Etiquette, manners and consideration for others are integral pillars of Japanese society but there are times when they might go a step too far, according to one city’s emergency services.
The fire department in the central city of Kanazawa has urged people not to tidy up the shoes that paramedic crews have taken off when entering a house, warning it could hinder their ability to get in or out quickly, particularly when carrying someone on a stretcher.
In an Instagram video that has amassed more than half a million views since it was posted on 5 August, the firefighters demonstrate how paramedics leave their shoes positioned at entrances in precise spots so that three stretcher bearers can step straight into them without shaking the patient around, or risking dislodging their oxygen mask.
It is customary for anyone entering a Japanese home to shed their footwear, and for homeowners to rearrange the shoes of guests or customers to face the doorway so that they can slip them on easily when they leave.
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Interviewed by TBS News Dig this week, firefighter Daisuke Yamashita said, “Emergency crews decide the direction of their shoes according to their roles, so if someone changes their position out of kindness, it can interfere with putting them back on and delay the transport of the patient. From our experience, it can result in a loss of about 30 seconds.
“We do appreciate the kindness behind straightening the shoes,” added Yamashita in the video. “During an emergency, it is extremely helpful if people instead prepare the patient’s My Number card [a social security number] or another form of identification in advance.”
Most of the comments underneath the video expressed gratitude at the advice.
“I didn’t know this. I will remember this for the future!” wrote one.
Another user attracted more than 800 likes for suggesting that strict etiquette could perhaps be forsaken at such times: “It’s an emergency. I would just tell them: ‘Please step inside with your shoes on!’”