Some experts say that's all it is, a stereotype.
Yes, saving face is important to the Japanese, says Clyde Prestowitz, a trade negotiator in the Reagan administration who speaks fluent Japanese. Everybody tries to save face. But the universal reaction is not always best. Ford Motor, involved because most of the tires are on its Explorer sport-utility vehicle, took the increasingly common American approach of releasing information and having CEO Jacques Nasser put a concerned face on the company. It has suffered a lesser blow, Kinney says.