They're not apologizing properly. An apology is something that one offers after the truth is known and the responsibility is clear. When I talked with Washington officials well versed in Japanese affairs, I was repeatedly asked why Japan kept demanding an apology even though it was an accident. What is behind Japan's persistence,they asked. The United States is a litigious society, which is why Americans are not quick to apologize.
Japan is the opposite.
The Japanese think that offering an apology is the best way to avoid litigation. So the argument goes. But I doubt the situation is so simple that it can be explained away as a matter of cultural differences. The tears shed by Scott Waddle, the captain of the USS Greeneville, must have welled up from the bottom of his heart, regardless of his cultural background. The manners of every society dictate that someone who makes an irreversible mistake must apologize, and the injured party must accept the apology when certain conditions are met.