Leadership by punctual example

SHE was running late and, boy, did she run! I am referring to the viral video from earlier this month which showed a Japanese minister sprinting to a Cabinet meeting after being stuck in a traffic jam caused by an accident.

And what Kimi Onoda, Economic Security Minister, did after the meeting left the rest of the world gobsmacked: she apologised to the entire nation.

Just how late was she? All of five minutes!

That’s Japan for you, the Land of Eternal Timeliness.

Having just come back from a holiday in Fukuoka, I truly appreciate how on time this country is.

Japan is famous for taking punctuality so seriously that if a train departs late by mere se­conds, the train staff will issue an apology to the passengers.

Public transport is a lifeline for much of the population, especially in major cities like Tokyo, so any delay can affect a large number of people.

Because of that, Japanese railways actually give out what is known as a train delay certificate that a worker or student can show their boss or teacher as a real reason for being late.

But for a government leader to run and then apologise for being late by five minutes, that was refreshingly new.

It certainly impressed people from other countries, especially in Asia, who caustically compared it with their own politicians online.

“In India, it’s considered a sign of weakness to show up on time.”

“The minister blocks the traffic and the nation apologises for being on the road.”

“In the Philippines, the meeting starts one hour late.”

“In Brazil, you appoint someone on Monday at 9am. He shows up at your place at 6pm with a smile and says ‘What? It is still Monday’.”

“Some of our MPs in Africa do not show up at all.”

“In Indonesia, our ministers can be as late as two hours for anything.”

“In Malaysia, government officials don’t even apologise for making the people wait for them to complete breakfast/lunch. My friend had to wait under the scorching hot sun for the event to start.”

Ah, yes, our “Malaysian time”.

To be fair, our trains, MRT/LRT and buses do run on schedule, but our lackadaisical attitude when it comes to keeping to agreed meeting times is what often frustrates foreigners.

As cross-cultural facilitator Marie Tseng observes at culturalimpact.org, “Malaysian time has a very ‘rubberlike’ nature. Here, being accommodating and flexible matters more than being punctual.”

Indeed.

All of us are familiar with it and can relate to writer Sathiavathy Pakiam Gunaratnam’s rant on medium.com: “I detest having to attend functions in my country (Malaysia) given that the time stated on the invite is just for show or a formality. I’ve never attended a function, be it birthday, anniversary, graduation or any kind of celebration that started and/or ended on time. Neither have I attended any weddings or similar events that started or ended on time.”

But what is it that makes Japan’s attitude towards punctuality so different from our “rubberlike time”?

According to japan-dev.com – a job directory with a blog on living in Japan aimed at foreigners – to the Japanese, punctuality is not just a virtue but a fundamental pillar of daily life and culture.

It is a value that is instilled early through the school system and social etiquette, making it second nature to most.

The blog post adds, “Being on time is a sign of respect, professionalism and consideration for others, which affects every aspect of Japanese society – from the workplace to personal relationships.

“In Japan, being on time often means arriving slightly earlier than the agreed-upon time. Punctuality is not just about meeting the clock’s exact hour but also about demonstrating reliability and respect.”

To me, the key takeaway words are “reliability” and “respect”.

When one makes the effort to show up on time, especially in professional and formal meetings, it also means one is reliable and most likely prepared.

Being punctual also means showing respect for other people’s time. This is something all leaders, whether in the corporate world or in politics, should absorb.

Just because people are in a higher rank or in a position of power, they do not have the right to keep others waiting because they think they can or because they think their time is more important or valuable than others.

In my time as a journalist, this was what I found hugely annoying.

I would always arrive at the venue well ahead of time, but the interview or press conference would rarely start on time because the VIP had not arrived.

It often seemed the higher the person was on the totem pole, the tardier they would be, despite having a full escort to clear the roads for them.

British psychiatrist Neel Burton, writing for psychologytoday.com, feels that five minutes is not really late, but “Late is when people start getting annoyed”.

“Being late insults others, but it also undermines the person who is late, because it may betray a lack of intelligence, planning, self-knowledge, willpower, or empathy.

“For instance, it may be that the person who is late has set unrealis­tic goals and overpacked their schedule, or underestimated the time that it takes to travel from one place to another,” he says.

Perhaps that’s why Minister Onoda’s actions struck such a strong chord with ordinary folks tired of being made to wait by their politicians.

Taught by her culture, she demonstrated exemplary leadership and humility by not putting herself above the people who elected her to serve them.

If cleanliness is next to godliness, then punctuality, to quote Louis XVIII of France, is the politeness of kings.

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.