Should I speak in Japanese or English to the "foreign-looking" kombini employee? [closed]

Question

I am not Japanese but I usually speak in Japanese with everyone, because it is the language I use all day long at work (I live in Japan).

At the register of a convenience store in Tokyo downtown, I usually say a few words like カードでお願いします (by card please) or 袋なしでお願いします (no plastic bag please).

What language should I use when the clerk does not "look" Japanese?

Answer 1

My current strategy:

• If possible, wait for the clerk to talk first, and use that language (ignoring the いらっしゃいませ salutation that they use anytime the door opens).
• If I need to talk first, use Japanese.
• Only switch to English if necessary to safely/efficiently perform the transaction.

Pros:

• Not all Japanese people have the same look. Some of my friends who are black (or caucasian) were born and raised in Japan, and naturally their native tongue is Japanese.
• Even if not Japanese, not all non-Japanese people speak English. Kombini clerks are often Japanese language majors from non-English speaking countries.
• Even if they are actually foreigners from a English-speaking country (or with good English abilities), they might find it tiring to be treated as if they were not able to do their job.

Cons:

• They might actually prefer talking in English.
• Speaking to them in Japanese may be felt as cold. If the clerk is actually a foreigner, we share some common challenges and a tiny bit of bonding would not be unwelcome. In addition, the Japanese language by itself places a great distance between clerk and customer.

Answer 2

You may very well consider how they feel and what they might prefer but I would suggest a "harsher" approach.

If they have a job in Japan they should at least be familiar enough with the language to say:

Sorry, my Japanese isn't that good. Can we speak in english, please?

Honestly, even a written card with this on it would be fine.

Also you are likely not the only customer there so the clerk has to know somehow how to deal with people who only speak Japanese.

Further more you make the assumption that the person's English is better than their Japanese. This doesn't have to be the case.

For this reason I suggest starting of in Japanese and only switch if you see the person is really uncompfortable or straight up asks you to switch.

Answer 3

In this case, you should use Japanese.

Most foreigners in Japan, especially in service sector as part-time, don't speak English any better than Japanese. Because most of them are from neighboring countries (China, South Korea, Vietnam... depending on how you think these people look "foreigner" but most Japanese can recognize it easily, especially since in CS clerks have a name tag) their English isn't as good as what you expect.

Also, the vast majority of Japanese speak little or no English, so shop owners generally hire only foreigners who speak decent Japanese. So you don't need to worry about their Japanese competency.