“Reading the Air”（空気を読む）

朝日大学
主催
第 30 回高等学校英語弁論大会
中日賞（第 4 位）（国際教養 2 年生
澤田曜壱朗）
“Reading the Air”（空気を読む）
“Reading the air”, “The air is heavy”. These are all Japanese sayings about “air”.
In Japan, we have a different interpretation of “air” from other countries. We think that it is
like a fusion of the feelings, or a common tendency, which the people in that place have. Of course,
we can’t really read it or feel that it’s heavy, but it is a very important source in our life, and we are
always “reading the air” to communicate with other people.
I think to “read the air” is a very unique way of communication, and is a good system which
enables us to communicate with others without attacking each other’s thoughts every time.
However, these days I feel that this system is affecting us in a rather bad way.
First of all, I feel that the meaning of “reading the air” has changed completely from the
original way of thinking. These days, when people “read the air”, they rein in their personal
thoughts when it’s against the majority and keep them inside themselves. I think the real way to
“read the air” is for us to feel how the other people in that place are thinking, and reflect it to our
next act. There are times we need to rein in our feelings and thoughts depending on the situation,
but we don’t always need to. Everyone has the right to give opinions freely. You should be able to
express your own feelings even if everyone else in the room is against you.
After I was born I lived in America until I came to Japan as a third grade elementary school
student. So, I grew up in a place without the “air”. I feel that it was more comfortable living in
America than in Japan. If there is no “air”, you can say anything you want, and everyone will
listen to your idea, so you are free in that space. We can say that the personality is included in the
conversation. Therefore, we can make the conversation deeper and deeper and raise the quality of
it. But living in Japan, I feel horrible. Since everyone “reads the air”, there is no freedom in the
conversation. If you say something different from the way the majority thinks, no one will accept it
and watch you as if watching a freak. Furthermore, because everyone kills their personality there
are less unique thoughts and opinions, and the conversation ends up being boring and shallow.
Everyone has a unique perspective and interesting opinions. It is important to feel how the
others are thinking. But we can’t just be a coward and rein in our thoughts. We are able to make
the conversation better, or maybe change the other people’s thoughts depending on how you act
after that. It maybe the time for us to make a new step forward from “Reading the air”.

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