Japan is different – white gloves

Something I noticed when travelling around Japan was the number of people wearing white gloves. Almost all drivers – taxi drivers, bus drivers and train drivers and conductors, most often, but not always wear white gloves.

But it’s not only drivers- the police and postal workers also wear them. When I looked into it, there was no real answer why. The Japanese Times reports that the police started weraing them when the Beatles came to Japan in 1966. At the time, the only police who used white gloves were the Imperial Guard, but the police chief at that time, concerned that his men were going to be thrown together with young girls, decided to outfit his entire force with white gloves. His hope was that the gloves would reinforce reigi tadashisa (propriety), and encourage his men to be as proper in action as appearance.

White is indeed associated with cleanliness, which is one reason many workers in the package-delivery industry wear white gloves. “Gloves reduce wear and tear on the hands,” one of my local delivery guys told me. “But we also wear white gloves because many of our customers are concerned about dirt and germs. They don’t want their packages to come into contact with anyone’s bare hands.” The association between white gloves and honesty is also why politicians wear white gloves on the campaign trail.

Likewise according to the Japan Times, the original attraction for drivers was visibility; before trains and automobiles had automatic signals, those at the controls had to use their hands to signal their moves, and white gloves make the hands easier to see. While drivers no longer need to stick their hands out of windows to signal, the preference for white gloves persists, but now it’s because of professionalism. Almost all drivers in Japan wear a uniform, including hat.

White is associated with cleanliness, which is one reason many workers in the package-delivery industry wear white gloves. Gloves reduce wear and tear on the hands, but also because customers are concerned about dirt and germs and don’t  They don’t want their packages to come into contact with anyone’s bare hands. Even though the package has been sliding around a van!

Finally Japanese politicians often drive around and campaign in white gloves as they are associated with honesty!