BLOG 19: Hanzawa Naoki!

For my listening practice, I chose Hanzawa Naoki, one of Japan’s most famous TV dramas. The show revolves around Hanzawa, a banker who confronts corporate corruption within his company. 

Something I noticed right away was the use of polite Japanese. This was quite different from the casual language that I usually hear in anime or YouTube videos. Words like お世話になっております ("Thank you for your continued support") and 失礼いたしました ("I apologize for the inconvenience") were used a lot in the business setting. 

The dialogue was also filled with financial and business terms I wasn’t familiar with. For example, the characters often discussed 融資 (loan) and 担保 (collateral). At first, it was difficult to keep up with the rapid exchanges between characters, especially when they were negotiating deals or talking about banking strategies, but I started to pick up on context.

The drama also provided a glimpse into Japanese business culture. There was emphasis on hierarchy and respect. I noticed that junior employees used very respectful language (敬語, keigo) when talking to their superiors, while Hanzawa himself used a mix of polite and informal speech, depending on the situation.