies will be specifically listed and discussed. In the analysis, particular emphasis will be placed on the point that apologies often require “sincerity” or “earnestness” and that such sincerity is often met with underlying skepticism.
 
Chapter 4 then analyzes atypical cases of apologies that do not fit the various characteristics listed in the previous chapters. Specifically, in some cases, apologies are issued for acts that are not criticized by others or for things that an individual did not actually do (a later generation apologizes for what the previous generation did, etc.), and, in other cases, someone may issue an apology when the truth of the matter is not yet clear. This process will highlight other important features of apologies, the diversity and ambiguity of the subject and object of an apology, and issues relating to the standardization of the language and policies of apologizing.
 
Finally, the epilogue draws some practical tips based on the content of the book toward avoiding mistakes when apologizing while also answering the question posed at the beginning of the book, “What does it mean to apologize?”
 

(Written by FURUTA Tetsuya, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2024)