I finally figured out why my Japanese in-laws never ask about my job

Honestly, for 2 years I thought my wife's parents in Osaka just didn't care about my career, and it bugged me. Then last month her mom asked if I was eating enough and my wife explained that asking about someone's job or salary is seen as rude there, like prying into private stuff. In a lot of Japanese homes you just don't bring up money, rank, or work titles at the dinner table, even with family. I grew up in Ohio where the first question at any cookout is what do you do, so I read the silence as coldness when it was actually politeness. Now when we visit I let them lead and we end up talking about food and the garden for hours instead. Has anyone else married into a family where a normal small talk question is actually a taboo?

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taylor_flores20d ago

Oh man, my buddy's Korean in-laws did the same thing to him.

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