The Value of Film Credits in Japan

It’s often thought that time is of the essence in Japan. Buses and trains are expected to arrive not a minute late. When there’s a line-up at a grocery till, the cashier will pick up the pace to appease the irritated customers in queue. People jog through train stations and intersections to get to work on time, and even dash around at their workplace out of respect for their customers and colleagues. It’s a super fast-paced society in which it seems not a second can be wasted.

A few months ago, I went with a friend to see a movie in Osaka for the first time. The experience went pretty much as I expected until the last scene played out, the screen dimmed, and the credits started to roll. After decades of conditioning back home, my initial reaction was to stand up and head towards the exit. I expected everyone else to get up as well, but oddly enough everyone remained seated with their eyes glued to the screen.

"Should I get up?", "Why aren't they getting up?", “Shouldn’t we get going now?” I thought restlessly. But everyone remained still in their seats and continued to watch the wall of white text scroll along the black background. “Maybe there’s some behind-the-scenes footage after the credits?" I wondered.

After a very long five to ten minutes the final sponsor logos and legal notices scrolled by, the projector shut off, and the lights came on. There was no extra footage to speak of. At that point the audience got up from their seats and quietly made their way to the nearest exit.

After going to the movies several times in Osaka, I realized that this wasn’t a one-off occurrence, but that it’s actually customary behavior here. I began to wonder why people in Japan, who value time so much, remain seated until the credits have finished rolling?

The first possible reason that crossed my mind is that they are simply paying their respects to the cast and crew who made the movie possible.

Or could it simply be that people prefer to remain seated until the lights come on? By exiting early, you could risk tripping over someone’s feet or belongings and spilling your half-cup of flat soda on someone’s face.

I suppose the third option is that people here are generally interested in knowing who participated in the creation of a film.

Although a bit of a surprise at first, I’ve now grown accustomed to this new behavior and actually find it relaxing to remain seated, enjoy the final soundtrack, and observe the names of the crew who worked together to make the movie possible.