How 'reading the air' keeps Japan running www.bbc.com

This is the third story in Gen J, a new BBC Worklife series that spotlights Japan as the country heads into 2020.
If you don’t do any of these things, some unfortunate news: you cannot “read the air”.
It’s a skill that’s valuable anywhere in the world – but in Japan, where communication tends to be indirect, it is elevated to another level.
Reading the air – kuuki o yomu in Japanese – is a constant exercise, and misreading the air can blow business deals or ruin relationships.
In Japan, kuuki o yomu is grappled with in everything from facial recognition technology to video games, showing how ingrained it is in daily life.