Just say NO!

The Japanese can't say no. It's not in their culture.

When I asked the internet cafe in Nagasaki if they spoke English, the man just walked away. I asked the other attendant, and he said "hmmmm".

At the Hiroshima train station information desk the girl made a noise which sounded quite positive, ie it inflected in the end! She let me ask the question and then the answer came from someone else in the office, who knew that she meant no.

Just two of many examples.

I'm going to have to rethink how I ask questions, to allow people to answer graciously.

And should I need to say no, I should instead say "that might be troublesome." I'm afraid that might be troublesome.